WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A western Boca Raton man is behind bars Tuesday facing some serious charges of insurance fraud.
Circuit Judge Judge Donald W. Hafele was so incensed by what he read, he increased Naser Al-Sweity's bond during his first appearance in West Palm Beach.
Al-Sweity, an owner/agent for Florida P&C Insurance in Boca Raton, walked into court with a bald head and blue jumper. It was his first appearance on 23 charges he is facing. The Florida Department of Finance Services Bureau of Insurance Fraud in West Palm Beach investigated.
"I'm not sure they're high enough. On the first count I'm increasing the bond to $50,000. These are very serious allegations," Hafele said.
The original amount for the one count was $15,000. The 22 other counts new bonds ranged from $3,000 to $5,000.
Al-Sweity's charges range from misappropriation of insurance funds, fraudulent use of personal identification to organized scheme to defraud.
His court-appointed lawyer pushed back on the increase.
"The legal argument is that I don't believe the court has jurisdiction to touch the monetary bond set by the duty judge who has already determined pc and the applicable bond amount," the attorney said.
The summary report says Al-Sweity wrote 11 policies for seven people. The report says he accepted and deposited over $122,000 worth of premiums paid upfront and in full for each of those policies.
Now here's where the report says he went foul of the law. Al-Sweity got into finance agreements with two premium finance companies that finance life insurance. He allegedly did this without the approval of his clients.
Also included in the report: he wrote his clients' names on the paperwork but put his personal or work address and phone numbers so his customers were never notified of late payments or cancellations of policies.
But that's not all, the report says Al-Sweity's alleged dirty dealings cost Arthur Reyes over a million dollars in out-of-pocket expenses to repair his apartment building when Hurricane Ian destroyed it in September 2022.
Here's what the judge had to say to Al-Sweity:
"As far as my review here at first appearance and the nature and extent of the alleged criminal activity and the scheme that was apparently involving this man. I think $50,000 is fair," Hafele said.
Al-Sweity tried to speak but instead was ushered out of the courtroom. His attorney did let him know what it was going to cost him to get out.
"Your bond is probably close to $100,000," he said.
His next court appearance has not been set.
