San Diego Scammers Goal Army In $four.8M Life Insurance coverage Scheme: Indictment

Paul Flanagan, 54, Ranjit Kalsi, 52, and Gregory Lee Martin II, 49, had been arraigned this week for working a life insurance coverage scheme to defraud United States Army personnel out of $four.eight million.

Kalsi and Martin had been arrested on July 9 by the San Diego Sheriff’s Warrant Staff, and had been arraigned July 10. Flanagan was arraigned. All pleaded not responsible.

The San Diego County Grand Jury issued a 69-count legal indictment on July eight, accusing the three of deceiving younger service members into signing up for undesirable life insurance coverage insurance policies and annuity contracts.

The indictment contains prices of grand theft, the unlawful use of private figuring out info, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to commit a type of insurance coverage fraud often called “twisting”—making misrepresentation to customers to persuade them to take out insurance coverage insurance policies, and a white collar crime enhancement.

“These defendants defrauded an honored group of people who've devoted their lives to defending and serving our nation,” mentioned Insurance coverage Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “The alleged actions of those people have resulted within the lack of $four.eight million and has harmed hundreds of navy personnel. I'm dedicated to working with the San Diego District Lawyer’s Workplace and the Lawyer Basic’s Workplace to place a cease to those that benefit from onerous working Californians.”

Working as Go Navy Tax Providers, Flanagan, Kalsi and Martin submitted greater than four,700 purposes for all times insurance coverage insurance policies and annuity contracts to insurance coverage firms beneath the scheme. The defendants earned over $2 million in commissions on the sale of those merchandise over a Three-year interval.

Go Navy Tax Providers operated out of a trailer throughout the road from Naval Base San Diego. The trailer, adorned with navy seals and symbols to indicate that the enterprise was affiliated with america Army, marketed free earnings tax preparation for service members.

“The victims of this rip-off had been younger men and women serving our nation who had been primarily tricked into signing up for one thing they didn’t want and couldn’t afford,” mentioned San Diego County District Lawyer Summer time Stephan. “Working with our regulation enforcement companions in California and on the Navy, we had been capable of shut down this operation and we are going to work to get a refund into the pockets of service members who had been taken benefit of.”

In the course of the free tax preparation service, defendants obtained private figuring out info from their victims and used it to open new financial institution accounts within the service members’ names at a financial institution in Kentucky, investigators mentioned.

Defendants then initiated automated, month-to-month allotments from the service members’ paychecks to the financial institution, from which the unauthorized insurance coverage premiums had been paid to the insurance coverage firms, investigators mentioned.

The case is being prosecuted by the San Diego District Lawyer’s Workplace and the California Lawyer Basic’s Workplace. The California Division of Insurance coverage Investigation Division acted because the lead investigative company, working collectively with the San Diego District Lawyer’s Workplace, the Lawyer Basic’s Workplace, the Workplace of the Inspector Basic-Navy, and Naval Felony Investigative Service.