Former California Agent Allegedly Steals $48,000 From Elderly Clients

Former insurance agent Alan Douglas Armstrong, 56, of Lake Forest, Calif., was arraigned today on five felony counts of theft from an elder. This comes after Armstrong allegedly acted as a financial advisor and licensed insurance agent to steal over $47,950 from elderly clients.

"Theft of any kind will not be tolerated. It is heartbreaking to think that people prey on the elderly to allegedly steal from their hard-earned nest eggs,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “I am proud of the work California Department of Insurance investigators do to protect consumers and our efforts to cooperate with local district attorneys to bring perpetrators to justice.”

The California Department of Insurance began an investigation after being contacted by a family member of one of Armstrong’s clients when they learned their elderly parents had withdrawn cash on 12 separate occasions from several annuities to personally loan Armstrong more than $47,950.

The investigation also found Armstrong convinced his clients to withdraw funds from one annuity and then months later purchase a new annuity, hiding that the source of funds was from a terminated annuity, resulting in his clients incurring more than $24,000 in surrender charges.

To hide his alleged scheme, Armstrong provided a life insurance policy number to his clients as “financial collateral” where he listed them as beneficiaries on a $500,000 policy, which did not actually exist. He also made numerous false claims regarding the return on their investment, including making more than their money back on huge losses incurred by multiple surrender charges on their existing annuities.

Armstrong was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff on April 28, 2022, and bail was set at $102,500. The Department of Insurance revoked his license on March 9, 2022.

The case is being prosecuted by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.