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Insurance Agent Allegedly Pocketed $90,000

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: September 19, 2007

PORT RICHEY, Fla. - PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The owner of the defunct Family Insurance agency in Port Richey has been accused of pocketing more than $90,000 in premiums from more than 40 victims during hurricane seasons, state officials and Pasco detectives announced.

Bruce Anthony Fonte, 53, 9131 Osceola Drive, was taken into custody yesterday on a felony count of engaging in an organized scheme to defraud, according to a Sheriff's Office arrest report released today. He operated the former agency at 6640 Ridge Road.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said in a press release Fonte is accused of leaving dozens of homeowners in Pasco, Hernando and Hillsborough counties without coverage during the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons.

Fonte kept the money instead of forwarding the premiums to insurance companies.

The felony charge is punishable by up to 30 years in prison if Brown is convicted.

"This individual abused his customers' trust and put them at great risk for his own personal gain," CFO Sink said in the press release. I commend those who worked quickly to stop additional customers from being harmed."

The arrest is a result of an investigation and joint effort on the part of multiple divisions of the Department of Financial Services, including the Division of Insurance Fraud, the Division of Agent and Agency Services, the Division of Legal Services, and the Division of Consumer Services.

Fonte turned himself in this morning to the Pasco County Jail.

State officials first suspended and then later revoked Fonte's insurance license, permanently banning Fonte from the business of insurance in Florida.

Detective Doreen Rapp, the lead DIF investigator in the criminal case, said the investigation revealed victims were defrauded and left without homeowners insurance from March 2003 until December 2005, a period in which Florida was struck by eight destructive hurricanes.

One of the victims includes a single mother of two who has an unpaid homeowners claim totaling $8,945 for damages her home sustained when a hurricane ripped through Pasco County in 2005.

The lapses in coverage forced several victims to obtain homeowners policies through the state's insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, for hundreds of dollars more in premiums. A number of victims unable to afford the premium increases are living in homes that remain uninsured.

To report information about this case or any other possible insurance fraud case, call the department's toll-free Fraud Fighters hot line, 1-800-378-0445. A reward of up to $25,000 may be offered for information leading to a conviction.

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