A former employee of a local insurance agency arrested earlier this year on theft and insurance fraud charges was sentenced to three years' probation Monday after pleading guilty to one of the charges in Garland County Circuit Court.
Mindy Margaret Hawkins, 43, who lists an address of 1428 Shady Grove Road, pleaded guilty to a felony count of fraudulent insurance acts, while an additional felony count of theft of property by deception more than $5,000 was withdrawn. In addition to probation, she was fined $500 and ordered to pay $27,794 in restitution, due Monday.
Hawkins, who could have faced up to 16 years in prison, had turned herself in on the warrants on June 7 and was released on $2,500 bond.
According to the affidavit, the owner of a local insurance agency reported that a company audit revealed Hawkins, an insurance agent, had been stealing insurance premiums since 2009. An accountant discovered Hawkins embezzled $27,082.52 in cash premium payments from 31 customers on differing policies.
When a customer came to the agency to pay for a policy and paid in cash, Hawkins wrote the customer a receipt, and entered it into the computer to generate a policy through an insurance company. After starting the policy and verifying the payment, Hawkins kept the payment.
Once the policy went through to the insurance company the customer selected, the company would take the amount due from the company account and the policy would be activated. To balance the books, Hawkins entered negative electronic fund transfers on the agency's computer system to make the transactions appear reversed. The outsourced insurance companies received the payments, but the company did not.
The audit showed several negative electronic fund transfers which were flagged and an internal investigation was initiated. A conversation was recorded of Hawkins being confronted about the theft and she admitted she did take the money and would pay it back.
Between June 1, 2013, and Jan. 6, 2016, Hawkins reportedly stole a total of $16,472.75 from 19 customers. The case was investigated by Brian White with the criminal investigation division of the Arkansas Insurance Department in Little Rock.
Local on 08/24/2016