CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced July 18, that former executive Jasbir Thandi pleaded guilty to fraud that led to the collapse of Global Hawk Risk Retention Group and Houston General Insurance Exchange (HGIE).
The fraud resulted in the collapse of the two insurance companies and over $20 million in losses.
Thandi, 69, of San Francisco, admitted to two counts of insurance fraud conspiracy after his 2023 indictment.
According to the court document, Thandi founded Global Century Insurance Brokers, which helped manage Global Hawk’s insurance business.
Starting in May 2018, Thandi and others submitted fake financial records overstating Global Hawk’s reserves to Vermont regulators. In May 2020, regulators uncovered the fraud, and Global Hawk was liquidated.
Thandi took over $1.5 million from Global Hawk for personal use, including a house and luxury car. He also used Global Hawk reserve funds to trade stocks, violating legal requirements.
In August 2016, Thandi secured an unauthorized $6.4 million credit line for Global Hawk, later raised to $14 million.
In March 2017, Thandi falsely claimed board approval to obtain a $14.75 million credit line for Global Hawk.
Faces up to five years in prison
Thandi also admitted to similar fraud with Texas-based HGIE. Thandi and co-conspirators submitted false financial statements to Texas insurance regulators for HGIE.
These fake documents falsely showed HGIE had millions in reserves and capital. The documents misled Texas regulators about HGIE’s asset and capital reserves.
Thandi is out on bail and will appear in court on August 29, 2025 before Judge Jon S. Tigar. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine per conspiracy count.
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