A former employee of a Carmel-based travel insurance agency has been sentenced to 47 months in prison after defrauding the company of $758,000.
According to the FBI, which investigated the case, former Seven Corners employee Wesley A. Smith, 31, of McCordsville created and approved fraudulent travel insurance claims purportedly submitted by Family Motor Coach Association members between 2015 and 2017. Three of Smith’s friends, who were not employed at Seven Corners, received more than $394,000 in proceeds from the scheme and sent half of the funds back to Smith, who also sent an additional $105,000 directly to himself.
The FBI said Smith also submitted false claims and used the Seven Corners credit card for 235 fraudulent purchases, including airfare and hotel stays for himself and friends, resulting in a $221,000 loss to the company. He also funneled $37,000 in six medical service overpayments into his personal bank account.
“Stealing from your employer or any corporate business, not only affects that business, it eventually affects us all,” stated Acting U. S. Attorney John E. Childress in a press release. “Smith was placed in a position of trust to make honest decisions, instead he allowed greed to dictate his decisions and he is now being held accountable.”
Smith has been ordered to pay $758,164.90 in restitution and serve two years on supervised release following his time in prison.
