In 2022, Inweekly broke the story of Pensacola insurance broker John Thomas who took money for insurance policies that didn’t exist. U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody recently announced Thomas has been sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering charges related to selling fraudulent insurance policies. He also has been ordered to pay $8,340,153.34 in restitution.
Thomas operated an insurance business between September 2013 and February 2021 known as Thomas Insurance, LLC. and defrauded customers through a type of insurance fraud known as premium diversion. Thomas executed this scheme by collecting insurance premiums from customers and keeping the funds for personal use instead of producing insurance policies. To conceal his acts, Thomas gave the customers fraudulent documents referencing insurance policies that did not exist (Inweekly, “The Buzz,” 4/15/21).
Sources shared that Thomas was a player among the Pensacola Country Club set, writing the insurance for their homes, cars and businesses to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. His clients were given policies and certificates of insurances — the only problem was several of them were fake.
