January 18, 2009
Sink, a Democrat, has also smartly put representatives of the life insurance industry on her task force studying the problem. It is representatives of that industry who helped kill her proposal in the Republican-controlled legislature last year to send rogue insurance agents to jail.
This time around she is developing consensus and it appears likely she will have a better chance at getting her proposal passed. But toughened penalties won’t do much if they are ignored!
State criminal prosecutions against insurance agents who have deceived seniors have been rare—even when existing laws on the books allowed them.
The problem, say lawyers who specialize in financial fraud issues, is that the white collar crimes are complex and technical, and attorneys with specialized knowledge are needed to prosecute such cases. Unfortunately, they say, those lawyers are in short supply in Florida, particularly in the state attorneys office.
Sink may get her tougher penalties against insurance agents passed by state lawmakers this time around, but whether Florida will take a meaningful, coordinated approach to protecting our senior citizens from fraud schemes remains to be seen.
SOURCE: Palm Beach Post
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