An insurance company will repay the five men and women ages 74 to 90 who lost more than $1 million in an alleged scam by a Kent insurance agent.
Chicago-based Bankers Life and Casualty, one of the companies that Jasmine Jamrus-Kassim, an independent agent, worked for, has agreed to replace the money allegedly stolen by the agent, according to an Oct. 4 media release from state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.
Kreidler said an investigation by his office found that five clients of Jamrus-Kassim repeatedly cashed out large portions of their annuities with Banker’s Life and Casualty from 2007 to 2009. The money was then pocketed by Kassim.
Washington State Patrol troopers arrested Jamrus-Kassim in March in Kent. King County prosecutors charged her with 21 counts of first-degree theft. She has a trial date set for Oct. 31 in King County Superior Court, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Jamrus-Kassim was booked and released March 15 after posting bond on $100,000 bail, according to county jail records. She resigned in January from Bankers Life.
“I commend Bankers Life for stepping up and making these victims whole, to the extent possible,” said Kreidler in the media release. “I’m deeply saddened that one victim, stripped of his life’s savings, has already passed away. In his case, restitution will go to his estate.”
The alleged crime came to the insurance office’s attention through a complaint from the son of an 80-year-old man who saw large checks written by his father while checking his finances.
The men and women, who ranged from ages 74 to 90, typically made out their checks to “S.A. Saad” and gave them to Kassim. Several said they believed that S.A. Saad was an insurance company official. They thought their money was being reinvested, according to the insurance commissioner’s office.
In reality, Kassim has two daughters, both with the initials and surname “S.A. Saad.” Most of the money was deposited briefly in the girls’ accounts, then moved to Kassim’s personal credit union account.
Kassim’s financial records reportedly show thousands of dollars spent on clothes, jewelry, and a trip to Mexico, according to the insurance commissioner’s office. They also show large payments to online psychic advisors, including $20,000 in charges from one psychic website in one month.
The men and women live in Bellevue, Renton and Seattle. The payment amounts are $512,112, $488,071, $116,070, $65,321 and $929. Bankers also agreed to pay interest.
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