Phony salesman charged with forgery - again

PUNTA GORDA — Charlotte County resident William Reese has been charged with felony grand theft and forgery in an unlicensed insurance scam — his second insurance fraud arrest.

Reese, of Punta Gorda, allegedly acted as an unlicensed insurance agent and sold a fake insurance policy to a local restaurant owner, according to a release from the Florida Department of Financial Services. Reese sold the fake policy to Two Brothers Home Style Cooking owner Luis Rivera, authorities contend. Reese claimed he was a licensed insurance agent from New York.

“Reese, however, pocketed the money and because he was not licensed to sell insurance, no valid insurance policy was ever secured,” the release states.

A fire broke out inside the restaurant in April. Rivera provided fire investigators a copy of his proof of insurance, and that's when he discovered the certificate was fictitious, authorities say. “This meant that his business, which suffered $120,000 in fire damages, was uninsured at the time of the fire,” the statement adds.

Reese was arrested at his home and transported to the Charlotte County Jail. The Division of Insurance Fraud, according to the release, arrested Reese on similar charges in Miami in 1998.