Former Insurance Agent Gets Year in Jail for Stealing Premiums

Monday, January 8, 2018 | 0

A former California insurance agent was sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to pay $100,363 in restitution Friday after pleading guilty to felony theft and securities fraud charges, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Frederick D. Rollins, 42, pleaded guilty in December to three felonies — grand theft, securities fraud and acting as a securities broker without a license — and admitted to an aggravated white-collar crime enhancement.

The District Attorney’s Office said Rollins told businesses in the county that he could get them good rates on workers’ compensation insurance. He pocketed premiums and provided employers with fake certificates of coverage.

The California Department of Insurance said it launched an investigation into Rollins after receiving multiple complaints. In one case, an insurance carrier reported that a company attempted to file a claim under what turned out to be a non-existent policy number. In another, a business owner filed a complaint after learning the company did not have valid comp or general liability coverage.

“The investigation revealed that Rollins, while working as a licensed agent at an insurance agency, collected premium payments from several clients for workers’ compensation and commercial general liability coverage, but failed to place coverage with any insurance carrier,” the department said.

After Rollins left the agency, he continued to sell phone policies through FDR Presidential Services, a corporation he registered in Nevada. The Department of Insurance said Rollins pocketed at least $20,000 in workers’ compensation premiums.

County prosecutors say Rollins in a second scheme received nearly $80,000 from people who thought they were buying stock in King Digital Entertainment, developer of the Candy Crush game. Rollins was not licensed to sell securities and when confronted by victims, he provided false stock certificates.