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NEW YORK---A Canadian man has been charged in connection with what federal prosecutors have termed to be a massive insurance fraud scheme.
Ian Stuart, also known as Ian Stuart-Smith, John Harris and John Harrington, was arrested earlier this month in Canada. Prosecutors says that Stuart induced various entities throughout the United States and Canada to purchase through their
insurance agents over $7 million of fraudulent commercial liability insurance policies.
Stuart is currently detained in Canada and the United States is pursuing his extradition.
According to the indictment, Stuart operated purported insurance brokerages called Surplus Lines, Inc., Heritage, Inc., aka Heritage International, Inc., aka Heritage Agency, Inc., and Rupertsland Insurance Intermediaries, Ltd., aka Rupertsland Intermediaries, Ltd., aka Rupersland, which were located in New York City and Ontario, Canada. Stuart allegdly held himself out to New York insurance brokers as a wholesale insurance broker able to place insurance coverage without being registered as required under New York law and allegedly falsely held himself out as an authorized agent for various insurance companies or entities, including underwriters at Lloyd's of London, Great American Insurance Co., Mount Vernon Fire Insurance Company, Indian Harbor, Colony Insurance, Tower Insurance, Traveler's Insurance, Houston Casualty, Essex Insurance Company, and Markel Insurance.
According to the indictment, in connection with this scheme, Stuart collected for himself premium payments for the commercial liability insurance policies purportedly placed with various insurance companies and entities and created fictitious documents purporting to confirm the existence of insurance coverage. Stuart unlawfully obtained over $7 million in policy premiums through this fraud, prosecutors said.
The indictment charges Stuart with 10 counts of mail fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for each wire and mail fraud count. In addition, each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime.
Stuart, 46, resides in Ontario, Canada.
Anyone who believes they were a victim of these crimes, wishing to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, may contact Wendy Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern
District of New York, at (866) 874-8900, or Wendy.Olsen@usdoj.gov. 5-23-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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