“Licensed insurance agents who commit crimes such as this put people and businesses at risk.  This case highlights the need for California Department of Insurance investigators and detectives.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

CAMARILLO– Formerly licensed insurance agent Narek “Erik” Harutyunyan, 31, of Camarillo, was sentenced during the last week of April 2022 in Ventura County Superior Court on two felony counts of grand theft after stealing insurance premiums from clients, leaving them uninsured and one business owner with an uninsured loss. The charges were reduced to misdemeanors after Harutyunyan paid $8,085 in restitution.

Harutyunyan was also ordered to pay $150 to the state restitution fund, placed on probation for one year, ordered to serve one day in jail, and ordered not to engage in any insurance type employment. The California Department of Insurance (CDI) revoked Harutyunyan's agent license and the license for his business, First and Last Insurance Services, on October 18, 2021.

A CDI investigation revealed that between September 2016 and July 2017, Harutyunyan, while a licensed insurance agent, doing business as First and Last Insurance Services in Camarillo, stole commercial premium payments he collected from his clients and diverted those funds for his own personal use.

As a direct result of Harutyunyan misappropriating premium payments, one client’s commercial policy for a truck was not valid when it was involved in an accident, leaving the business owner with an uninsured loss of more than $6,398 and a third-party claim of $107,764.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case.