Root Insurance executive sentenced for embezzling $10 million from Columbus-based company

NBC - 4 WCMH (Columbus, OH)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The former executive of a Columbus-based car insurance company faces prison time for embezzling more than $10 million from the company.

Brinson Caleb Silver, 43, was sentenced to just over four years in federal prison on Thursday on wire fraud and contempt of court charges, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio's office announced. Silver, formerly the chief marketing officer of Root Insurance, will have to pay back the $10.2 million he siphoned from the company's contracts with vendors.

According to court documents, Silver entered into multiple contracts with marketing vendors and instructed them to divert portions of their contract proceeds to the bank accounts of companies that Silver controlled. From November 2021 to November 2022, Silver embezzled $10.2 million from Root, using his companies Collateral Damage, LLC, Eclipse Home Design, LLC, and Grind 24.

Silver used the embezzled funds for a variety of personal purchases, including a $1.4 million yacht, a Mercedes-Benz and an amphibious plane. In February 2023, Root sued Silver for the embezzlement.

But his illegal activity didn't stop there. Court filings indicate that after he was sued, Silver disobeyed court orders by failing to appear in court and routinely making purchases larger than $5,000. He spent "lavishly" while traveling internationally, including by spending $20,000 on plastic surgery and $8,000 on a resort in Bali. He sent an additional $92,000 through PayPal.

Before he was sued, Silver paid $75,000 to a consulting firm specializing in international relocation, global citizenship and offshore tax planning, according to court documents. In recorded phone calls, Silver asked about gaining citizenship to a country that would not extradite him to the U.S. He also wanted to move up to $10 million to a foreign bank account that the U.S. could not freeze.

Silver was arrested in June 2023 and indicted by a grand jury in October 2023. In November 2023, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and criminal contempt. The lawsuit from Root, headquartered in Columbus, against Silver remains ongoing in federal court.