Man Pleads Guilty in Oklahoma to Pocketing Agent Commissions

The owner of a company in Bixby, Okla., has pleaded guilty to taking commissions earned by insurance agents working for his company, the Oklahoma Insurance Department announced.

Christopher Bland, with Business Consulants of South Tulsa, admitted in his plea agreement to a scheme to defraud Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co., various insurance agents in his offices and a local bank by taking commissions illegally and by opening bank accounts for agents without their authorization. He pleaded guilty to one of 14 counts of wire fraud, but agreed to pay restitution for the other offenses, including 12 counts of lying to a financial institution.

Bland pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge that resulted from an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s (OID) Anti-Fraud Unit. He arrested in January with the assistance of the FBI and Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The plea agreement requests that Bland receive five years of probation, including eight to 14 months of home detention. Bland would also be expected to perform 80 hours of community service and forfeit his insurance license to the state of Oklahoma. He must also agree to never apply for an insurance license from another state. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.

Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department