Monday, February 16, 2015

Nebraska Man Sentenced For Embezzling $259K From Insurance Clients

From the Lincoln Journal Star on 2/13/2015:

Gerald C. Bryce of Raymond will serve 18 months in prison and three years on supervised release for committing mail fraud.

As an insurance agent, Bryce, 50, collected premium payments from customers to be sent to the company providing the coverage, U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg said in a news release. But one couple found that their life insurance policies lapsed because he had not forwarded the money. In 2011, they had paid him $259,167.19 for life insurance policies that had lapsed.

His failure to do so was not immediately discovered as Bryce had the information from the insurance companies mailed to him. After learning of the lapsed policies, the victims filed a civil suit and, as part of a settlement in that case, Bryce did pay some of the money he stole.

In 2010, he defrauded another couple of $41,983.55, telling them to withdraw the cash value of a life insurance policy they owned and give him the money for safekeeping. He said he was concerned about a former business partner taking the money. Bryce then changed the mailing address of that couple to his address and kept the money for himself.

The federal judge who sentenced Bryce also ordered him to pay $107,591.51 to the two couples. That amount accounts for the losses they incurred that were not covered by the civil case.

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Read the whole story here.

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