Annuity Agent Sentenced, New Trial Denied

By Steven A. Morelli
InsuranceNewsNet

An insurance agent's request for a new trial for his conviction of theft in the sale of an annuity was rejected in a California county court on Wednesday and he was sentenced to 300 days, reduced to 90 days.

Glenn A. Neasham, 51, was sentenced after a four-hour hearing of mostly character witness testimony, said Jeremy Walsh, reporter for the Lake County Record-Bee. Neasham of Lakeport faced up to four years in prison for his Oct, 23 conviction of theft from an elder for selling an 83-year-old woman an indexed annuity. The prosecutor said she had dementia. Neasham and his assistants said they did not see any evidence of dementia.

Neasham's attorney, Mitchell Hauptman, said he filed an appeal after the hearing, Walsh said.

For the story behind the conviction, click here.

© Entire contents copyright 2012 by InsuranceNewsNet.com Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted without the expressed written consent from InsuranceNewsNet.com.

Steven A. Morelli is a contributing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. He has more than 25 years of experience as a reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines. He was also vice president of communications for an insurance agents’ association. Steve can be reached at steve@innemail.com.