NRI Insurance Agent Sent to Prison for $1.5 Million Fraud to selling fake insurance

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 01, 2007
Piara Singh

NRI Gurjeet Singh (aka George Singh), 57, of Van Nuys, Los Angeles, was sentenced to serve one year and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of mail fraud in connection with an insurance fraud scheme. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that a former Los Angeles insurance broker surrendered himself to authorities after being convicted of two fraud counts.

Investigators discovered that Singh, dba Monika Insurance Services in West Hollywood, was hired to provide automobile liability coverage for approximately 100 Prime Time Shuttle fleet vans providing shuttle services to and from the Los Angeles, Burbank, John Wayne, Ontario and Long Beach airports. His license was suspended in 2001.

When he was first hired, Singh purchased insurance liability coverage from Lloyds of London, but this coverage expired after only four months because Singh did not pay the premiums. From August 2002 to January 2005, Singh provided shuttle drivers with fraudulent insurance identification cards supposedly from legitimate insurance companies. Singh failed to remit more than $1.5 million in premium payments from Prime Time Shuttle.

Singh also admitted to falsely representing to victims that they were insured when, in fact, they were not. Singh also acknowledged that as a result of his scheme, 11 victims have suffered medical expenses and property damage resulting in at least $163,000 in unpaid losses.

In addition to serving time in prison, Singh was ordered to pay $169,979.79 in restitution. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office-Central District of California.

"This is an unfortunate example of how one person's refusal to play by the rules can impact so many," said Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. "This individual's action caused a company to go bankrupt, and put many people at risk. Let me make it perfectly clear: insurance fraud of any kind will not be tolerated in California."

The maximum sentence Judge Schiavelli can impose for each mail fraud count is 20 years in federal prison but he was sentenced one year and one day only.

Prime Time Shuttle has been providing quality airport ground transportation service in Southern California since 1984. Back then, as a leader in the newly emerging rideshare industry, Prime Time set the standard, as far as innovation and quality as more and more people discovered this new method to get to and from the airport