August 5, 2009

Attorney General Corbett announces arrest of Norristown insurance agent in $45,000 senior financial fraud case

HARRISBURG - Agents from the Attorney General's Elder Abuse Unit and Insurance Fraud Section have filed criminal charges against a Norristown insurance agent accused of stealing more than $45,000 from elderly consumers from Montgomery, Chester, Lancaster, York, Schuylkill and Philadelphia counties.

Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendant as Brian Johnson, 61, 3004 Congress Road, Norristown. Johnson is a licensed insurance agent and owner of Valley Forge Insurance Company formerly located at 102C West Germantown Pike, Norristown.

According to the criminal complaint, Johnson collected premiums from 14 different customers that were to be used as payment for long-term care insurance or life insurance, and deposited the funds into his or his company's bank account.

Corbett said that Johnson never forwarded the premiums to the appropriate insurance companies, leaving customers with no policies or cancelled policies for failure to pay premiums.

"Mr. Johnson's clients believed they were purchasing long-term care insurance coverage, but instead were left with nothing," Corbett said.  "This scam left these individuals vulnerable to damages and losses far greater than the money that was stolen from them."

Corbett said that victims ranged in age from 75 to 96 and were from Malvern, Chester County; Pottstown, Montgomery County; York, York County; Harleysville, Montgomery County; Pottsville, Schuylkill County; Ephrata, Lancaster County; East Earl, Lancaster County; Gap, Chester County; Gwynedd, Montgomery County; and Philadelphia.

Johnson is charged with 14 counts of misapplication of entrusted property, 14 counts of theft by deception, 14 counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and one count of insurance fraud.

He was preliminarily arraigned before Norristown Magisterial District Judge Ester Casillo and released on $10,000 unsecured bail.  A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 12, 2009.

The case will be prosecuted in Montgomery County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert LaBar of the Attorney General's Insurance Fraud Section.

(A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)

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