Eden Woman Sentenced for Misappropriating Insurance Client’s Premiums

BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 1 -- Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden issued the following news release:

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced a Jerome County woman was sentenced Thursday, September 27, for misappropriation or diversion of fiduciary funds.

Fifth District Court Judge Benjamin Cluff sentenced 42-year-old Nicole Prescott, of Eden, after she pleaded guilty in July.

The court ordered and then suspended a five-year prison sentence. Judge Cluff then ordered Prescott to serve 90 days in jail, with 45 suspended. The defendant was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, pay $862 in restitution to the Idaho Department of Insurance and $28,277 in restitution to Rain and Hail, LLC.

A Department of Insurance investigation determined that Prescott, while a licensed Idaho insurance agent, accepted more than $46,000 in premium funds from an agricultural client for crop hail insurance in September 2015. Prescott sent some of the premium to the insurance company, but left $28,000 unpaid. Investigators determined Prescott used the money for her own personal use.

The Department of Insurance revoked Prescott's license in October 2017.

This case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Jessica Cafferty in the Attorney General's Special Prosecutions Unit.