Career Criminal Sentenced for Fraud

A former resident of Jupiter, Fla. was sentenced in Martin County Circuit Court to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest to fraud and grand theft charges stemming from his use of aliases in a scheme to reportedly swindle insurance cusotmers, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services.

William McKernan allegedly operated under at least 15 aliases in selling insurance in the state after having his agent’s license revoked twice, most recently in August 2002. His sentence is the culmination of a joint investigation by the Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Agent and Agency Investigation and Division of Insurance Fraud.

McKernan’s history with the department played prominently in the implementation of new licensing and investigative procedures aimed at preventing those revoked from the industry from sneaking back in, the department said.

He reportedly used various bogus names to obtain fake driver’s licenses and other identification in order to work in the insurance industry. He entered a plea of no contest to fraud, grand theft and related charges in December.

McKernan’s two-decade criminal record includes convictions for grand theft, fraud and exploiting the elderly. The department said that most recently, he reportedly tricked eight residents of Palm Beach and Martin counties into buying policies they either didn’t need or didn’t want.