A former businessman from Dallas is headed to prison for seven years for running an insurance scam that targeted a British company.

Wesley Michael Woodyard, 66, will also have to repay nearly $4 million, according to an Associated Press report. Prosecutors said that Woodyard defrauded London-based ACE European Insurance Company for more than a decade.

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Woodyard, who was arrested last year in Minnesota, owned an insurance company and was an agent in the sale of annuities, according to the AP. Prosecutors said that he stole funds meant to buy annuities for the beneficiaries of ACE European Insurance policies – including United Nations employees injured or killed in the performance of their duties, according to the AP. Woodyard allegedly fraudulently convinced ACE European Insurance to send money for the annuities to bank accounts he controlled.

Woodyard pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December as part of a plea deal, the AP reported.


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