Florida agent arrested for pocketing $131K in premiums
Victims were left without coverage and one policyholder suffered a $1 million loss during the period.
A Florida insurance agent is facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly stealing more than $131,000 in premiums from several policyholders, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.
The agent, Naser Al-Sweity, was arraigned late last month on charges of organized scheme to defraud, misappropriation of insurance funds and fraudulent use of personal ID information, according to the state agency.
As a result of Al-Sweity’s fraudulent behavior, policyholders were left without coverage at the same time that Hurricane Ian was tearing through the state. According to the financial services department, one impacted homeowner had to cover $1 million in hurricane-related repairs.
The scheme began unraveling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian when the state’s Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team was approached by a policyholder who attempted to file an insurance claim only to be told that his multi-family property had no coverage.
The apartment building owner told detectives with the disaster fraud task force that the premium had been paid in full. An investigation uncovered a $26,000 check that was written in November 2021 to cover property and flood insurance at the apartment complex. The check was made out to Al-Sweity’s Florida P&C Insurance Agency.
After this initial complaint, investigators began digging into Al-Sweity’s conduct. The inquiry uncovered that for approximately two years, the insurance agent took in annual premium payments from seven policyholders and then financed each customer’s premium through a premium finance agreement without the policyholder’s knowledge or consent.
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