Convicted hole-in-one insurance scammer facing more charges

A man who admitted to stealing money for years meant for local charity golfers will be back in court Thursday on new charges.

Kevin Kolenda, an accused con-artist from Connecticut, was extradited from Connecticut to Washington in 2012 to face charges of selling insurance without a license. He pleaded guilty in 2013 to three felony charges for selling insurance without a license and theft for failure to pay golfers hole-in-one awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.

Read the original investigation from reporter Amy Clancy here.

Kolenda sold hole-in-one insurance on his golf tournament marketing website, hole-in-won.com and took prize insurance money premiums, but would not pay up when someone scored an ace. Investigators said he did this for two decades.

In 2014, he was sentenced in King County Superior Court to 86 days with credit for time served and ordered to pay $15,000 restitution.

At his sentencing, the head investigator for the state insurance commissioner said he was satisfied.

But according to the most recent charging documents, Kolenda resumed selling insurance without a license four days after his sentencing and has engaged in selling insurance in Washington at least six times between February 2014 and March 2015.

In April 2015, Kolenda was arrested by the Norwalk, Conn., police department and Washington Insurance Commissioner's Special Investigations Unit detectives while they were serving search warrants at his home and business. He was extradited from Connecticut in June 2015.

He was then charged with seven felonies in King, Spokane and Snohomish counties – one count of first-degree theft and six counts of engaging in unauthorized insurance transactions.

He is scheduled to appear in King County Superior Court at 1 p.m. Thursday. The prosecutor is recommending 15 months in jail and full restitution to the victims if Kolenda is convicted.

Kolenda has been in business since 1995 and has been investigated or prosecuted in 12 states.