BELLEVILLE — The buyer of a Farmers Group insurance agency claims the company fraudulently sold him the business at an inflated price.
Steve Junge filed a complaint May 12 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Farmers Group Inc., Jeff Floweree, Elizabeth Louis and Jason Tuck, alleging fraud and violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Junge alleges in his complaint that the Farmers Group, through the other defendants, carried out a "bait and switch fraud scheme" by persuading him to buy a Farmers Insurance agency in March 2017, which he claims was "not a viable business, at inflated prices." Specifically, Junge alleges the defendants "controlled the market for buying their agencies" and restricted choices for prospective buyers and falsely told him he could expect to net $100,000 in the first year and up to $140,000 by his third year. He claims the defendants made price recommendations for agency buyers "based on inflated values for the agency offered for sale."
Junge also claims the defendants "purposefully recruited" prospective agents who did not have any insurance agency business or experience.
Junge seeks monetary and all other just relief. He is represented by Jarrod Beasley of Kuehn, Beasley & Young PC in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 21-L-0451