Ex-Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty in Mail Fraud Case
A Marshalltown, Iowa, insurance agent accused of selling customers fake insurance policies has pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud in a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.
In exchange for the guilty plea four other charges will be dropped against William Arthur Thiede.
An indictment filed in federal court in Des Moines in July says Thiede sold fake insurance policies to customers and pocketed more than $167,000 between 2004 and 2010.
Court documents say American Family Insurance either gave customers their money back or honored the insurance policies.
Thiede, who is 65 and the former president of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce, admitted to the charge in a plea agreement. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
A federal judge accepted the plea agreement on Sept. 24.