State censures two Tucson insurance agents for misconduct

Dec. 02--Two Tucson insurance agents have been disciplined for misconduct by the Arizona Department of Insurance this year, state records show.

Peter A. Federhar was fined $250 for failing to promptly disclose his 2013 felony conviction for embezzling thousands of dollars from a city-owned golf course.

Maby J. Sanora was stripped of her agent's license for submitting falsified insurance applications for friends and relatives.

Federhar, 38, originally faced eight felony counts for stealing more than $6,000 from El Rio Golf Course between 2008 and 2011. Working in the pro shop, he would ring up extra sales transactions, process them as returns and pocket the cash, court records show.

He pleaded guilty to a single count of theft by control in a 2013 plea deal, was placed on probation for 24 hours and agreed to make restitution.

Federhar was indicted in June 2013 -- about a week after receiving his insurance agent's license -- and should have reported his prosecution to the insurance department within 30 days under state rules.

He didn't report it until a few years later in a 2017 renewal application. The insurance department ruled in June that the non-disclosure was "unintentional."

Federhar could not be reached for comment last week. He did not return two messages left on his cell phone.

Sanora, 37, was stripped of her agent's license in August after American Family Life Assurance Company reported her to the state. The company said she submitted dozens of life and disability policies "to a bogus/nonexistent business," state records show.

In March 2016, testifying under oath to an insurance department examiner, Sanora admitted making applications for nine friends and family members by telling the insurer -- falsely -- that the applicants were employees of Gavard Hair Salon. The salon, which Sanora once owned, had in fact ceased operation in 2008.

Sanora could not be reached for comment. Her last known phone number is no longer in service.

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Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at 573-4138 or calaimo@tucson.com. On Twitter: @StarHigherEd

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