Des Moines insurance agent charged with multiple counts of first-degree theft

Brenda MacLaren-Beattie, a longtime insurance agent in Des Moines, Wash., has been charged with first-degree theft for allegedly selling fake insurance to oral surgeons in Washington and Oregon.

An investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office found that MacLaren-Beattie, 67, sold thousands of dollars in fake business-insurance policies, often issuing counterfeit certificates of insurance to doctors and clinics.

She was arraigned last week in King County Superior Court. She faces 14 counts of first-degree theft, totaling $41,729 in payments from 11 clinics for non-existent coverage.

The fictitious policies were for business owners’ general liability insurance, rather than professional liability/medical malpractice. General liability insurance typically covers things like slip-and-fall accidents, employee theft, and damage to rented property.