Ex-Tennessee Agent Indicted On More Than 70 Charges, Accused of Premium Theft
A former insurance agent, political campaign treasurer and Tennessee Republican Party committeewoman, is accused of stealing from her father’s campaign and pocketing insurance money from policyholders who used her family’s insurance company.
News outlets report Kelsey Ketron, 29, has been indicted on more than 70 charges related to insurance fraud, including money laundering, forgery and impersonating a licensed professional. She was arrested and booked into jail Monday.
The Murfreesboro Daily News Journal in Tennessee says the investigation centers on Ketron’s practices when she served as vice president of her father Bill Ketron’s agency Universal International Insurance in Rutherford County, Tennessee. She is also accused of stealing more than $65,000 from his various campaign accounts and his political action committee. She was treasurer for his Bill Ketron for County Mayor campaign account, his Senate campaign account and his quest political action committee.
The Daily News Journal said Ketron faces the following charges, according to Mursfreesboro police:
- 30 counts of impersonating a licensed professional
- 14 counts of money laundering
- 12 counts of aggravated perjury
- five counts of fraudulent insurance acts of $250,000 or more
- five counts of forgery of $250,000 or more
- two counts of fraudulent insurance acts between $60,000 and $250,000
- one count of a fraudulent insurance act between $10,000 and $59,999
- one count of theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000
- one count of theft of property between $60,000 and $250,000.
Ketron resigned from her GOP role in July, days after the authorities including the Secret Service searched her home and the insurance office owned by her father, who serves as mayor of Rutherford County.
In May, the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance said a customer had complained to the department that Kelsey Katron had taken their premium money and not acquired coverage. TDCI also found Ketron was operating without an insurance license, as hers expired in 2016. TDCI ordered Ketron cease and desist “all such unlawful activity to prevent [Ketron] from continuing to engage in insurance related activities while not being properly licensed, closing insurance policies without the policyholders’ knowledge or consent, misleading consumers with regard to the existence of their insurance policies, and misappropriating premium payments.”
A local TV station later reported other customers had come forward alleging they also paid for policies that they found out later were not covered.
Last week, a judge denied a request by Ketron’s lawyer to have the civil insurance fraud charges in that case dropped.
Ketron is set to appear in court on Nov. 25. Ketron’s attorney, Trey Harwell, told the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal that he and his client “are surprised by the indictment.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.