A Buckeye, Ariz., woman who ran an insurance brokerage firm but kept premiums her clients intended to pay for their policies has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in state prison.
The Arizona Department of Insurance announced the sentence for 47-year-old Rosita Johns on Thursday. She had pleaded guilty to fraud and forgery counts in Maricopa County Superior Court and was sentenced last month.
Johns ran independent insurance brokerages in Surprise and Peoria and admitted pocketing premiums small business owners paid her to buy workers compensation, liability and auto insurance policies. She also used money intended to pay for business bonding coverage.
The fraud unit of the Department of Insurance investigated the case after receiving complaints from businesses that discovered they didn’t have the coverage they had paid for.
Johns was also ordered to pay $132,000 in restitution to four companies she defrauded and to serve four years’ probation.
The agency said brokers can set up and sell policies but in most cases insurance companies are paid premiums directly.
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