BRIEF: Chicago insurance exec charged with pocketing $13.5 million in scam

July 23--A Chicago insurance executive has been charged with fraud on allegations he pocketed $13.5 million in premium payments that he fraudulently collected from a corporate client, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois.

David Ballard, 54, was the vice president of an insurance underwriting group, responsible for overseeing an account that included about 20 Pennsylvania hospitals, according to a complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court. From 2005 to 2016, prosecutors say, Ballard issued insurance renewal policies that had not been authorized by his employer, which was not identified in complaint.

Ballard created and submitted falsified estimates, invoices and policies and then diverted the money to a shell company, using it to pay for personal expenses including credit card bills, expensive dinners, travel and real estate, the complaint says.

Ballard is charged with one count of wire fraud, which can bring up to 20 years in prison. His arraignment has not been scheduled.

sbomkamp@chicagotribune.com

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