Texas Couple Facing Fraud Charges

Travis County District Attorney Ronald Earle announced that the Travis County Grand Jury returned indictments alleging that a Texas couple stole over $1 million from Colonial Casualty Insurance Company, a workers compensation insurance company based in Dallas.

Walter Edward Neuls and Deidra Ellen Neuls were charged with misapplying fiduciary property of over $1,000,000, and were indicted for making a false statement in writing to the Texas Department of Insurance.

The Neuls are husband and wife and are both officers of Colonial.

The indictment charges the Neuls with looting the company to pay personal expenses and lying about the amount of money owed by the company.

A Travis County court recently found Colonial Casualty Insurance Company to be in an “insolvent and hazardous financial condition” and placed it in receivership.

The company’s unpaid claims by injured workers total over $8 million and will be paid by the Texas Guaranty Fund. That fund consists of contributions by the other insurance companies in Texas. It was created by the Texas Legislature to protect the public against insurance abuses. The costs of that fund are ultimately borne by the insurance-buying public.

Misapplication of fiduciary property of $200,000 or more is a first degree felony with a possible punishment of 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Neuls are also charged with making a false statement in a written instrument, a third degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison.

It is alleged that they intentionally misstated the amount of losses of Colonial Casualty Insurance Company by saying that it was only $21,721,481.00 when in fact they knew it was more than that.

The District Attorney’s office noted that the crime of misapplication of fiduciary property is basically a crime of betrayal of trust.

Topics Texas Fraud