Former Iowa Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Fraud

A former Iowa insurance agent accused of siphoning more than $1 million from clients has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Jack Straw pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count each of mail fraud, possessing a forged security and money laundering.

The 50-year-old, who ran Financial Benefit Services Corp. in Waterloo and had an office in Mason City, was charged in December following investigations by the U.S Postal Inspection Service, FBI and the Iowa Insurance Division.

Prosecutors accused Straw of withdrawing clients’ funds, misleading them and forging signatures on documents, and selling land in South Dakota that belonged to a client.

Sentencing wasn’t immediately scheduled.

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Information from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier,
http://www.wcfcourier.com