Owner gets 10 years for fraud

A Newport Beach business owner has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for scamming corporations out of millions of dollars through fake workers’ compensation insurance policies.

Mitchell Zogob, 51, of San Juan Capistrano, pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple counts of grand theft, fraud embezzlement and forgery as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Between 2002 and 2003, Zogob, who owned Professional Employers Assurance Group and Program Administrators Inc., both on Birch Street, sold more than $4.6 million in fake insurance policies.

He would forge documents showing that he was providing workers compensation insurance to companies and then keeping the premiums for himself.

He also pleaded guilty to tax fraud and owes the Franchise Tax Board more than $122,000.

— Joseph Serna