William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal Grand Jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned an indictment against David E. Groppi, Sr., charging him with one count of mail fraud. According to court records, Groppi, age 47, resides in Seven Hills, Ohio.

The indictment alleges that Groppi sold non-existent health insurance coverage to about 100 individuals and families during the period from January 2003 through May 2004. The indictment further alleges that Groppi falsely represented that he was an agent for United Health Insurance Plans and these 100 victims paid what they believed to be health insurance premiums totaling $142,560.76 during that time period. The indictment charges that Groppi operated this fraudulent business from his Parma residence and used a mailbox at a Mail Boxes, Etc. location, also in Parma, to receive premium payments and other materials from these customers. The indictment states that United Health Insurance Plans was never a licensed insurance company in Ohio and that Groppi did not provide actual health insurance coverage. The indictment alleges that, in addition to paying premiums totaling $142,560.76, the victims also incurred unpaid medical bills totaling approximately $138,015.61 because they had no health insurance coverage.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John D. Sammon, following a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Cleveland and the Ohio Department of Insurance in Columbus.