Earl O’Garro, a high profile Hartford insurance broker, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for defrauding a specialty lender, insurance carriers and the state of Connecticut.
On Dec. 14, 2015, a jury found O’Garro guilty of two counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.
According to an announcement from the U.S. Dept. of Justice, relying on O’Garro’s misrepresentations, Capital Premium Financing released $849,282.55 in premium payments to O’Garro wholesale insurance firm, Hybrid Insurance, on fraudulent insurance policies. O’Garro then converted the funds to his own use.
Hybrid also served as the wholesale broker for certain insurance policies held by the city of Hartford. In July 2013, O’Garro directed the city to transfer $868,244 in premiums to Hybrid. After the city wired Hybrid the funds, O’Garro intentionally withheld $669,997 in premium payments from the appropriate excess insurance carriers, Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. Inc. and National Casualty Co.
Instead, prosecutors said, O’Garro converted the money to his own use. In fact, approximately 17 minutes after receiving the funds, O’Garro wired $300,000 to Capitol Premium Financing as partial repayment for the monies he had been caught stealing from them. O’Garro then falsely advised the city that the premium payments had been remitted to the insurers.
The evidence at trial also established that, in approximately July 2013, O’Garro, on behalf of Hybrid, submitted a false application to the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) for a $500,000 loan. In his application, O’Garro provided false information concerning his and Hybrid’s financial condition.
Based in part on these false statements, DECD approved Hybrid’s loan application and mailed a $250,000 check to Hybrid. O’Garro used a substantial portion of these loan funds to make a payment on a million-dollar condominium he had purchased in the Dominican Republic and to pay tuition at his children’s private school.
Through this scheme, O’Garro stole more than $2.1 million from his victims and used the stolen funds on personal expenses and to prop up his failing business.
O’Garro was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.3 million, which reflects a partial repayment he made to one of his victims. He had been out on $500,000 bail since he was arrested in Nov. 2014. He is scheduled to report to prison on May 13, 2016.
