Former Iowa Agent Given Probation In Fraud Case

A former Bettendorf insurance agent has been given a deferred sentence and was placed on five year of supervised probation in connection with a fraud and theft case.

Billie J. Holmberg, 50, of Davenport, was ordered by Judge Stuart Werling to pay $2,345 in restitution during a sentencing hearing Feb. 1 in Scott County District Court.

If she completes the terms of her probation, the conviction will not be entered on her record.

Holmberg pleaded guilty in December to felony commission of specified unlawful activity. That charge carries a possible prison sentence of up to 25 years.

In exchange for her plea, Scott County prosecutors dismissed additional charges of forgery and second-degree theft at sentencing.

The Iowa Insurance Division's Fraud Bureau launched an investigation into Holmberg and discovered that the theft occurred between February 2015 and March 2016.

According to an arrest affidavit filed in July, Holmberg was employed at the time as an office secretary with the Belk Insurance Agency in Bettendorf.

Chance McElhaney, communications director and legislative liaison for the Iowa Insurance Division, said she also was a licensed insurance producer.

Holmberg altered and endorsed a series of checks totaling more than $7,000, according to the affidavit.

The checks were from insurance policyholders of American National Property and Casualty Insurance Company and were intended to pay for insurance premiums, according to the affidavit.

Instead, Holmberg deposited the insurance premium proceeds into her own bank accounts and used the funds for personal use, according to the affidavit.

An arrest warrant was issued in July; she made her first appearance on the charges in September.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a news release Monday that Holmberg is no longer authorized to sell insurance in Iowa and her license was revoked on April 4.

"This type of conduct cannot and will not be tolerated as consumers need to be able to put their trust in their insurance agents," he said in the release. "The vast majority of licensed agents are doing right by their clients every single day, but we will continue to work to bring cases like this to prosecutors in order to protect Iowans."