BRIEF: Ottumwa man sentenced in federal fraud case

Nov. 16--OTTUMWA -- An Ottumwa man will spend 18 months in federal prison after his sentencing in an insurance scam.

Cletus Ngwa, 34, must also pay $260,043 in restitution. The sentence was pronounced following a plea bargain. Prosecutors accused him and Venancia Rodriguez, 47, Ottumwa, of defrauding two insurance companies. The pair filed fraudulent foreign death claims for members of Rodriguez's family whom they said died while in the Philippines.

Rodriguez was sentenced in May 2016 to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay the same amount as Ngwa in restitution.

The indictment against Ngwa dates to November 2016. A grand jury said Ngwa "knowingly received a significant portion" of the proceeds from Rodriguez's fraudulent claims. It further said he helped devise the scam.

"These fraudulent acts are intolerable," Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a statement. "I greatly appreciate the hard work of our Fraud Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney to help bring these individuals to justice."

Rodriguez is currently being held in a federal prison in Lexington, Ky. Ngwa is being held in the federal prison in Philipsburg, Pa.

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