Former Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Misappropriating
Insurance Premiums

BALTIMORE, MD (June 27, 2007) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Jerry M. Culpepper, 57, former insurance agent and former owner of the Culpepper Insurance Agency located in the 6700 block of Belair Road, pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County to felony insurance fraud. Judge John Grason Turnbull, II sentenced Culpepper to probation before judgment and supervised probation for a period of two years and ordered him to pay $13, 456.00 in restitution.

The investigation revealed that approximately 29 individuals insured by the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) paid their insurance premiums directly to Culpepper only to learn later that their automobile insurance had been cancelled for lack of payment. Auditing revealed that Culpepper misappropriated approximately $13,456.00 in insurance premiums between February, 2004 and February, 2005. MAIF later reinstated the policies when made aware of the fraud.

The indictment follows a joint investigation by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Office of the Attorney General. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Emmet Davitt for his work on the case.