A Chicago insurance executive was sentenced to more than four years in prison Oct. 22 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court last year, according to Law360.
David Ballard oversaw an account of 20 Pennsylvania hospitals as vice president of CNA Financial's underwriting group. Between 2005 and 2016, Mr. Ballard issued fake insurance renewal policies and steered more than $13.5 million in hospitals' insurance premiums to his shell company. He used the payments for the unauthorized insurance policies to cover his personal financial obligations, according to the report.
During the sentencing hearing Oct. 22, Mr. Ballard's lawyer asked for leniency due to several factors, including that his client cooperated with the government and showed remorse for his actions.
The judge landed on a sentence of four years and two months after highlighting the "troubling" fact that the defendant sold a home for nearly $900,000 and cashed out his 401(k) but set aside little money for restitution, according to Law360.
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