Ex-Broker Who Perpetrated RivCo Insurance Scam Sentenced

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A former insurance agent from Moreno Valley who stole thousands of dollars from business owners based on false promises he would provide them cheap workers' compensation insurance and also collected thousands of dollars more from unwitting investors in a stock issuance scam was sentenced Friday to 100 days in jail and three years probation.

Frederick Donald Rollins, 42, pleaded guilty in December to grand theft, securities fraud, acting as a securities broker without a license and a sentence-enhancing white collar crime allegation. In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office dropped 15 related charges.

Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez certified the terms of the plea agreement, and in addition to the custody time and probation, ordered the defendant to serve 272 days in a sheriff's labor program and pay victim restitution of $100,363.

According to prosecutors, the offenses happened in 2013 and 2014.

Investigators uncovered evidence that Rollins had promised several business owners that he could procure workers comp coverage for them at economical rates, and in turn, he received thousands of dollars in commissions. However, the victims eventually discovered the certificates that the defendant had issued to them were bogus, prosecutors said.

Rollins also swindled multiple acquaintances out of tens of thousands of dollars by representing that he could acquire blocks of stock for them in King Digital Entertainment, maker of the Candy Crush Saga game, as well as other high-flying technology firms, according to the D.A.'s office.

When the victims inquired about their investments, the defendant, who was never licensed to sell securities, provided fake stock certificates or referred them to a website where they could make transactions, which turned out to be inaccessible, prosecutors said.

Charges were filed against Rollins last April.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock