Ark. Woman Settles with Insurer in Agent Theft Case

A settlement in the amount of $435,298.25 has been reached between Reba Irons of Fort Smith, Ark., and Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America in a case involving John Phillip Middleton, an insurance agent who sold annuities for the company, the Arkansas Insurance Department announced.

Middleton was sentenced in August to twenty years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, with ten years suspended, by Sebastian County Circuit Judge James Cox. He pleaded guilty to five counts of Theft of Property (class B Felony) and was ordered to pay more than $138,000 in restitution to Irons, from whom he took money for investment in his personal business ventures.

Allianz released the settlement money with interest and without penalty, Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman said.

The Arkansas Insurance Department revoked Middleton’s license in November 2006.

Source: Arkansas Insurance Department