“CDI investigators and detectives work to protect consumers from fraudulent insurance agents who put clients at risk by pocketing insurance premiums rather than placing insurance coverage, leaving the clients exposed to possible financial harm due to a lack or no coverage.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
ORANGE— On October 23, 2023, Erin Lee McCarroll, 49, of Laguna Beach, was arraigned on 27 felony counts including grand theft and forgery after a California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigation found she allegedly stole more than $62,000 in insurance premiums from at least 10 California business owners.
According to CDI, it launched an investigation after receiving multiple consumer complaints that McCarroll, who was doing business as Erin McCarroll Insurance Services, allegedly accepted premium payments and pocketed the funds to use for her own personal expenses.
The investigation found that between June 2017 and November 2019, McCarroll allegedly failed to forward premium payments totaling more than $62,000 from at least 10 victims who were unaware that McCarroll had allegedly stolen their premium payments and did not place the insurance coverage they believed they had.
The victims were contractors and other small business owners who are required by law to have workers’ compensation coverage for their employees in the event of work-related injuries. The victims also requested and paid McCarroll for general liability policies, which she is accused of not placing. The lack of these policies exposed the victims to possible uncovered claims and the potential for thousands of dollars in losses.
McCarroll is accused of deceiving her victims by creating and issuing fraudulent certificates of insurance, which were used to demonstrate proof of proper insurance coverage while bidding contracts. The bogus certificates led the victims to believe they had successfully acquired the insurance policies they purchased.
This case is being prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
