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An insurance agent in Middletown, RI specializing in equine coverage has been accused of defrauding $1.3 million from both personal clients and companies.
Randall N. Levesque, 57, is facing a federal criminal complaint of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the Rhode Island’s US Attorney’s Office, Levesque overcharged his customers’ credit cards – sometimes as much as twice the amount – for premiums due to his company Equine Insurance Services and Randall Levesque Agency.
When the charges were not requested or agreed to by his clients, Levesque allegedly forged their signatures to get the costs approved, prosecutors said. In total, he is accused of charging customers some $80,000 on their credit cards for premiums he pocketed.
The agent is also accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $500,000 in financed premiums from multiple companies. Prosecutors added that Levesque didn’t remit some $800,000 in premiums to insurance companies.
Levesque appeared in US District Court earlier this week and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond, WJAR reported.
