A former Charlottesville, Va.-area insurance agent was sentenced to seven months in jail after pleading guilty to insurance fraud.
Graham Hutson Messer, 32, of Bremo Bluff, Va., was charged in a federal indictment last year with embezzling funds intended for insurance premiums.
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Messer operated as an independent agent and offered insurance and insurance products for sale to clients in Virginia. He purported to sell insurance through several companies, including Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, Chartis Inc., Nautilus Insurance Group, Granite State Insurance Company and Main Street America Group, according to officials.
According to prosecutors, Messer would instruct his clients to send insurance premium payments directly to him. He then kept many of the funds and never sent them to insurers, leaving clients to believe they had insurance coverage.
In addition to time in prison, Messer must repay more than $60,000 to his victims and serve three years of supervision, seven months of which will be home detention.
“Mr. Messer diverted money from his clients that they had paid in order to obtain insurance,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said. “His criminal conduct left his victims uninsured and placed the financial futures of many local families in jeopardy.
