VERO BEACH — A 44-year-old man was arrested after he was accused of stealing more than $20,000 from a local insurance agency he previously worked for, deputies said.
Ronald Valere D’Haeseleer, of the 3000 block of Par Drive, Vero Beach, was charged with organized fraud over $20,000. He was released Monday from the Indian River County Jail on $2,500 bail.
Ronald D’Haeseleer
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Deputies spoke with Tom Collins, owner of Tom Collins Insurance agency, in Sept. 2016. He told deputies that D’Haeseleer, a former employee, committed fraud and stole money, clients and files from him and his agency, located in the 1500 block of Indian River Boulevard.
From January 2014 through November 2015, D’Haeseleer stole $24,216.50 from Collins, deputies said.
Collins gave deputies documentation to back up his allegations such as invoices, spreadsheets, excel reports and policies. He said when D’Haeseleer left the agency, he illegally downloaded all commercial files, trade secrets, proprietary information, client names and more and emailed them to his personal email without permission.
All of the files were owned by Collins Insurance and D’Haeseleer had no right to use them, Collins told deputies. He also said over a two-year period, D’Haeseleer submitted false and fraudulent commission statements to him.
Collins said D’Haeseleer used employer funds for his own benefit, stole $16,865 in commissions and stole $5,938 in salary draws. He said the former employee also received commission checks from two other insurance companies totaling nearly $3,000 without telling Collins.
D’Haeseleer was apprehended and taken to the county jail for booking.
