Insurance Officials Revoking 2 Brokers’ Licenses

Insurance regulators began license-revocation proceedings Thursday against two Southland brokers, one of them a Laguna Hills man accused of preying on a nursing home patient with Alzheimer’s disease.

The patient’s broker, Benjamin Antonio Chacon, cashed in his client’s insurance policy and took the $61,000 in proceeds, state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush said.

“It was highway robbery,” Quackenbush said, “except the patient with Alzheimer’s probably never knew he was being robbed.”

Chacon didn’t return phone calls Thursday.

Also targeted was Jesse Wong of the Studio City-based Insurance Factory. He is accused of collecting premiums for bogus homeowner policies. The Insurance Department said it found 10 individuals who paid a collective $10,000 for nonexistent coverage.

Department investigators believe other consumers also may have bought bogus policies through Wong, Quackenbush said.

Wong couldn’t be reached for comment. Calls to an Insurance Factory listing were referred to Insurance Etc. in Van Nuys. Insurance Etc. manager Guido Gil said his company had taken over business from Wong, all legitimate as far as he knew.

“We’ve been doing everything by the book,” Gil said.

The brokerages have 15 days to respond to the accusations or face immediate license suspensions. Quackenbush declined to say whether the cases had been referred for criminal prosecution.

“We can take their licenses away; that’s all we can do,” he said. “And we’re in constant contact with the district attorneys.”

He advised consumers to check brokers’ credentials with his office before buying policies.