A former California insurance agent has been arrested on multiple counts of identity theft, grand theft and embezzlement after allegedly submitting fraudulent insurance applications with stolen identities, according to the California Department of Insurance.
The department said that Ceaser Guadalupe Salazar, 36, submitted more than 60 fraudulent applications, pocketing more than $20,000 in undeserved commissions.
The department began an investigation after receiving notice from Salazar’s former employer that he had been fired in 2019 due to suspected fraud. The investigation found that Salazar allegedly submitted 10 fraudulent policy applications for life insurance to that employer and received unearned commission on seven of them.
Read next: Ex-cop headed to jail for workers’ comp scam
Through a search warrant for Salazar’s bank account and interviews with witnesses, investigators found that Salazar was working for another life insurance company at the same time, and allegedly using a similar scam to pocket more unearned commissions. While working for that company, Salazar allegedly filed 56 fraudulent policy applications and received undeserved commissions on 47 of them. None of the 56 policy applications ever became active policies.
According to the Department of Insurance, Salazar collected $20,033 in commissions through the allegedly fraudulent submissions.
Salazar’s license expired in June of 2019.
