N.Y. Officials Say Broker Pocketed Insurance Premiums

The New York State Insurance Department reports that 32 people in Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties were victimized when an insurance broker allegedly pocketed an estimated $7,000 in insurance premiums. The department said it is now working to see if there are more victims.

The insurance broker, Jill M. Morrill, 43, of 19-1/2 Garner St. Glens Falls, was arrested last month by the Saratoga County Sheriff’s office on felony charges of fraud and grand larceny. She is free on her own recognizance pending court proceedings, according to officials.

According to the department, Morrill is charged with stealing cash payments customers made to her for insurance premiums. Most of the payments involved auto insurance, however, two cases involved business insurance premiums.

Morrill allegedly pocketed the money over a 12-month period beginning in July 2006. A licensed insurance broker, she had been employed at the Pro-Vu Best Insurance Co. in South Glens Falls, where she had worked for eight years.

Officials said that the case was discovered when customers began contacting the insurance agency complaining that their policies were being cancelled and that their car registrations or driver’s licenses were being suspended. In one case, a customer’s car was impounded when police found that it was uninsured.

Jaclyn M.Oreshan, an investigator with the department’s Frauds Bureau, said the department has identified 32 victims, but suspects there may be others. Individuals who believe they may have been victimized are urged to contact the Department’s Consumer Services hotline, toll-free at 1-800-342-3736.

Pro-Vu Best Insurance, which contacted police after receiving complaints about Morrill, supplied the department with a list of customers who had problems with their insurance. The agency also fulfilled insurance services to customers who had been victimized, according to Oreshan.

Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy appointed William Andrews, an attorney with the department’s Office of General Counsel, to act as a special prosecutor on the case.

Sourtce: New York State Insurance Department