Florida Insurance Firm Manager Indicted On Fraud Charges
June 16--The manager of a Plant City insurance firm was arrested Monday, accused by federal investigators of scheming to defraud the company's owners out of bonus and commission checks.
A grand jury returned an indictment charging Heidi Y. Calonge, 34, with four counts of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of mail fraud, prosecutors said.
Calonge was employed as the lead agent and manager of Express Insurance of Plant City, 501 S Alexander St., No. 101. In that capacity, she devised a scheme to defraud the owners out of bonus and commission checks from insurance companies with whom the company did business, the indictment reads.
The indictment accused Calonge of posing as the firm's owner by opening a post office box in a similar corporate name, filing corporate paperwork, registering a similar fictitious name and opening a personal bank account in that fictitious name to deposit checks made out to Express Insurance.
The indictment also said Calonge spent the money on personal and family items, and to open a competing insurance agency.
Calonge made a first apperance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo on Monday, and was released on bond.
She faces up to 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud charges, and up to 20 years on each wire and mail fraud charge, according to U.S. Attorney Lee Bentley.
___
(c)2015 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.)
Visit the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) at www.tampatrib.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News