OJAI : Insurance Agent Is Held in Theft Case
An Ojai insurance agent was arrested Friday on suspicion of embezzling $71,950 from a Ventura agency by pocketing payments on three building contractors’ policies.
Warren (Hank) Korman, 46, got three clients of Willis & Griffith Insurance to write nearly 15 payment checks in his name and then deposited them in his own bank account or cashed them, Ventura police said.
A spokeswoman for the Ventura agency said the company uncovered Korman’s alleged scheme last April when one of the contractors sought to amend his policy and was told he had not paid the necessary deposit to activate coverage. An ensuing investigation by a city detective revealed that Korman had been skimming payments since 1987, police said.
Korman, an employee of the agency since 1984, was arrested Friday on suspicion of 21 counts of grand theft and later released on his own recognizance.
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