NEWS
FT. LAUDERDALE INSURANCE AGENCY EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR STEALING $1 MILLION+ FROM EMPLOYER
C
ORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – prepare company checks tied to Chief Financial Officer Fairway’s company account to pay Jeff Atwater today these fabricated invoices. Doing announced the recent arrest so enabled Summerlott to retrieve of Jennifer Summerlott, a the fake payments and divert licensed Customer Service them to a personal bank account. Representative, following a scheme that allegedly bilked her In addition, DIFS’ investigation Ft. Lauderdale-based employer, found that Summerlott refinanced Fairway Insurance Group, LLC 40 insurance policies that Fairway (Fairway) out of more than $1 clients had previously paid in million. Summerlott is accused full. As a result, Fairway received of orchestrating an elaborate checks from third-party financing Image of Jennifer Summerlott posted on Linkedin profile scheme to defraud her employer agencies to cover the cost of the through the use of fake insurance insurance premiums. Summerlott invoices to reroute company The subsequent investigation used those payments to cover up funds for her personal financial revealed that between 2010 the massive company losses that benefit. and 2015, Summerlott allegedly accrued as a result of her fake created and submitted dozens invoice scheme. Summerlott served as the of fake electronic invoices that accounts payable and commercial were supposedly from various Summerlott was arrested February lines manager for Fairway 27, 2017, and transported from 2006-2015. In 2015, Summerlott allegedly created to the Broward County Jail. account irregularities were and submitted dozens of fake She has been charged with noticed by other Fairway electronic invoices. Summerlott four first-degree felonies, staff members who, after including organized scheme would then prepare company checks suspecting that they to defraud, grand theft, tied to Fairway’s company account to might have uncovered criminal use personal ID and insurance fraud, reported pay these fabricated invoices. Doing so diverting insurance trust their findings to the enabled Summerlott to retrieve the fake funds. Fort Lauderdale Police payments and divert them to a personal Department. The case This case will be prosecuted bank account.” was referred to insurance by the Broward State fraud investigators within Attorney’s Office, 17th the Department of Financial insurance companies that Judicial Circuit. If convicted, Services’ Division of Investigative regularly conducted business with Summerlott faces up to 30 years and Forensic Services (DIFS). Fairway. Summerlott would then in prison. 18
The Underwriter’s Insider
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March 2017