Bloomingdale man fined $100,000 in auto insurance scam

A Bloomingdale insurance agent lost his license and was fined $100,000 this month after authorities said he was running an auto insurance scam.

The Illinois Department of Insurance issued an order against Daniel Martin Deitz of Bloomingdale, as well as his Schaumburg-based agency Danny Martin CLU and Associates, for distributing fraudulent letters to clients.

According to a news release from the department, Deitz sent letters on stationery last month that falsely appeared to be from the department. Those letters misled clients to believe their auto insurance policies had expired and their drivers licenses or license plates would be suspended unless they met certain insurance requirements.

A department investigation led to Deitz, and officials said he confessed to creating and distributing the letters and impersonating a public official. He was fined $100,000, the maximum penalty under state law, and the department revoked both his insurance-producer license and his agency's business license, authorities said.

Many of the consumers who received the fraudulent letters already have been notified, officials said. The department also advises anyone who receives unsolicited letters asking for personal, insurance-related information to call visit its Web site at insurance.illinois.gov or call (866) 445-5364.