INSURANCE OFFICE OF AMERICA, JOHN RITENOUR AND HEATH RITENOUR FACING THREE (3) LAWSUITS ALLEDGING FRAUDULENTLY STOLEN INSURANCE COMMISSIONS

FORT LAUDERDALE, December 11th, 2019- The Farrow Law Firm, BRACH EICHLER and COOPER LEVENSON have filed separate complaints against Longwood, Florida based Insurance Office of America Inc. (IOA) and one including individuals John Ritenour and Heath Ritenour claiming Plaintiffs were defrauded out of rightfully owed insurance commissions in the State of New Jersey and Florida.

The allegations in Florida include CIVIL RACKETEERING (“RICO”) and that “RICO” Defendants John Ritenour and Heath Ritenour engaged in a scheme of criminal civil conspiracy in a well-orchestrated effort to steal licensed agent accounts, so they could greater enrich themselves and the stock price of their company.

From these illegal actions, IOA appropriated commissions owed to independent agents such as Plaintiffs Scott Strenger, Rick Collins and Louis Spagnuolo, as well as many others resulting in a “Ponzi” like scheme to artificially inflate its stock valuation.

According to the Florida lawsuit, these RICO Defendants coordinated the affairs of the RICO Enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity that consisted of repeated violations of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes, money laundering, securities fraud and tax evasion with the intent to defraud Plaintiff and unsuspecting IOA Employees.

“These complaints encompass a wide spread epidemic that has been going on for many years and with no boundaries”, said Jay Farrow of the Farrow Law Firm. “These acts pertain to not one, two or three victims but rather a startling amount of current and past employees.”
According to one of the lawsuits in New Jersey, there was a culture within IOA that utilized unlicensed agents to defraud and discriminate against its victims, which allegedly violated New Jersey laws designed to protect against such unlicensed activity.

The investigations continue to expand in both breath and scope within the RICO Enterprise of IOA and are now focused on additional co-conspirators according to Farrow.
“By the looks of it, the Plaintiffs in New Jersey were fraudulently induced to enter a corrupt culture that rewarded unlicensed activity while they were defrauded out of substantial earned commissions”, said attorney Farrow. “Clearly with these three similar lawsuits, it isn’t hard to see the pattern of illicit behavior on the part of IOA and the Ritenours.”

Farrow concluded, “We have yet to see the bottom of this rabbit hole and look forward to justice being served as we are learning more about the RICO Defendants, the associated Insurance Carriers and other co-conspirators that had a fiduciary responsibility to report this.”

(Contact: Janine Davis, Janine@FarrowLawFirm.com, 954-252-9821)