Arkansas Insurance Commissioner praises insurance fraud conviction

Paul Alexander Robertson, aka Steven Mayberry, has been sentenced to serve 70 months in federal prison and pay $868,836.52 in restitution for defrauding consumers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr praised the sentencing.

“Insurance agents and brokers are expected to honestly deal with consumers who rely on them to protect property and person. This sentence should send the message that insurance fraud in our state will be dealt with seriously. My thanks to our Criminal Investigations Division who helped federal investigators secure a guilty plea in this case,” Kerr said in a statement.

Robertson pleaded guilty in August to one count of mail fraud, admitting to using a fake name and false business names with a Little Rock post office box to collect more than $1.19 million in premiums on fictitious policies. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Little Rock on May 31.

The Arkansas Insurance Department received its first complaint about Robertson in January 2015 from a Louisiana woman who learned from the Louisiana Department of Insurance that a certificate of liability insurance she received from him was invalid. The woman also claimed two unauthorized drafts from her checking account.