Additional felony charges filed against insurance agents in $748,000 grand theft scheme
News: 2021 Press Release
HUMBOLDT, Calif. — Additional charges of felony grand theft were filed against licensed insurance agents Robert Farmer, 66, of Camarillo, and Marion Urcan, 68, of Agoura Hills. These additional charges were filed after Farmer and Urcan allegedly accepted over $61,000 in insurance premium payments from a towing company and misappropriated the money for their personal use.
Last month Farmer and Urcan were arraigned in Los Angeles County Superior Court on similar charges of grand theft after allegedly accepting over $687,000 in insurance premium payments from multiple business owners and pocketing those funds. The total alleged loss in these two cases is over $748,000.
On February 26, 2020, the California Department of Insurance received a complaint from the owner of a towing company in the Humboldt area that alleged Farmer and Urcan, doing business as Centerpointe Insurance Services Limited in Thousand Oaks, accepted a check totaling $61,519 for the towing company’s commercial auto insurance policy, but the agents did not forward this premium payment to the insurance company.
An investigation by the Department revealed the payment Farmer and Urcan accepted was never sent to an insurance company to secure liability insurance for the business owner, leaving them vulnerable to catastrophic loss. The alleged theft resulted in a $61,519 loss to the towing company.
The Department is taking the appropriate administrative action against the licensees. If you feel you’ve been victimized or know someone who has been victimized by either Farmer or Urcan, please call 661-253-7500.
Farmer and Urcan are scheduled to be arraigned on April 19, 2021. This case is being prosecuted by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.
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Led by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, the California Department of Insurance is the consumer protection agency for the nation's largest insurance marketplace and safeguards all of the state’s consumers by fairly regulating the insurance industry. Under the Commissioner’s direction, the Department uses its authority to protect Californians from insurance rates that are excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory, oversee insurer solvency to pay claims, set standards for agents and broker licensing, perform market conduct reviews of insurance companies, resolve consumer complaints, and investigate and prosecute insurance fraud. Consumers are urged to call 1-800-927-4357 with any questions or contact us at www.insurance.ca.gov via webform or online chat. Non-media inquiries should be directed to the Consumer Hotline at 800-927-4357. Teletypewriter (TTY), please dial 800-482-4833.
