This is a good article that can affect even sleep industries, such as the surety bonds business (whether it be construction bonds, bid bonds, or performance bonds). These contracts are used all the time and having someone sell them fraudulently is just difficult to take. Take a look and see if this can help our your business.
LOWELL – A Pelham, N.H., man who was accused of selling phony insurance bonds worth millions of dollars to construction companies pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray in New Hampshire said in a press release on Friday.
From 2012 through 2019, Leo Rush, 76, was paid over $633,000 for selling fraudulent surety bonds — valued at over $23 million — through Newport Insurance Company for construction projects in several states, and used the proceeds for his personal benefit, according to the release.
Rush reportedly ran the company from his home office in Pelham and knew that it was not licensed to sell insurance in any state. Murray said that Rush also maintained a company website that listed a false address in Rhode Island.
According to Murray, the bonds Rush sold, known as surety bonds, are “a form of insurance, subject to oversight by state insurance regulatory agencies. For certain construction projects, contractors are required to purchase surety bonds from licensed insurance companies to ensure that workers and material suppliers are paid and to ensure that a contractor’s work is completed and performed according to a contract’s specifications. Thus, if a contractor defaults on a contract, the owner of the construction project can trigger the surety’s obligation and receive payments required to complete the contract up to the value of the bond.”
Rush is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, according to the release.
“Mr. Rush’s conduct is inexcusable. With today’s guilty plea, he is finally taking responsibility for deceiving and defrauding his clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, said in a statement. “Individuals like Mr. Rush who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected, and sooner or later, they will be brought to justice.”
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