BUSINESS

Upstate Insurance Firm Implodes

Multiple lawsuits seek court-appointed receiver as CEO allegedly “stripped firm of assets and abandoned the company…”

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Earlier this week, reporters with WYFF TV-4 (NBC – Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.) aired an exclusive story on the sudden shuttering of an Upstate insurance firm.

According to that report, Greenville, South Carolina-based Insurance Applications Group (IAG) closed its headquarters last Friday (January 17, 2025) with no prior notice to employees. The company – led by chief executive J. Marshall “Jay” Dye III – billed itself as one of the nation’s “largest providers of healthcare and benefits” to the staffing industry, claiming to have “over 2,500 clients nationwide.”

“By combining our proprietary communication, enrollment, and administrative technologies with historically proven actuarial and underwriting methodologies, IAG creates a unique employee benefit ecosystem delivering predictable, measurable, industry-leading results,” the company boasted on its website.

IAG has received numerous industry awards for its work, per the site.

FITSNews initially heard rumblings that all was not well with the firm in mid-December – specifically receiving reports it had “missed payroll” that month and suggesting Dye had issues with overspending in his personal life. Issues with the company reportedly dated back to 2023 when, according to our sources, Dye “stopped paying his sales team commission checks with zero notice.”

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We have since learned Dye is on the receiving end of multiple lawsuits related to allegations of non-payment. Also named in several of these complaints is Marisa Mazur, IAG’s vice president of finance.

As we were in the process of digging through these court filings – and related reports detailing Dye’s lavish lifestyle – all hell broke loose at IAG.

“The company does not have the funds to make payroll today as planned,” Dye wrote in a January 17 email to employees. “Until this situation can be sorted out, we have no choice but to lay off/furlough the workforce. It is my hope that this layoff/situation is temporary until we can resolve our issues with the underwriter, and I will provide further information when I am able.”

“Until you hear otherwise, please do not report to work, or perform work for IAG, effective immediately today,” Dye’s email concluded.

According to our sources, Dye’s email impacted an estimated 75 employees of the company – many of whom have not been allowed back inside the office to retrieve their belongings.

“A cable lock now wraps around the doors of the insurance company’s North Main Street office,” WYFF reported.

Dye has also reportedly been monitoring the premises via closed circuit camera.

Dye is well-known in Republican political circles – and is said to have close relationships with top GOP elected officials including governor Henry McMaster. He is also viewed by many in Greenville as one of the pillars of the Upstate’s thriving business community.

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RELATED | UPSTATE EXECUTIVE SCANDAL

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Seven weeks ago, attorneys representing one of the employees suing Dye asked a South Carolina circuit court to appoint a receiver in his case, alleging “IAG’s assets are being pledged to cover Dye’s personal debts.”

“Dye has stripped IAG of assets and abandoned the company,” a motion (.pdf) filed in the S.C. thirteenth judicial circuit on December 5, 2024 noted. “There is a significant risk that, absent immediate takeover by a court-appointed receiver, IAG will be further looted and its corporate records compromised, causing irreparable damage to (plaintiffs) and other IAG employees.”

The motion added that “Dye has been absent from IAG’s place of business for weeks without explanation,” and that on November 28, 2024, the company “failed to meet a regularly scheduled payroll, leaving all company employees without income entering the holidays and depriving them of wages already earned.”

“Consequently, IAG is or soon will be unable to function as a going concern,” the filing added.

Boy, was that assessment accurate…

In addition to poring through court documents, FITSNews has been inundated with information related to IAG’s collapse from those who have been living through it over the past few months. Based on what we have already uncovered, expect to see extensive coverage of this saga in the weeks to come…

Stay tuned…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks on phone
Will Folks (Brett Flashnick)

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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2 comments

Elaine January 29, 2025 at 3:49 pm

Not surprised. I personally know this company and its wonderful employees. They don’t deserve this!

Reply
Malcolm February 8, 2025 at 7:09 am

I’ve known the principles in this mess for years, and things started going south with IAG maybe 5 years ago. Questionable hiring practices, questionable spending and use of resources, culminating with questionable withholding of employee and vendor payments owed. Really rapid decompression leading to a Hindenburg moment. There are still many questions about where all the money went ? Sounds like maybe some fraud is suspected judging from the growing pile of court papers I’ve seen.

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