IN THE MATTER OF:

DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN

                                            I

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

JEFF ATWATER

STATE OF FLORIDA

FILED

MAY 19 2011

Docketed by J'dG::·

CASE NO. 115107-11-AG

ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

TO: DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN

Ameri-Life & Health Services of Tampa Bay, L.L.C. 2536 Countryside Boulevard

Clearwater, FL 33763-1633

DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN

3205 Hurley Grove Way Valrico, FL 33596-5674

You, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, are hereby notified that pursuant to Chapter 626, Florida Statutes, the Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida, has caused to be made an investigation of your activities while licensed as an insurance agent in this state, as a result of which it is alleged:

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

l, Pursuant to Chapter 626, Florida Statutes, you, DARIN ANDRE\V GOLDEN, are currently licensed in the state as a life (including variable annuity and health) agent (2-15), a life agent (2-16), a life & health agent (2-18), and a health insurance agent (2-40). Your license identification number is D041176.

1. At all times relevant to the dates and occurrences referenced herein, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, were licensed as an insurance agent in this state.

   
   

   
   

2. At all times relevant to the dates and occurrences referenced herein, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, were a contracted agent of Ameri-Life and Health Services of Tampa Bay, L.L.C.

3. Pursuant to Chapter 626, Florida Statutes, the Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida and the Department of Financial Services has jurisdiction over your insurance licenses and your eligibility for licensure and appointment.

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4. The above general allegations are hereby realleged and fully incorporated herein by reference.

5. Robert King and Joan King are husband and wife. They were both sixty-five years of age or older at all times relevant to this complaint.

6. Sometime in July of 2009, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, showed up at the door of Mr. and Mrs. King's home, unannounced and without invitation. At that time, you informed them that their insurance agent was no longer with AmeriLife Group, L.L.C., in Clearwater, Florida ("AmeriLife"), and that you wanted to discuss their insurance file.

7. Mrs. King told you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, that it was a bad time for you to visit her and her husband. You told Mrs. King that you would telephone at a later date.

8. Thereafter, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, telephoned the Kings' residence on several occasions and each time Mrs. King told you that they were not interested in making any changes to the EquiTrust Life Insurance Company ("EquiTrust"), annuity policies that they held. At that time, the total value of those policies was over $500,000. Mrs. King further explained that her husband was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

   
   

   
   

9. Rather than accept Mrs. King's refusal of your insurance sales solicitations, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, sent a letter to Mrs. King dated August 11, 2009, wherein you enclosed a copy of a publication by the Florida Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association (FLHIGA), informing her that in the event a member insurer is found to be insolvent and ordered to be liquidated, the annuity contract coverage limit was only $100,000 per company.

10. Furthermore, in said letter of August 11, 2009, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, made a comparison to the Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, which was in receivership at that time, and stated, "I believe EquiTrust is heading that way."

11. You, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, by your written and oral communications with Mrs. King, knowingly mislead her into believing that Equitrust was financially unstable and heading into receivership. Your statements were designed to frighten and induce Mr. and Mrs. King into transferring their annuity money from EquiTrust to AmeriLife, thereby resulting in sales commissions for you.

IT IS THEREFORE CHARGED that you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, have violated or are accountable under the following provisions of the Florida Insurance Code which constitute grounds for the suspension or revocation of your licenses as an insurance agent in this state:

1. Section 627.4554(4)(a), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for an insurance agent to recommend to a senior consumer the purchase of an annuity without having reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation is suitable for the senior consumer on the basis of the facts disclosed by the senior consumer as to his or her investments and other insurance products and as to his or her financial situation and needs.

   
   

2. Section 627.4554(4)(c)2, Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for an insurance agent to make a recommendation that is unreasonable under all the circumstances actually known to the insurer or insurance agent at the time of the recommendation.

3. Section 626.611(5), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for any agent to, either in person or by any form of dissemination of information or advertising, willfully misrepresent any insurance policy or annuity contract or willfully deceive with regard to such policy or contract.

4. Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for any agent to demonstrate a lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance.

5. Section 626.611(9), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for any agent to exhibit fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the license or appointment.

6. Section 626.611(13), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for any agent to willfully fail to comply with, or willfully violate any proper order or rule of the department or willfully violate any provision of the Insurance Code.

7. Section 626.621(6), Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation for any agent, in the conduct of business under the license or appointment, to engage in unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as prohibited by part IX of this chapter, or show oneself to be a source of injury or loss to the public.

8. Section 626.954l(l)(a)4, Florida Statutes, which provides that it is an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive trade practice, violative of section 626.9521, Florida Statutes, to knowingly make, issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison, which is

   
   

   misleading, or is a misrepresentation, as to the financial condition of any person or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates.

9. Section 626.9541(1)(e)l, Florida Statutes, which provides that it is a violation to knowingly make, publish, disseminate and circulate or knowingly deliver to any person, or knowingly place before the public, or knowingly cause directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or delivered to any person or place before the public, any false material statement.

G) Section 626.9541(1)(1) , Florida Statutes, which provides that it is an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive trade practice, violative of section 626.9521, Florida Statutes, to knowingly make any misleading representations or incomplete or fraudulent comparisons or fraudulent material omissions of or with respect to any insurance policies or insurers for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, any person to lapse, forfeit, surrender, terminate, retain, pledge, assign, borrow on, or convert any insurance policy or to take out a policy of insurance in another insurer.

1. Section 626.9521(2), Florida Statutes, provides that any person who violates any provision of the Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act, except as provided in subsection (3), is subject to a fine in an amount not greater than $5,000 for each nonwillful violation and not greater than $40,000 for each willful violation. Such fines may be imposed in addition to any other applicable penalty.

   1. Section 626.9521 (3)(a), Florida Statutes, provides that if a person violates s.

      
      

      626.9541(1)(1), the offense known as "twisting", an administrative fine not greater than $5,000 shall be imposed for each nonwillful violation or an administrative fine not greater than $75,000 for each willful violation.

      
      

      
      

      WHEREFORE, you, DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, are hereby notified that the Chief Financial Officer intends to enter an Order suspending or revoking your licenses, appointments and your eligibility for licensure as an insurance agent in this state or to impose such penalties as may be provided under the provisions of Sections 626.611, 626.621, 626.681, 626.691, 626.692, and 626.9521, Florida Statutes, and under the other referenced sections of the Florida Statutes as set out in this Administrative Complaint. You are further notified that the Department intends to seek aggravation of all such penalties in accordance with the provisions of Rule 69B-231.160, Florida Administrative Code, and that any order entered in this case revoking or suspending any license or eligibility for licensure held by you shall also apply to all other licenses and eligibility held by you under the Florida Insurance Code.

      NOTICE OF RIGHTS

      
      

      You have the right to request a proceeding to contest this action by the Department of Financial Services ("Department") pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes, and Rule 28-106, Florida Administrative Code. The proceeding request must be in writing, signed by you, and must be filed with the Department within twenty-one (21) days of your receipt of this notice. Completion of the attached Election of Proceeding form and/or a petition for administrative hearing will suffice as a written request. The request must be filed with Julie Jones, Agency Clerk, at the Florida Department of Financial Services, 612 Larson Building, 200

      East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0390. Your written response must be received by the Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-first day after your receipt of this notice. Mailing the response on the twenty-first day will not preserve your right to a hearing.

      YOUR FAILURE TO RESPOND IN WRITING WITHIN TWENTY-ONE (21) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE WILL CONSTITUTE A WAIYER OF YOUR RIGHT TO REQUEST A PROCEEDING ON THE MATTERS

      
      

      ALLEGED HEREIN AND AN ORDER OF SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION WILL BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU.

      
      

      If you request a proceeding, you must provide information that complies with the requirements of Rule 28-106.2015, Florida Administrative Code. As noted above, completion of the attached Election of Proceeding form conforms to these requirements. Specifically, your response must contain:

      1. The name, address, and telephone number, and facsimile number (if any) of the respondent (for the purpose ofrequesting a hearing in this matter, you are the "respondent").

      2. The name, address, telephone number, facsimile number of the attorney or qualified representative of the respondent (if any) upon whom service of pleadings and other papers shall be made.

      3. A statement requesting an administrative hearing identifying those material facts that are in dispute. If there are none, the petition must so indicate.

      4. A statement of when the respondent received notice of the administrative complaint.

      5. A statement including the file number to the administrative complaint.

If a hearing of any type is requested, you have the right to be represented by counsel or other qualified representative at your expense, to present evidence and argument, to call and cross-examine witnesses, and to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents by subpoena.

If a proceeding is requested and there is no dispute of material fact, the provisions of Section 120.57(2), Florida Statutes, apply. In this regard, you may submit oral or written evidence in opposition to the action taken by the Department or a written statement challenging

the grounds upon which the Department has relied. While a hearing is normally not required in

the absence of a dispute of fact, if you feel that a hearing is necessary, one will be conducted in Tallahassee, Florida, or by telephonic conference call upon your request.

However, if you dispute material facts which are the basis for the Department's action, you must request an adversarial proceeding pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57(1), Florida Statutes. These proceedings are held before a State Administrative Law Judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings. Unless the majority of witnesses are located elsewhere, the Department will request that the hearing be conducted in Tallahassee, Florida.

Failure to follow the procedure outlined with regard to your response to this notice may result in the request being denied. All prior oral communication or correspondence in this matter shall be considered freeform agency action, and no such oral communication or correspondence shall operate as a valid request for an administrative proceeding. Any request for an administrative proceeding received prior to the date of this notice shall be deemed abandoned unless timely renewed in compliance with the guidelines as set out above.

Mediation of this matter pursuant to Section 120.573, Florida Statutes, is not available. No Department attorney will discuss this matter with you until the response has been received by the Department.

DATED and SIGNED this , 2011.

Director, Agent & Agency Services

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Administrative Complaint has been furnished by U.S. Certified Mail to: DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, Ameri­

Life & Health Services, L.L.C., 2536 Countryside Boulevard, Clearwater, FL 33763-1633 and to DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN, 3205 Hurley Grove Way, Valrico, FL 33596-5674 on this cfl(/l_

day of_ ,,_..._.,.,-     .l , 2011.

Robert P. Blaesser, . Division of Legal Services 612 Larson Building

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0333

Tel.: (850) 413-4156

Attorney for the Department Fla. Bar No. 626538

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STATE OF FLORIDA

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES

IN THE MATTER OF:

DARIN ANDREW GOLDEN

-----,------------------·/

CASE NO. 115107 1 l-AG

ELECTION OF PROCEEDING

I have received and have read the Administrative Complaint filed by the Florida Department of Financial Services ("Department") against me, including the Notice of Rights contained therein, and I understand my options. I am requesting disposition of this matter as indicated below. (CHOOSE ONE)

I. [ ] I do not dispute any of the Department's factual allegations and I do not desire a hearing. I understand that by waiving my right to a hearing, the Department may enter a final order that adopts the Administrative Complaint and imposes the sanctions sought, including suspending or revoking my licenses and appointments as may be appropriate.

1. I do not dispute any of the Department's factual allegations and I hereby elect a proceeding to be conducted in accordance with Section 120.57(2), Florida Statutes. In this regard, I desire to (CHOOSE ONE):

   
   

   [ ] Submit a written statement and documentary evidence in lieu of a hearing; or

   
   

   [ ] Personally attend a hearing conducted by a department hearing officer in Tallahassee; or [ ] Attend that same hearing by way of a telephone conference call.

2. [ ] I do dispute one or more of the Department's factual allegations. I hereby request a hearing pursuant to Section 120.57(1 ), Florida Statutes, to be held before the Division of Administrative Hearings. I have attached to this election form the information required by Rule 28-106.2015, Florida Administrative Code, as specified in subparagraph (c) of the Notice of Rights. Specifically, I have identified the disputed issues of material fact.

TO PRESERVE YOUR RIGHT TO A HEARING, YOU MUST FILE YOUR RESPONSE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES WITHIN TWENTY-ONE (21) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT. THE RESPONSE MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE DEPARTMENT NO LATER THAN 5:00 P.M. ON THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY AFTER YOUR RECEIPT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT.

The address for filing is: Julie Jones, Agency Clerk, Florida Department of Financial Services, 612 Larson Building, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0390.

Signature

Date:                                        _

Date Administrative

Complaint Received:                                                   _

If you are represented by an attorney or qualified representative, please attach to this election form his or her name, address, telephone and fax numbers

Print Name

Address:                                                                                               

Phone No.:                                                                                    _ Fax No.:                                                                                 _

Docket for Case No: 11-003129PL