The owners and an employee of Scholars First, LLC, a provider of bus transportation services to several New Orleans area charter schools, have been served by Louisiana Department of Insurance (“LDI”) Fraud Division investigators with cease and desist (C&D) orders for their roles in what the LDI characterized as the fraudulent or misrepresented submission of multiple altered insurance documents including certificate of insurance documents and Louisiana auto insurance identification cards.

In a statement, the LDI said that investigators investigated the circumstances brought to the attention of the LDI via media reports and as a result of a fraud complaint filed in late March. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon stated, “The recklessness of this action by parties who are charged with the care of children is inexcusable and the LDI stands ready to support our law enforcement partners as this investigation moves forward.”

Scholars First, LLC, is a Louisiana limited liability company owned and managed by Melvin Williams of Gonzales, Louisiana, and Jeramy Jackson of New Orleans. Additionally, the LDI said that it served an employee of Scholars First, Trenice Jupiter of Slidell, Louisiana, because her name and mobile phone number appeared in four documents as the representative of two different licensed commercial insurance agencies. The LDI said that Ms. Jupiter is not a licensed insurance producer in Louisiana or any other state or territory of the United States.