Man accused of selling fake insurance policy to 2 Brothers restaurant owner

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PUNTA GORDA, Fla.-  A local restaurant is charred and just when the owner thought it couldn’t get any worse, he realized his insurance policy was fake when he needed it the most.

Police arrested William Reese for selling a fake policy to the owner of 2 Brothers Homestyle Cooking.

Reese was a customer of the restaurant. According to his arrest report, his business relationship with the owner, Luis Rivera, started in October 2014 when he offered Rivera insurance.

“He handed me his business card and said ‘I can help you,'” Rivera told authorities.

The report states Reese gave Rivera a business card saying he was the president of International Insurance.

Although he had a Miami-based phone number, Reese said his agency was on 5th Ave in New York.

The report goes on to say Rivera paid Reese $2,450 for an insurance policy. In return, Rivera got a certificate.

Rivera might have never known the insurance was fake had his restaurant not gone up in flames six months later. Rivera wound up dealing with $120,000 in damage and a worthless insurance policy.

WINK News went to Reese’s waterfront condo looking for answers. He wasn’t home, but we ran into him in the parking lot. Still, he declined to comment.

Reese isn’t a stranger to the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud. His record shows a long history of various theft convictions and insurance fraud.

Authorities also arrested Reese in Miami in 1998 on similar charges.

When purchasing insurance, make sure to verify before you buy. There’s a website where you can simply enter someone’s name and it will bring up their license information.

You can call the Consumer Helpline at 877-693-5236, or click here.

 

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