Phony insurer fined $75,000

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has levied a $75,000 fine and a “cease and desist order” against Robert L. Brown who, through an entity called Tri-Continental Exchange, is said to have sold bogus insurance policies within the province.

Brown allegedly sold invalid insurance products through “barter companies” in Ontario. Subsequent to what FSCO describes as “legal maneuvering ” by Brown to avoid the case against him being heard before the courts, the fine in question was eventually imposed by the Ontario Court of Justice on May 17 of this year. FSCO has also issued “cease and desist” orders against several of the barter companies involved in Brown’s scheme, and has sent out warning letters to other companies operating in the same market informing them of the actions taken against Brown and those said to have been working in conjunction with him. “I hope that this sends a very clear message to people like Mr. Brown. They are not licensed to sell insurance in Ontario and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law so they cannot put the people of this province at risk,” says FSCO superintendent Dina Palozzi