Insurance License Revoked After Conviction for Wire Fraud
Post number 5327
Insurance Agent Complains When He Loses License After Convicted of Wire Fraud
See the video at https://lnkd.in/gcp-3A56 and at https://lnkd.in/gsWW67S9, plus more than 5300 posts.
In Susan Ochs, Commissioner, New Jersey Department Of Banking And Insurance v. Robert W. Mania, and Heidi Ann Mania, and RHM Benefits, Inc., No. A-3346-23, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (April 15, 2026) Robert W. Mania, along with Heidi Ann Mania and RHM Benefits, Inc., were subject to a final agency decision issued on May 22, 2024, by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI). The Commissioner revoked Mania’s insurance license and imposed a $16,012.50 penalty for violations of the Insurance Producer Licensing Act (IPLA), specifically N.J.S.A. 17:22A-40(a).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mania appealed the decision, challenging the validity and severity of the sanctions.
Robert was a licensed insurance producer in New Jersey operating through RHM Benefits, Inc. (“RHM”), an entity which he co-owned with his wife, Heidi Ann Mania.
Between 2007 and 2009, Robert and his former employer, Frank Cotroneo, participated in a scheme to increase the brokerage commission rate on the health insurance policy, specifically by surreptitiously diverting a portion of the commission rate to Robert to reimburse him for a debt Cotroneo owed Robert. The scheme involved diverting 1% in commissions through RHM’s bank account. Pursuant to this scheme, Robert received approximately twenty-one checks totaling $141,527 through RHM, which he concealed from the insurer by using his official position to avoid disclosure by directing the funds to his personal post office box.
The scheme eventually came to the attention of the United States Attorney (“U.S. Attorney”) for the District of New Jersey. On July 2, 2012, Robert entered into a plea and cooperation agreement with the U.S. Attorney, under which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1342.
An administrative law judge (“ALJ”) issued an initial decision granting summary decision in DOBI’s favor on all four counts of the Order To Show Cause why his license should be revoked.
The ALJ concluded that Robert’s reporting obligation was triggered upon his awareness of the impending charges, requiring notice within thirty days of executing the plea agreement, not the filing of formal charges, and determined that DOBI proved the violation by a preponderance of the credible evidence.
The ALJ also found that Robert’s undisputed mail fraud conviction established a crime involving dishonesty, supporting discipline under N.J.S.A. and determined that his failure to obtain a waiver and continued licensure warranted a finding that DOBI proved the violation by a preponderance of the credible evidence.
LAW
Mania contended that several counts in the administrative order to show cause should be dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the doctrine of laches, and the entire controversy doctrine.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Mania believed the Commissioner should have imposed lesser sanctions. The Commissioner, however, maintained that the violations were significant enough to warrant both license revocation and a substantial financial penalty, and that the doctrines cited did not preclude enforcement.
CONCLUSION
The Appellate Division reviewed the arguments regarding procedural bars and the appropriateness of the penalties. While Mania sought a reduction in sanctions and dismissal of some counts, the Commissioner’s decision to revoke the license and impose the penalty was upheld, reflecting a strict interpretation of the IPLA and the penalty framework. The court emphasized the importance of regulatory compliance and found no error in the application of legal doctrines or penalty factors.
ZALMA OPINION
When a licensed insurance broker pleaded guilty to wire fraud based on a scheme to defraud an insurer and its insureds lost his license by order of the New Jersey Department Of Banking And Insurance. Unhappy, Mania appealed the order only to have an appellate court refuse his appeal and keep a criminal from serving insurance buyers in the state.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.
Subscribe to my substack at https://gbarryzalma.substack.com/subscribe
Go to X @bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the InsuranceClaims Library – https://lnkd.in/gwEYk.
The Largest Residential Burglary of All Time
Post 5407
Fraud & the Fear of Bad Faith Suits
Posted on July 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWQQEySW and at https://lnkd.in/gyhdK6wv
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
After ...
Chutzpah is not Enough
Post 5397
Posted on July 20, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the video and at https://lnkd.in/gNUs2XzT and at https://lnkd.in/g2MawyzX
Magistrate Issues a Search Warrant if there is a Fair Probability that Contraband or Evidence of a Crime will be Found in a Particular Place.
In United States Of America v. Frank Suess, et al., CRIMINAL No. 3:24-308, United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania (July 16, 2026) a federal grand jury indicted Frank Suess, Melissa Driscoll, and others in a 55-count health care fraud and anti-kickback prosecution arising from an alleged scheme involving medically unnecessary prescription “foot baths.”
As part of the investigation, the FBI obtained an August 19, 2022 warrant to search Driscoll’s Sterling Pharmacy Yahoo email account for emails from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. Driscoll moved to suppress the resulting evidence, arguing that the warrant lacked probable cause, was overbroad, and rested on material misstatements and omissions.
LAW:
The ...
Fraud Shouldn’t Pay
Post 5396
See the video and at https://rumble.com/v7ctgmq-the-great-jewel-theft.html at https://youtu.be/aRbQ2sJfGwA
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is one of a collection designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ¬¬¬Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
The Insured purchased, for the first time in his life, a policy of Personal Articles Floater Insurance (PAF) scheduling $125,000 worth of ladies jewelry. He advised the insurer that the jewelry was always kept in a class E safe at his residence. He also told the insurer that he was employed full time as the owner of a gasoline service station and that he had never been canceled or suffered a previous loss.
One month after the policy was ...
Day Care Owner Loses Subsidies Because She Criticized State
Post 5421
Posted on August 11, 2026 by Barry Zalma
First Amendment Right Will be Allowed to Go to Trial
In Betsey J. Grant v. Maine State Department Of Heath And Human Services, No. 1:25-cv-00490-JAW, United States District Court, D. Maine (August 6, 2026), Betsey J. Grant, a licensed childcare provider and operator of Tiny Tikes Daycare in Trenton, Maine, sued Maine DHHS and several employees after she publicly criticized DHHS before Maine’s Government Oversight Committee and alleged that officials retaliated against her.
She claimed DHHS imposed and extended a conditional license, published stigmatizing information, interfered with subsidies and program funding, removed her from a food program, rescinded an expansion grant, and used biased or falsified evidence in licensing proceedings. Following the March 10, 2023, GOC testimony, Ms. Grant alleges that foster children's subsidies (approximately $30,000) were withheld; she was removed from the ...
Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units. After an underlying personal injury action was filed, Union Mutual determined that the property actually contained three apartment units and rescinded the policies on the ground that the defendants had made a material misrepresentation in the applications.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true ...
Rescission for Material Misrepresentation
Post 5418
Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barry Zalma
An Insurer May Rescind An Insurance Policy Where The Applicant Made A Material Misrepresentation In The Application.
In Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, et al. No. 2024-10359, Index No. 602824/22, 2026 NY Slip Op 04789, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (July 29, 2026) Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued commercial insurance policies to 844 Knickerbocker, LLC, and Sanjaya Mallick based on applications stating that the insured property contained two apartment units.
LAW:
A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the same policy, or would have issued it only on different terms, had the true facts been disclosed. To establish materiality as a matter of law, the insurer must submit documentation of its underwriting practices, such as manuals, guidelines, bulletins, or rules addressing similar risks.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
As a result, the...
