Insurance agent who set up “fraudulent agency” arrested for theft
A former insurance coverage agent has been arrested for allegedly collaborating in a scheme that noticed him steal a number of victims’ identities so as to open a “fraudulent insurance coverage company”, the California Division of Insurance coverage mentioned on Thursday (August 18).
Francis Okyere, 70, was beforehand licensed as an insurance coverage agent in Westlake Village. He’s additionally accused of getting used victims’ identities on small enterprise mortgage functions to fund the allegedly fraudulent company, known as Cyber Entry Insurance coverage Company.
Okyere has been charged with 17 felony counts, together with theft and grand theft by false pretences, the division mentioned.
The accused has beforehand been convicted of grand theft following one other division investigation that discovered Okyere had stolen $65,186 in insurance coverage premiums from enterprise house owners. He was advised to give up his insurance coverage licence in 2019 and sentencing within the case is pending.
Holly Freeman, 40, named as Okyere’s “alleged confederate”, was additionally arrested and charged with 4 counts of felony id theft, in keeping with the division.
CDI investigated after getting a criticism from one in all Okyere’s ex-relatives that alleged he had stolen folks’s identities to open a brand new insurance coverage company.
The division mentioned it was capable of verify that Okyere stole the identities of 4 victims and that he had utilized for “a sequence” of Small Enterprise Administration and Paycheck Safety Program loans. Paperwork associated to the loans confirmed two of the identical victims’ stolen identities had been used to safe funds of $36,963.
Okyere’s bail was set at $815,000 and Freeman’s at $100,000.
