ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

19A-049-INS · Department of Insurance · 2019-07-31

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HEARING: July 17, 2019 APPEARANCES: Respondent did not appear. The Arizona Department of Insurance was represented by Assistant Attorney General Deian Ousounov. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Antara Nath Rivera _____________________________________________________________________ FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On September 11, 2018, Respondent Ramona Anuhea Augustin (Respondent) submitted to the Arizona Department of Insurance (Department) an application (Application) for an Insurance License. Respondent provided a residence address of 1120 North 88th Street, Mesa, AZ, 85207 and a business address of 4747 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Respondent provided a business email address of [email redacted] and an individual email address of [email redacted]. Respondent provided a residence phone number of 808-375-4308 and a business phone number of 602-387-9027. 2. On the application, Respondent answered “no” to the following questions: 1A: Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, had a judgment withheld or deferred, or are you currently charged with committing a misdemeanor? . . . . 1B: Have you ever been convicted of a felony, had a judgment withheld or deferred, or are you currently charged with committing a felony?

3. The Application provided the following attestation: I hereby certify that, under penalty of perjury, all of the information submitted in this application and attachments is true and complete. I am aware that submitting false information or omitting pertinent or material information in connection with this application is grounds for license revocation or denial of the license and may subject me to civil or criminal penalties.

4. Because Respondent’s application, on its face, did not raise any issues, the Department licensed Respondent as an Insurance Producer with an accident and health or sickness line of authority, under License Number 18907994, on September 19, 2018. The license expires on November 30, 2021. 5. Through the background check, the Department discovered that, on or after September 24, 1998, Respondent entered a guilty plea for one felony count of Robbery, in Punchbowl First Circuit Court in Honolulu, Hawaii. Respondent was sentenced to 5 years of probation, 200 hours of community service, and was required to pay restitution. On or about October 27, 2003, Respondent pled guilty to a violation of her probation. 6. The Department presented the testimony of Aqueelah Currie (Ms. Currie), Licensing Supervisor, who testified consistently with the facts detailed above. Ms. Currie testified that due to the nature of the conviction and Respondent’s untruthfulness on the application, there was a concern of the Respondent’s moral turpitude. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. This matter lies within the Department’s jurisdiction.[1] 2. The Department bears the burden of proof to establish by a preponderance of the evidence, that discipline is warranted.[2] “A preponderance of the evidence is such proof as convinces the trier of fact that the contention is more probably true than not.”[3] 3. A.R.S. § 20-295(A) provides in pertinent part that: The director may deny, suspend for not more than twelve months, revoke or refuse to renew an insurance producer's license or may impose a civil penalty in accordance with subsection F of this section or any combination of actions for any one or more of the following causes: 1. Providing incorrect, misleading, incomplete or materially untrue information in the license application.

4. Respondent’s failure to appear resulted in the lack of evidence that her Application was truthful. On her Application, Respondent failed to disclose her conviction and answered “No,” to the relevant questions. The failure to disclose her conviction constitutes providing incomplete, misleading or materially untrue information on an insure application pursuant to A.R.S. § 20-295(A)(1). This failure to disclose also provides the Department with grounds to revoke Respondent’s insurance license. RECOMMENDED ORDER Based on the foregoing, it is recommended that the Director of the Department revoke Respondent’s insurance license. In the event of certification of the Administrative Law Judge Decision by the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, the effective date of the Order will be five days from the date of that certification. Done this day, July 29, 2019.

/s/ Antara Nath Rivera Administrative Law Judge

Transmitted electronically to:

Keith A. Schraad, Director Arizona Department of Insurance

----------------------- [1] See A.R.S. §§ 20-281 to 20-302. [2] See A.R.S. § 41-1092.07(G)(1); A.A.C. R2-19-119; see also Vazanno v. Superior Court, 74 Ariz. 369, 372, 249 P.2d 837 (1952). [3] Morris K. Udall, Arizona Law of Evidence § 5 (1960).

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Office of Administrative Hearings 1740 West Adams Street, Lower Level Phoenix, Arizona 85007 (602) 542-9826