Huntley man accused in insurance fraud on the lam
A Huntley man wanted in connection with an elaborate fraud scheme that officials say involved his insurance brokerage company is on the lam, police said Tuesday.
Police allege Russell Palermo, 46, owner of Palermo Insurance Agency, collected insurance premiums from some of his customers without them knowing that their policies already had expired. They say he secured other policies without a license.
Officers tried to arrest Palermo earlier this month, but he was nowhere to be found. Huntley Deputy Chief Todd Fulton said 21 people have come forward so far and that they lost between $18,000 and $20,000 total as a result of Palermo’s actions.
Police say Palermo acted as an agent for his customers when he secured insurance policies issued by Zurich Group-Orlando, One Beacon and Hartford — Palermo found insurance policies for businesses and individuals.
He maintained those polices and collected premiums from his clients on them, but at some point he stopped paying for the policies and they were canceled. Yet for several years, Palermo continued to take money from customers on the canceled policies before anyone ever found out the policies no longer existed, police said.
According to police:
Victims started coming forward last September.
Two victims said they contacted police after seeing suspicious activity with the accounts they had through the Huntley insurance agency.
One of them contacted police after Palermo took money as a down payment for an insurance policy and didn’t show a record of receiving the payment.
The other one discovered Palermo’s insurance license had been revoked in 2009, which should have kept him from selling insurance. This policy was opened for a real estate company in 2006 and canceled the following year due to nonpayment.
In October, police executed a search warrant at the Huntley business in the 11100 block of Dundee Road and seized documents and computers.
On Feb. 15, warrants were issued for Palermo’s arrest, but police couldn’t find him.
Palermo lives in the 11300 block of Douglas Avenue. He has been charged with the following: 14 counts of financial responsibility, nine counts of issuing insurance without a license, three counts of theft, one count of forgery, one count of deceptive practice and one count of unlawful use of weapons.
Police are asking for help in finding Palermo and other possible victims.
Palermo is 6 feet tall, weighs 275 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.
If you know where he may be, call police at (847) 515-5311 or call the anonymous tip line at (847) 515-5333. If you were a victim in this case, call the police department and ask to speak with Detective Joe Willard.