Texas man who operated 'ghost broker' scheme sentenced to probation, deportation

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Carlos David Garcia Gonzalez, 38, was sentenced to probation and deportation.
• He pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and a pattern of unlawful activity in Utah.
• Garcia acted as a licensed insurance agent, obtaining more than 1,100 fraudulent auto policies.

SALT LAKE CITY — A Texas man accused of running a "ghost broker" scheme in Utah was sentenced to probation and deportation.

Carlos David Garcia Gonzalez, 38, of Liberty Hills, Texas, was charged in June in 3rd District Court with insurance fraud, communications fraud and two counts of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, second-degree felonies; and identity fraud and forgery, third-degree felonies.

Garcia pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to the insurance fraud charge and one count of a pattern of unlawful activity, second-degree felonies. The other four charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

"I did operate a large-scale ghost broker scheme whereby I procured auto policies out of Salt Lake County by submitting fraudulent data online to three insurance companies. This intentional misrepresentation resulted in approximately $832,000 restitution from premium avoidance," Garcia said in his plea statement.

Investigators say Garcia acted as a licensed insurance agent and obtained more than 1,100 auto policies from three different insurance companies. He used digital payment platforms and telecommunications to defraud the victims, "receiving approximately $84,470 in payments for faulty or non-existent auto insurance policies," the charges said.

"Garcia used the names, birth dates and insurance policy numbers of individuals to make unauthorized policy changes over the phone with insurance companies," charging documents state. The fraudulent activity included "forging a name, fabricating a non-existent spouse and providing an incorrect driver's license number of another."

One insurance company "identified over 1,000 phone calls made by Carlos Garcia where he misrepresented himself as various policyholders to modify driver and payment data," the charges state.

Investigators confronted Garcia at his home in Texas, and he "admitted to acting as a 'ghost broker,' to lower premiums for non-English-speaking clients, and receiving 'tips' or fees via Zelle," according to the charges. But despite a cease-and-desist order from an insurance company following the visit by investigators, "Garcia's phone number has continued to be used to make automated payments on fraudulent policies."

"The Utah Department of Insurance executed a 'Buy Bust' operation. An undercover investigator contacted Garcia via WhatsApp. Garcia requested a $100 Venmo fee, then provided the quote after receiving payment," charging documents continued.

One insurance company's analysis of the "'Buy Bust' digital footprint" linked Garcia's phone and email to "415 sold policies and 126 quotes between October 2025 and January 2026 alone," while a second analysis "showed an additional 527 quotes and 194 policies sold between the previous buy bust and current date process," the charges state.

On Aug. 24, Garcia was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison for both charges, but the terms were suspended. He was then sentenced to 364 days in jail, but prosecutors agreed to stay the sentence and issue a $100,000 warrant within 60 days after the sentencing, according to court documents.

"Defendant agrees (that) should he re-enter the country illegally after deportation, he will automatically serve the 364 days in jail without credit for time served and without the need for further proceedings," the plea agreement states.

As part of his plea deal, he will serve three years on probation and two of his bank accounts were seized to pay restitution. Garcia was released to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to court records.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Cassidy Wixom

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Cassidy Wixom is an award-winning reporter for KSL. She covers Utah, Wasatch and Summit County communities, arts and entertainment, Utah courts and breaking news. Cassidy graduated from BYU before joining KSL in 2022.