Two unlicensed individuals and one company are ordered to cease acting as insurance agents and have been assessed fines totalling $90,000 for taking money from the public and for then fraudulently arranging for the issuance of automobile insurance policies to those would-be clients.
Broken down, the fines include a $50,000 penalty imposed against Sobenna Green, also known as Quota, while Jermaine Scott and Pinyatas Lounge Inc. were each ordered to pay $20,000.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) says the group contravened the province’s Insurance Act when they acted as agents without being licensed, charging unstipulated fees and then lying to insurers to secure coverage. Green is also being sanctioned for making false statements to the regulator.
None of the named parties, and one additional party not identified in the notice of proposal, who also accepted client funds before forwarding these to Scott, are not and have never been licensed under the Insurance Act.
Their work was discovered after Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada (RSA) submitted a complaint about the pair soliciting and applying for automobile insurance policies on behalf of members of the public through RSA’s subsidiary, Unifund Assurance Company. In 102 instances, the company issued 72 policies based on false information. “Unifund estimates that the false information caused these fraudulent policies to be rated incorrectly and resulted in an undercharging of premiums of approximately $65,000,” the notice of proposal states.
In Green’s bank account alone (three accounts were identified as being related to the scheme), at least $239,301 was deposited with an apparent link to insurance.
At all of her examinations, Green denied using the stage name Quota, denied knowing Scott and the unidentified other participant in the scheme, denied having ownership and control of the bank accounts in question, denied taking money from members of the public and denied arranging the fraudulent policies.
“Records from the Green account, Pinyatas account and [redacted] account show incoming e-transfers of more than $250,000 with an apparent link to insurance,” the notice of proposal concludes. The regulator’s subsequent orders require the pair and Pinyatas to cease acting as an insurance agent, cease charging premiums and other fees for insurance, and cease making false or misleading statements and representations to the insurers.
