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Press Release

Equine Insurance Agent Charged in $1.3 Million Dollar Fraud Scheme

For Immediate Release
District of Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE - A Middletown insurance agent and agency owner who specializes in providing equine insurance coverage has been charged in U.S. District Court in Providence with allegedly orchestrating a scheme which defrauded customers, insurance companies, and finance companies of approximately $1.3 million dollars.

Randall N. Levesque, 57, of Middletown, owner of Equine Insurance Services, LLC and Randall Levesque Agency, has been charged by way of a federal criminal complaint with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service Stephen Marks, and Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police Ann C. Assumpico.

According to court documents, it is alleged that Levesque overbilled and double-billed customers when billing their credit cards for premiums due on policies, some of which the client did not request or did not agree to finance, at times forging the customers’ signature; collected premiums on insurance policies issued by at least two insurance companies but, upon receipt from customers, did not forward the payments to the insurance companies; and, at times, financed premiums and received funds on behalf of customers without the customers’ consent or knowledge, and submitted financing agreements to finance companies for fictitious customers, for whom there were no policies.

It is alleged in Court documents that Levesque collected but did not remit to insurance companies over $800,000 in premiums; fraudulently obtained over $500,000 in financed premiums from at least two finance companies; and charged customers’ credit cards at total of approximately $80,000 for premiums that he failed to provide to insurance companies.

Levesque made an initial appearance on Tuesday in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan, and was released on $10,000 unsecured bond.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert. The matter was investigated by the United States Secret Service and Rhode Island State Police.

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Updated October 31, 2018

Topics
Financial Fraud
Identity Theft
Press Release Number: 18-142