Florida Insurance Agency Executive Receives 3-Year Sentence for Major ACA Fraud Scheme
A federal judge has sentenced a Pembroke Pines insurance broker to nearly three years in prison, along with millions of dollars in restitution, for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that enrolled thousands of individuals—many of whom were homeless—into Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans.
Dafud Iza, who previously served as the vice president of Fiorella Insurance Agency in Stuart, pleaded guilty in April to charges related to this scheme. Iza and his co-conspirators incentivized low-income individuals by offering them $5 to $10 to sign up for ACA plans. Despite knowing that these individuals were ineligible and unlikely to pay the premiums required by the federal health care program, Iza and his associates profited through commissions from these fraudulent enrollments.
The fraudulent activities resulted in a staggering $134 million loss to the ACA program.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors indicated that Iza could have faced a longer prison term under federal sentencing guidelines. However, due to his acceptance of responsibility, his guilty plea, and his cooperation in providing information about other individuals involved in the scheme, a 35-month sentence was deemed appropriate by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge concurred with this assessment.
Two alleged accomplices, Cory Lloyd, the chief operating officer of the Fiorella agency, and Steven Strong, who was responsible for recruiting consumers for the fraudulent scheme, were convicted in 2025 and are scheduled to be sentenced in February.
As of 2025, Iza’s licenses—including a property and casualty producer’s license, a temporary life insurance broker’s license, and a health insurance license—were all considered invalid by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Interested in Fraud?
Get automatic alerts for this topic.
A federal judge has sentenced a Pembroke Pines insurance broker to nearly three years in prison, along with millions of dollars in restitution, for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that enrolled thousands of individuals—many of whom were homeless—into Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans.
Dafud Iza, who previously served as the vice president of Fiorella Insurance Agency in Stuart, pleaded guilty in April to charges related to this scheme. Iza and his co-conspirators incentivized low-income individuals by offering them $5 to $10 to sign up for ACA plans. Despite knowing that these individuals were ineligible and unlikely to pay the premiums required by the federal health care program, Iza and his associates profited through commissions from these fraudulent enrollments.
The fraudulent activities resulted in a staggering $134 million loss to the ACA program.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors indicated that Iza could have faced a longer prison term under federal sentencing guidelines. However, due to his acceptance of responsibility, his guilty plea, and his cooperation in providing information about other individuals involved in the scheme, a 35-month sentence was deemed appropriate by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge concurred with this assessment.
Two alleged accomplices, Cory Lloyd, the chief operating officer of the Fiorella agency, and Steven Strong, who was responsible for recruiting consumers for the fraudulent scheme, were convicted in 2025 and are scheduled to be sentenced in February.
As of 2025, Iza’s licenses—including a property and casualty producer’s license, a temporary life insurance broker’s license, and a health insurance license—were all considered invalid by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Interested in Fraud?
Get automatic alerts for this topic.
