Connecticut regulators hit a Norwalk man with nearly $6 million in fines on allegations he illegally operated an insurance company in Connecticut by purporting to guarantee hole-in-one prizes
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan issued the fine against Hole-in-Won Worldwide, Golf Marketing Worldwide L.L.C. and founder Kevin Kolenda, who has faced similar accusations in other states. Sullivan said Kolenda had his primary office in Norwalk and also had offices in Rye, N.Y., and Hoboken, N.J.
Claiming Kolenda had violated a 2001 cease-and-desist order by offering guarantees for various sports marketing prizes, the insurance department accused Kolenda of reneging on payment terms for a hole-in-one prize at the E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course in Stamford, in a September outing sponsored by the Lock City Detachment of the Marine Corps League.
Insurance regulators in Massachusetts and North Carolina have also issued cease and desist orders against Kolenda and his companies, and in 2003 the University of California won a $300,000 judgment against Kolenda for failing to pay on a field goal kick contest at a Rose Bowl football game.
Kolenda told the Hartford Courant he no longer owns the companies and disputed the charges. He has the right to request his case be reopened within 60 days, and can file an appeal with the courts.
