Kansas insurance agent filed false claims against customer policies, kept the money

Feb. 6--A Kansas insurance agent won't be going to prison after being convicted of several crimes, including insurance fraud and related charges.

Trisha A. Wiehl, 40, was found guilty in Smith County District Court and sentenced on Wednesday to 36 months probation and a $3,000 fine, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release. Her convictions include one count of insurance fraud, four counts of theft, 35 counts of making false information, eight counts of insurance agent or broker failing to pay premium to company, six counts of forgery, and three counts of false impersonation.

Investigators discovered that Wiehl committed several crimes between May 2016 and August 2018 while working as an insurance agent, the attorney general said.

She would file false claims against the insurance policies of her customers, then keep the money for herself, receiving more than $100,000. She also stole money from customers, including the Smith County Fair Board, that was supposed to go toward buying an insurance policy.

Wiehl also took money from the city of Smith Center and a local business and kept the money for herself instead of submitting the money as payment for insurance premiums. She then forged signatures, including the city clerk's, to take out loans in the names of her customers. She used the proceeds from the loans to pay the insurance premiums of the customers.

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