A 14-month-long “ghost broker” investigation has concluded with the arrest of a man accused of procuring more than 1,120 auto insurance policies using fraudulent data and social media apps.
The Utah Insurance Department announced the arrest of Carlos David Garcia Gonzalez in Liberty Hills, Texas.
It is alleged that between January 2023 and January 2026, Garcia operated a large-scale “ghost broker” scheme in which he procured auto insurance policies by submitting fraudulent data online to three different carriers on behalf of predominantly Hispanic victims residing in Utah.
The actions of Garcia, who is not a licensed insurance agent, resulted in $832,000 in premium avoidance. While fraudulently writing the auto policies, Garcia charged his victims more $84,470 in payments for obtaining the policies, according to the department.
The Utah Insurance Department previously issued two alerts regarding Garcia’s practices to warn consumers about purchasing auto policies with unconfirmed agents via WhatsApp or other social media type platforms.
Garcia is charged with two counts of 2nd degree felony pattern of unlawful activity, 2nd degree felony communications fraud, 2nd degree felony insurance fraud, 3rd degree felony forgery and 3rd degree felony identity fraud.
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