Two Valley-area insurance agents were arraigned this week on multiple counts of grand theft.
According to the California Insurance Department, Robert Farmer, 65, of Camarillo, and Marion Urcan, 67, of Agoura Hills, allegedly accepted more than $687,000 in insurance premiums from two towing companies. Rather than forward the payments to the insurance company to secure liability insurance for the business owners, Farmer and Urcan allegedly kept the money for personal use.
Also, one of the towing companies claimed the two agents embezzled a $50,000 down payment intended for the renewal of a commercial auto insurance policy.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement, “By allegedly taking payments but not placing insurance coverage, these licensed insurance agents left these small businesses at risk for devastating financial loss.”