The Region - News from July 22, 1987

A former Whittier insurance broker was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for submitting millions of dollars in fraudulent loan applications that resulted in losses of more than $10 million to three Southland banks. Clyde Hamblin, former owner of Pax Insurance Agency, specializing in insurance for long-haul truckers, also was ordered to pay $4 million in restitution for a scheme in which he was accused of submitting fraudulent premium financing agreements to various banks. Hamblin allegedly obtained more than $24 million from West Coast Bank in Encino, West Valley Bank in Woodland Hills and Queen City Bank in Long Beach between 1982 and 1984, using forged authorization letters to apply, then paying off earlier loans with the proceeds from later loans. Hamblin pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James M. Ideman to 21 counts of bank fraud, one count of tax fraud and one count of failure to file a tax return.