NEWS BRIEFS : Insurance Broker Accused of Grand Theft
Criminal charges were filed Thursday against a Rancho Palos Verdes insurance broker accused of pocketing a client’s car insurance premium payment and allowing the woman’s policy to lapse.
Don Mitchell, 45, faces one count of grand theft and one count of unlawfully diverting funds entrusted to him, according to Deputy City Atty. Fay Chu. Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 21, 1993 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday March 21, 1993 South Bay Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Column 1 Zones Desk 1 inches; 34 words Type of Material: Correction
Broker Affiliation--The Times incorrectly reported Friday the affiliation of an insurance broker facing criminal charges for allegedly pocketing a client’s premium. Don Mitchell is an independent insurance broker, not a State Farm agent.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Mitchell in Los Angeles and Long Beach, where he failed to appear for a January court hearing in a similar case being handled by the Long Beach city attorney’s office, Chu said.
In the latest case, Mitchell, an agent for State Farm, is accused of accepting and cashing a $1,070 check given him by a 76-year-old woman as payment for her car insurance. Prosecutors charge that Mitchell pocketed the woman’s money and wrote State Farm a bad check for her premium.
The woman did not discover the switch until State Farm notified her that her policy had been canceled because she had failed to pay for it, Chu said.
The case is also being investigated by the Department of Insurance.
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