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A former executive of a Livermore insurance brokerage has pleaded guilty to his role in fraud schemes that led to the collapse of two firms and more than $20 million in losses, prosecutors said.
Jasbir Thandi, 69, formerly of San Francisco, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday (July 18) to two counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Thandi founded Global Century Insurance Brokers, based in Livermore, which helped manage the business of Global Hawk Risk Retention Group. He and his co-conspirators created records that overstated Global Hawk’s capital and reserves. In 2020, after regulators discovered the fraud, Global Hawk was declared insolvent and liquidated.
Thandi misappropriated more than $1.5 million in Global Hawk funds for personal use, including the purchase of a house and a luxury vehicle, prosecutors said.
Thandi admitted that in August 2016, he obtained a $6.4 million line of credit, later increased to $14 million, on behalf of Global Hawk, which was not authorized by the company’s board of directors. Around March 2017, he applied for a second line of credit in the name of Global Hawk in the amount of $14.75 million, again without authorization.
Thandi admitted to a similar fraud conspiracy with Houston General Insurance Exchange, prosecutors said. He and his co-conspirators created documents that falsely represented that HGIE had millions of dollars in insurance reserves and capital assets required by law.
Thandi is the fourth and final defendant to plead guilty to charges related to the fraud schemes. Co-defendants Sandeep Sahota, Jaspreet Padda, and Gunjan Aggarwal all previously pleaded guilty.
Thandi faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the two counts, according to prosecutors.
