Allstate conducting investigation of employee charged with fraud

Jan. 20--DUNNELLON -- Allstate Insurance Company officials are looking into alleged irregularities regarding one of its employees arrested Thursday for forging documents that state one of its customers was going to gift the employee cash to open his own business.

Cathy Mayo, field corporate relations manager at the insurance giant, said Friday in an email to the Star-Banner that "we are conducting an internal investigation regarding those allegations."

The man at the center of the controversy, Kevin Day, was released at 9:07 p.m. Thursday from the Marion County Jail on charges of two counts of uttering a forged instrument and one count of criminal use of personal identification information.

Day's bond, who was booked into the jail at 11:39 a.m. Thursday after his arrest by the Dunnellon Police Department, was $6,000.

At the Allstate office at 20170 E. Pennsylvania Ave. on Friday, an employee told the Star-Banner that Day was taking the day off and would return to the office on Monday.

Before driving away from his home at 9425 SW 206th Court Road in Dunnellon on Friday, Day declined comment. He would not say if he has hired a lawyer or not.

Locally, Day does not have a criminal record.

Asked if Day would be allowed to return to work at Allstate and continue selling policies to customers, and, and what would happen to the business, Mayo said she did not know the answers to those questions. The spokeswoman said Day is an Allstate agent. Mayo said in the meantime, "Allstate customers with questions about their insurance policy can contact another local Allstate agent or call 1-800-ALLSTATE, 24-hours a day, seven days a week."

In a statement on Thursday, Mayo said the company was aware of the allegations and "we will cooperate fully with law enforcement during their investigation."

The allegations against Day, 46, began last month when Officer E.J. Raines of the DPD met with the owner of another Allstate branch. The woman wanted to report that she suspected Day had forged documents stating a client was providing Day with $100,000 to start an insurance business.

The whistle-blower said Day, who had formerly worked at her branch, wanted to buy her business, but she refused. When she found out that he had purchased another Allstate branch, she decided to investigate.

The woman was able to give the officer bank statements belonging to the victim -- an Allstate customer -- that had his signature stating he would "gift Day $100,000 for an insurance business venture," according to Raines' report. The woman said she contacted the victim about the documents and he told her that he never made any agreement with Day to help him open a business.

Raines had the victim sign his name and when the officer compared it to the signature on the documents, it did not match. The officer subpoenaed documents from Allstate and they showed two letters, dated March and June 2017, promising $100,000 to Day and signed by the victim. The officer also received several bank statements with account balances and transactions that belong to the victim.

Receiving the documents, the officer said he had enough evidence to arrest Day because Day used the victim's bank statements and personal identification information without permission from the victim.

When Day was arrested, Raines noted in his report that Day did not deny he signed the victim's name.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.

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