Judge Reduces Prison Sentence of Illinois Insurance Mogul

A federal judge has spared a businessman the necessity of serving the final few months of his prison sentence for stealing millions from his insurance brokerage.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo on Tuesday, citing glowing reports of his behavior in prison, re-sentenced 69-year-old Michael Segal to the nearly eight years he has spent in prison, eliminating the final four months he was due to serve.

Segal was convicted of looting more than $20 million from the now-dissolved Near North Insurance Brokerage, using the money to support a lavish lifestyle.

Segal was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005 for racketeering, fraud and embezzlement. The jury also ordered Segal to forfeit $30 million.

Segal was released from federal prison in Oxford, Wis., on Friday to the custody of his lawyers.