Two years ago, Rainier Miguel Salas and two licensed Florida insurance agents were charged in a scheme to sell insurance agent licenses—allegedly operating through an illegal 'licensing school' in Miami that helped unqualified applicants bypass the system and obtain credentials they never earned.
This week, authorities charged 12 more people in the Miami area with taking part in the scheme, alleging they paid Salas’ testing center to have someone else sit for the insurance licensing exam on their behalf—an audacious shortcut that investigators say helped them obtain credentials they never actually earned.
An arrest affidavit filed this week in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court reveals that investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Services uncovered a troubling scheme involving D&R Financial Services, a company owned by Salas. According to the filing, the firm not only offered pre-licensing education but also allegedly manipulated the system—bypassing the state’s testing vendor, Pearson VUE—by completing required online coursework and even taking licensing exams on behalf of applicants. Investigators say the operation effectively allowed unqualified individuals to obtain insurance licenses without ever doing the work themselves.
According to the arrest report, Cynthia Pinto, a 40-year-old Miami resident, allegedly served as one of the key organizers behind the operation. Court records and local news reports say 11 others were also taken into custody and booked into the Turner Guilford Correctional Center, as authorities continue to unravel what investigators describe as a coordinated effort to fraudulently obtain insurance licenses.
In April 2025, Rainier Miguel Salas pleaded guilty to charges tied to running the illicit testing center. A judge later sentenced him to six months of community service and two years of probation, bringing a formal judgment to a case that investigators say exposed a sophisticated scheme to game Florida’s insurance licensing system.
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