Waukegan man charged in insurance scam

A Waukegan insurance agent was indicted Wednesday and charged with taking thousands of dollars from customers for insurance policies that were never issued.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton said Ruben Collier, 44, is charged with multiple counts of theft, forgery, wire fraud and insurance fraud.

Stanton said Collier, the owner and operator of Collier Insurance Agency at 3042 Sunset Ave., took money from business operators who were seeking insurance and never had policies issued.

Stanton said the abuses took place between 2005 and this year and generally involved businesses seeking coverage for commercial liability or workmen's compensation.

She said current charges involve 40 victims, but Waukegan police said they believe there may be 75 or more.

Stanton said most of the victims paid $5,000 to $7,000 for the nonexistent policies.

Collier has reportedly surrendered his insurance license to the state, Stanton said, and his office has been closed

He is due to be arraigned before Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti on Jan. 9.