The Insurance Council of British Columbia has issued an order banning Diosa Delacruz from applying for any insurance license in the province for five years. Delacruz is also being fined $20,000 after admitting she misappropriated a client’s tax-free savings account (TFSA) deposit to invest in bitcoin. In the same interview, Delacruz also admitted to borrowing $5,000 from another client, now deceased, which she never paid back.
“She indicated that she could not provide any files of information because her house caught on fire,” the intended decision in the case states. All further attempts to contact the former licensee following an initial interview with her agency were unsuccessful.
Licensed from June 2011 until August 2022, the former senior marketing director of the insurance agency she was authorized to represent, was terminated in November 2021 after the agency received a complaint from a client who was seeking to redeem the funds she believed were invested in the TFSA. “The agency’s investigation revealed that both the agency and the insurer had not received a TFSA application for the client and her investment of $25,000 was directly addressed to the former licensee,” the decision states. “When asked about the complaint, the former licensee indicated that she had deposited the funds into the bitcoin investment which allegedly promised significant returns. She had been informed that the proceeds of the bitcoin investment were being returned to her and she would be paying the client back.”
The client, in an interview, told the agency that she requested updates every month after not hearing back from the insurance company regarding her investment. “The former licensee had kept telling the client that there was a backlog due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Delacruz, meanwhile, in her own interview with the agency, stated that she did not know the name of the company or understand the company that she invested with. “She was advised that the money would be doubled in three months.”
The council found the investment particularly egregious because she relied on a single advertising email to invest the client’s funds, while having no knowledge of or experience with cryptocurrencies. “Further, the former licensee engaged in a conflict of interest by borrowing funds from the other client. Council believes it is never appropriate for an insurance licensee to borrow money from insurance business clients.”
In addition to the fine and ban from registration for five years, Delacruz was also assessed the council’s investigation costs, totalling $2,000.
