Two Insurance Agents Charged With Defrauding Goodwill Industries

Dec. 18--Two Macon insurance agents have been charged with insurance fraud after allegations that they pocketed more than $150,000 in premiums paid by Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia.

Broadus W. Marshall Jr., 57, and his son, 26-year-old Matthew P. Marshall, used the money for student loan payments, car loans, vacations, dining out and other expenses, said John Oxendine, the state insurance commissioner.

While working at Marshall Insurance Agency, the Marshalls sold an auto insurance policy and a liability policy to Goodwill in August 2008, Oxendine said. The insurance agency is located at 2942 Vineville Ave. in a space shared with other agents.

The Marshalls sent Goodwill's premium payments to the insurer, Philadelphia Insurance Co., until December 2008, Oxendine said. But in early 2009, the Marshalls stopped sending payments to the insurer and the policies were canceled.

"They allegedly started pocketing the money," Oxendine said.

The Marshalls also charged Goodwill for a bogus extension to the policies and issued fake insurance cards, he said.

When the policies came up for renewal in August 2009, Goodwill contacted the insurer while shopping around for rates, said Wayne Thornley, vice president of marketing and communications for Goodwill.

"That's when we found that the premium had not been paid," he said.

The charity, which provides job training and runs 12 "value retail" stores with donated goods, also learned that its policies had been canceled.

"We were very fortunate Goodwill didn't have any paid loss claims during that time," Thornley said.

With their suspicions, Goodwill contacted Oxendine's office in late October, and the office launched an investigation.

The investigation culminated Thursday in the Marshalls' arrests at their homes.

Insurance fraud investigators and Bibb County deputies surrounded Broadus Marshall's home, located in the 700 block of Malvern Hill Drive, about 8 a.m.

Some neighbors slowed down as they drove by to look at the accumulation of official vehicles, while others stood outside in their bathrobes.

Deputies led Marshall to a waiting patrol car without incident.

Minutes later, authorities pulled up in front of Matthew Marshall's home a few miles away on Overlook Avenue.

For a brief moment, Marshall peeked out a front window as officials surrounded his house. He was taken into custody about 8:20 a.m.

Both men were being held at the Bibb County jail on $100,000 bond, according to jail records.

If convicted, they could face between two and 10 years in prison, Oxendine said.

State records show both men hold active insurance licenses. Broadus Marshall was originally licensed in 1977, while his son was licensed in February 2008.

Over the years, the Marshall agency has been affiliated with dozens of insurers, including Hartford, Progressive, Safeco and Travelers, according to records.

While investigators aren't aware of any additional such cases, Oxendine urged anyone who has done business with Marshall Insurance Agency to contact their insurance companies directly.

"Make sure your insurance policy is paid up and current," he said.

If the paperwork isn't in order, Georgia residents can call Oxendine's office at (800) 656-2298.

"If they did it to one person, they may have done it to others," he said.

Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the commissioner's office, characterized the case against the Marshalls as one of the larger ones the office has investigated. Typically, the office handles cases in which agents have defrauded individual customers, not large businesses or agencies, Allen said. He said there's been a nationwide increase in fraud in recent years, both by agents and customers filing fraudulent claims. In Georgia, Oxendine's office is starting to see an increase in complaints filed, Allen said.

It's been a tough time for agents because of the lagging markets for buying homes and cars, he said. And when that's the case, people don't need agents to write new insurance policies.

"The temptation is out there" for agents to misappropriate premiums, he said.

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Copyright (c) 2009, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

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