There are criminals, and then there are criminals who put the lives and livelihoods of their victims at risk.

File Isidro Santillan, a one-time insurance agent from Pacoima, Calif., in the later category.

The California Department of Insurance reported on Monday that Santillan had been arrested in August and charged with 13 counts of grand theft and commercial burglary, with a total haul of over $100,000. His crime seems almost too simplistic to actually work: Santillan allegedly sold insurance policies and bonds to local contractors and simply never forwarded the premiums they paid to the insurance carriers.

The scheme began to unravel in 2012, when the Department of Insurance launched its investigation following complaints about Santillan's business practices “regarding the sale of commercial auto, general liability, and worker's compensation insurance and bonds.”

“When Santillan stole his client's insurance premium money, he exposed business owners to great financial risk by leaving them without insurance coverage,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement this week. “My enforcement team will aggressively investigate and bring to justice any insurance agent or broker that violates their fiduciary responsibility in the name of greed.”

Santillan faces up to 12 years in state prison if convicted.

The California Department of Insurance is looking for additional victims in this case, so if you ever did business wirth Santillan — or one of aliases, including Sid Santillan, Art Sanchez, Insurance Service Center or Isidro Santillan Insurance Services — contact the Investigation Division, Valencia Regional office at (661) 253-7500.

Special Reports /

What's the wrong way to leave your mark on the insurance business? This.

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