Southfield insurance agent accused of ripping off clients

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Southfield insurance agent is facing charges after authorities allege he ripped off commercial clients by keeping unearned premiums.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Charles Walker with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, one count of embezzlement by an agent $20,000-$50,000, and two counts of embezzlement by an agent $1,000-$20,000.

According to Nessel's office, he used his agencies, Charles Walker & Associates (CWA) and the Walker Insurance Agency Group LLC (Walker Agency), to collect insurance premiums from commercial clients but did not remit those premiums to the insurance carriers and failed to refund unearned premiums to clients after the clients canceled their policies.

The Department of Insurance and Financial Services revoked CWA’s insurance producer agency license, as well as the insurance producer license of Charles Walker in 2017. After the licenses were revoked, Walker renamed and relicensed a new insurance agency, the Walker Agency, at the same Southfield address and continued selling insurance to commercial clients.

"Companies pay premiums to protect their assets from unforeseen damages and theft," Nessel said. "When insurance agents fraudulently pocket the money paid to them, it hurts their customers and leaves them without critical insurance coverage. My office remains committed to ensuring that Michigan business owners are not taken advantage of by bad actors."