Quick Answer: Janice Edwina Demmitt received a 70-month prison sentence for defrauding elderly insurance clients of approximately $600,000 through fake “matching funds” promises. She and her son operated the scheme from 2006-2009, convincing clients to liquidate legitimate Allianz annuities while depositing proceeds into personal accounts.
Earlier this year Janice Edwina Demmitt was convicted of the federal felony offenses charged in a 27-count indictment against her and her son, Timothy Fry. At trial, Demmitt was convicted on on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, eight counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of money laundering. Her son, Fry, whom plead guilty to one count of money laundering is now serving an 87 month prison sentence. Both were ordered to pay, jointly and severally, nearly $600,000 in restitution. Demmitt will now face 70 months in prison, herself.
Between 2006 and 2009, Demmitt and her son ran an insurance agency in Amarillo, Texas, and as part of their business, as registered agents of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, they sold annuities to investors. The majority of their clients were elderly investors.
Fry and Demmitt represented to their clients that Allianz would match each investment they made, up to $100,000, and encouraged their investors to either cash-in or borrow against their existing Allianz annuities and use those proceeds to reinvest to take advantage of the “matching” funds.
Every weekday I read the enforcement actions, filings and fine print the outlets skip, and turn them into the one or two moves that actually improve your position ā a rate worth moving for, a fee you can refuse, a deadline to beat before it costs you.
In the latest issue (Oct 6): When fear picks your debt plan
I write Your Money Actually most weekdays ā actionable money information you will not find anywhere else, and the small decisions that compound. It is free, I sell nothing, and I take no money from any company I write about.
However, instead of reinvesting their funds as they told their clients they would do, Fry and Demmitt deposited the funds into their personal accounts.
The Daily Money Brief ā Free, at 10 AM
Money you may be owed, scams to dodge, and the fine print decoded ā the consumer money news that affects your wallet, every weekday.
In fact, evidence presented showed that they tricked their investors with the promise of the matching investment money so that the clients would liquidate their legitimate investment accounts. Approximately $600,000 in client funds was transferred into Fry’s and Demmitt’s personal accounts.
“Ms. Demmitt’s greed robbed her clients, most of them in their golden years, of their hard-earned security,” said U.S. Attorney SaldaƱa. “In fact, she not only robbed these vulnerable clients of their savings, she robbed them of their dignity. This office will continue to make it a priority to protect those in need of our help.”
“The IRS Criminal Investigation Division is committed to lending its financial expertise to investigations of professionals who target vulnerable individuals’ money for the purpose of lining their personal piggy banks,” said Andrea D. Whelan, IRS Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office.
If you have been scammed and would like to file a scam report, please click here.
Dealing With Debt? Understanding your options is the first step. See how all your debt relief options compare ā including ones most sites won’t tell you about. The Find Your Path quiz gives a recommendation based on your actual numbers, and the Scam-O-Meter checks any company’s complaint history before you sign. Federal Reserve research shows bankruptcy filers recover faster than those who don’t file.
