Former Union County insurance agent has been charged with assuming the identities of former clients to fraudulently apply for new life insurance policies in order to collect commissions on the policies.
Marta Cristina Cunha, 36, of Union Township, was charged with second-degree insurance fraud, second-degree identity theft, and third-degree theft by deception in the alleged scheme that involved at least seven individuals she submitted policies for while working with American Income Life Insurance Company (“American Income”).
According to the indictment handed up yesterday, after Cunha left American Income she used various insureds’ personal information she had obtained while working as an agent for American Income and applied for new policies for these individuals with American Memorial Life Insurance Company (“American Memorial”) without the authorization and knowledge of these individuals. The alleged scheme earned Cunha about $6,292 in commissions.
According to prosecutors, American Income paid Cunha about $1,752 in commissions and bonuses for policies she submitted on behalf of about eight individuals between December 2012 and November 2014. After Cunha left American Income and began working with American Memorial in April 2015, she contacted American Income and impersonated or pretended to be several insureds in order to direct the insurance company to change an insured’s contact information, cancel an insured’s policy, and/or change an insured’s billing method, prosecutors said.
Cunha allegedly subsequently used the information of those insureds to fraudulently apply for about seven policies with American Memorial.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000; third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000.