Unlicensed Westminster insurance agent sentenced after stealing $140,000 from business owners
News: 2023 Press Release
ORANGE, Calif. — Robert Meseer, 69, of Westminster, was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to 55 felony counts of grand theft, insurance fraud, and forgery. Meseer was sentenced to three years of supervised formal probation and ordered to pay $92,140 plus 10 percent interest. Meseer has already paid $65,000 in restitution to his victims.
In 2016 Meseer was arrested after a California Department of Insurance investigation revealed he had acted as an insurance agent to steal more than $140,000 from several business owners.
Meseer, doing business as MRM Insurance, began illegally managing MRM Insurance after a relative’s license expired in 2009. The relative had been operating the agency, which gave Meseer access to client files and allowed him to implement various schemes to bilk premiums from unsuspecting policyholders.
After receiving a referral from a business owner who discovered Meseer had issued them a bogus insurance certificate listing a nonexistent insurance company, the Department launched an investigation. Additional evidence revealed numerous alleged violations by Meseer, including issuing bogus insurance documents, overcharging several times the amount of the premium, giving inflated billings, not disclosing the true cost of coverage to customers, renewing policies without forwarding’ premium payments, and even soliciting new insurance business, all without a proper license.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office prosecuted this case.
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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.
