An Oxnard insurance agent pleaded not guilty to 37 felony offenses in Ventura County Superior Court on March 2 for allegedly defrauding soccer leagues, which was uncovered following the 2022 death of Misael Sanchez, authorities said.
The 58-year-old man was charged on Feb. 6 with multiple counts of grand theft, insurance fraud and receiving and diverting funds for personal use as an insurance agent, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.
The California Department of Insurance began an investigation into the agent after the 2022 death of Misael Sanchez, a Port Hueneme man who died from injuries sustained during a fight at an adult soccer league game, according to a department news release.
A Ventura County school district had found that the insurance certificate the Oxnard man had provided the soccer league was fake, following the fight that took place at the Oxnard High School field, department officials said. The school district requires leagues using their fields to carry insurance.
Investigators allege that from 2018 to 2024, the insurance agent stole more than $10,000 from five soccer league owners and identified 13 fake insurance certificates, officials said.
The man had allegedly been issuing fake certificates and keeping the cash instead of purchasing policies, leaving the school district and the leagues at financial risk.
The man is scheduled to return to court on March 4 for a bail review, court records show.
Misael Sanchez, who was 29 years old at the time of his death, died on July 25, 2022, just two weeks after the altercation that left him hospitalized, authorities previously said.
Sanchez died from a heart condition that was triggered by a fight, specifically “ventricular fibrillation in setting of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and physical altercation with multiple individuals,” and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A 46-year-old man was arrested in connection with the fight, but no charges were filed by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, said Oxnard Police Department Sgt. Jaime Miranda in a 2024 email. The case was rejected because it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the man assaulted the victim or that the alleged assault caused his death, he added.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard insurance agent charged with defrauding soccer teams
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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