Jeff Atwater: Two Health Insurance Executives Concealed Insolvency

Two executives from a Tampa health insurance company have been accused of intentionally filing misleading information with the state to cover the firms fiscal instability.

Sabiha Haider Khan, 37, and Nazeer Haider Khan, 40, executives of Tampa-based Quality Health Plans Inc., were arrested in Leon County, having filed the paperwork with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Both face 13 counts of felony charges.

When insurance companies choose not to play by the rules, they put their policyholders and all Floridians at risk for their own personal gain, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater stated in a release. I am proud of the diligent efforts of our fraud investigators and the work of OIR in holding companies accountable for their actions and protecting the citizens of Florida.

The investigation was handled by the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud.

The charges allege that Sabiha Khan, CEO, and Nazeer Khan, vice president, used misleading financial statements to prolong the appearance of financial stability to allow QHP to reap financial benefits when the company had long been insolvent and did not have required assets on hand to pay claims, according to Atwaters office.

The company was court-ordered into liquidation in December 2011, at which time all health-care coverage with QHP was cancelled and where it was revealed that the executives concealed a $5 million asset which had been collateralized for a loan at Herald National Bank in New York, according to Atwaters office.