Ex-Kansas Insurance Agent Gets Prison Sentence for Client, Company Theft

Prosecutors say a former insurance agent in Kansas has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for stealing from his clients.

The U.S. attorney’s office said that 43-year-old Jason Matthew Pennington of Wichita pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of attempted bank fraud.

In his plea, Pennington admitted committing fraud while working as an agent for State Farm Insurance. Prosecutors allege he forged a client’s signature to obtain a $105,000 loan from a Phoenix life Insurance Co. policy.

In another wire fraud count, Pennington changed the address of a retired teacher’s insurance policy to his business address. Then he made a withdrawal of $278,250 on the policy without her knowledge.Kansas regulators suspended Pennington’s license in 2010 after a federal investigation linked him to the alleged fraud related to the trust of the elderly woman, retired Wichita teacher Marlene Brown.

Another count dealt with false statements on a bank loan application.