OLYMPIA – Longtime insurance scammer Kevin Kolenda pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court yesterday afternoon to two felonies – attempt to engage in unauthorized insurance transactions and attempted first-degree theft – for selling hole-in-one and other types of event insurance without a license.

Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell sentenced Kolenda, 59, of Norwalk, Conn., to 15 months in prison plus restitution, repayment of extradition costs and fees totaling $25,534. He is currently being held in King County jail and will serve his sentence in a state prison.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office charged Kolenda with seven felonies in February 2016 for selling golf tournament insurance without a license through his website, hole-in-won.com. Kolenda was extradited from Norwalk, Conn., in June 2015.

This is the second time Kreidler and King County have pursued criminal charges against Kolenda for defrauding Washington tournaments and golfers. In 2012, Kolenda was extradited from Connecticut to Washington state 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. 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.

“Kolenda is a career scammer. The message I’m sending to him is that insurance fraud doesn’t pay in Washington state,” said Kreidler. “I also want tournament organizers and consumers to know they should verify insurance producers are licensed and in good standing before they do business with them.”

The investigation found that Kolenda resumed selling insurance without a license four days after his 2014 sentencing and sold insurance in Washington at least six times between February 2014 and March 2015.

– Wash. State Insurance Commissioner’s Office

Kevin Kolenda escorted to jail after pleading guilty and being sentenced to 15-months in prison for felonies related to a “hole-n-one” insurance scam he was running in Washington and 12 other states.

Kevin Kolenda escorted to jail after pleading guilty and being sentenced to 15-months in prison for felonies related to a “hole-n-one” insurance scam he was running in Washington and 12 other states.