EX-INSURANCE AGENT GETS 10 YEARS IN PRISON
FOR STEALING FROM SENIOR CITIZENS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that Gerald Miller, Jr., 39, of Baltimore, was ordered to serve 10 years in prison for stealing more than $5,000 from senior citizens. Miller entered guilty pleas to two counts of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft on May 13, 2002. Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge John Grason Turnbull, II sentenced Miller to 20 years in prison and suspended 10 years of the sentence. Miller will be required to serve five years of supervised probation after his release, and to pay restitution totaling $5,361.02.

Miller was terminated from his employment as an insurance agent for United America Insurance Company on July 30, 2001. During the months that followed, Miller went to several former clients and purported to be collecting premium payments for Medicare supplemental insurance when, in reality, he was keeping the money for himself. He was found guilty of stealing money from three senior citizens ages 84, 85 and 94.

Miller argued at sentencing that he had become addicted to heroin in 1998 and had lost everything due to his addiction. He requested that the judge release him from incarceration into drug treatment. The Office of the Attorney General pointed to Miller's prior convictions dating back to 1984 and the especially vulnerable persons that Miller had chosen to victimize and recommended that the court impose a split sentence that would include significant incarceration. Judge Turnbull rejected Miller's request, noting the ages of the victims and the continuing nature of Miller's conduct.

"Mr. Miller's actions were egregious and an example of the behavior we warn seniors to be wary of," Attorney General Curran said. "Financial exploitation of the elderly is a serious problem and I am hopeful that this sentence will discourage similar acts."

The convictions follow a joint investigation conducted by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland State Police, and the Office of the Attorney General.

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