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Indiana insurance regulators have suspended the license of a Fort Wayne title insurance broker after receiving complaints he mishandled his clients’ money.
In September, the Indiana secretary of state’s office permanently barred Joseph Garretson from brokering home loans in Indiana after investigators discovered he was arranging mortgages without a license, according to regulators’ findings.
But he still had a license to sell title insurance until Wednesday, when the Indiana Department of Insurance slapped him with a 90-day emergency suspension.
Title insurance protects homebuyers from legal challenges to the ownership of their properties.
Insurance and securities regulators are working with the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate Garretson.
The Indiana Department of Insurance is asking anyone who used Garretson or his company, Fort Wayne Title Inc., for a real estate closing this year to contact authorities.
Multiple complaints against Garretson and his company allege that he colleted fees to take out title insurance policies for his clients but did not pay for the full cost of the insurance – leaving them with unpaid bills, said Doug Webber, the Department of Insurance’s general counsel.
In addition to the complaints, Garretson has repeatedly failed to hand over records for a routine inspection by insurance regulators, according to the state’s suspension order.
