Former S.D. Insurance Agent Sentenced to 21 Years for Theft

A former insurance agent was sentenced Friday to 21 years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from older South Dakotans while acting as their agent.

Ryan Wingler, 34, had pleaded guilty earlier to six of 13 counts of theft and embezzlement.

He sold insurance premiums to people but kept the money in what special prosecutor Don Srstka called “elder abuse.”

The judge has not yet set a restitution figure for Wingler, but the company that he worked for has paid back more than $300,000 to victims.

(See Jan. 23 Insurance Journal Website story).