News Archive

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Andrew M. Rodriguez and Marissa L. Lopez, both of Sunnyside, Wash., pleaded guilty to first degree theft in an insurance fraud case in Yakima County. 

Rodriguez, 31, and Lopez, 28, were sentenced on October 20, 2022 to 80 hours of community service and ordered to pay $17,022.41 in total restitution. The case was investigated by the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. 

In October 2017, Rodriguez filed a claim with National General Insurance Company after damage sustained to the loaner car — a Nissan Versa — he…

OLYMPIA, Wash. — John Michael St. Clair, of Renton, Wash., has been added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s insurance fraud most wanted list after being charged with insurance fraud.

If you have information that may lead to his arrest, please contact your local law enforcement agency or contact Kreidler's Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU).

The King County Prosecutor’s Office charged St. Clair with false claims or proof and issued a warrant for his arrest, due to additional warrants and his history of failing to appear for court hearings.

CIU’s…

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines in October totaling $111,000 against insurance companies, agents and brokers who violated state insurance regulations.

AmGUARD Insurance Company, Wilkes Barre, Penn.; fined $30,000 (order 22-0548).

AmGUARD failed to provide timely payment to a consumer who filed a claim after their apartment building was damaged. The consumer eventually filed suit under the Insurance Fair Claims Act (IFCA) and a judge’s partial summary judgement found AmGUARD to have engaged in unfair trade practices.…

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Sedera, Inc. has settled its case with Insurance Commissioner Mike Kriedler. Kreidler issued a $50,000 fine against Sedera for acting as an unauthorized insurer.

The fine must be paid by November 18, 2022. The company will also stop conducting medical cost sharing transactions in Washington, according to the terms in the order.

Kreidler’s office investigated Sedera from 2017 to 2019. Sedera, marketing itself as a medical cost sharing community, sold memberships to Washington consumers with a monthly fee. Members agreed to guidelines that determined their…