Insurance Agent Steals $45,000 from Elderly Customers
A 62-year-old insurance agent has been charged with 14 counts of theft as well as insurance fraud after stealing over $45,000 from elderly insurance customers in several areas in Pennsylvania. The insurance fraud activity occurred between 2006 and 2009 and Brian Reid Johnson was charged in August of 2009. The incident occurred when Johnson allegedly took the insurance premiums that the 14 customers paid to him for life insurance and long-term care insurance.
Johnson then deposited that money into his own bank account rather than using it to pay the customers’ payments to the companies. Johnson appeared in court before a district judge and was released on an unsecured bond amounting to $10,000.
Insurance fraud is a crime that often goes unpunished because it is very difficult to detect when a person is trying to defraud an insurer. In this instance, not only do the insurance companies lose out but so do the 14 customers that this insurance agent scammed. The report states that the customers ranged in age from 75 to 96 years of age. Elders rely on their insurance companies and the coverage they get in order to pay for medical expenses and sometimes even paying for nursing care. They do not expect to be financially exploited. When their insurance premiums are used to defraud insurance companies by their agent, it could potentially lead to cancellation of their insurance. Although it is very difficult to catch a person committing insurance fraud and/or stealing money from the elderly, they should be held completely accountable for their actions.
