Agent gets suspended jail sentence, five year probation

Forty-year-old allegedly took premium money from university students

Agent gets suspended jail sentence, five year probation

Life & Health

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A former resident insurance producer in Idaho has been sentenced for misappropriating college students’ health insurance premiums, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office has announced.

Forty-year-old Timothy Heffner pleaded guilty to two counts of misappropriation or diversion of fiduciary funds on March 01. Fourth District Judge Michael Reardon sentenced Heffner to up to five years in prison. The Court then suspended the prison sentence and placed the defendant on probation for five years.

Heffner was also sentenced to 360 days in jail, with 30 days to be served immediately. He was fined $10,000.

Investigations showed Heffner took premium money from several Boise State University students during the 2014-2015 school year when they initiated health insurance policies with Blue Cross of Idaho. He did not provide all the funds to Blue Cross.

As part of the plea agreement, Heffner agreed to pay $11,236 in restitution. He paid it in full on March 01.      

The Idaho Department of Insurance revoked Heffner’s agent license in May last year over the same incident. Heffner asked the agency to reconsider its decision, but his appeal was denied. Clients notified the department of Heffner’s actions after they received notice of their lapsed policies. He also failed to comply with multiple requests from the Department for documentation of these transactions.

“Insurance regulations are designed to establish procedures to protect clients from harm,” said department director Dean Cameron last year. “In addition to inappropriate handling of funds, clients were harmed by the loss of health insurance coverage.”


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