Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Sentenced Reduced, Due to Guidelines

A federal judge has trimmed nine months off former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck’s prison sentence for embezzlement, not because of his good behavior in jail, but because he has no prior criminal history.

“Both Defendant and the Government agree that Defendant meets the criteria for ‘Zero-Point Offenders’ contained in Section 4C 1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, and would therefore be entitled to ‘decrease the offense level determined under Chapters Two and Three by 2 levels,'” reads an Oct. 16 order from U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen.

Cohen had sentenced Beck in October 2021 to 87 months in prison plus $2.6 million in restitution to a homeowners underwriting association that he led before he was elected state insurance commissioner in 2018. But since then, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has amended its complex sentencing guidelines and made them retroactive. An federal appeals court remanded Beck’s case to the district judge for an adjustment.

A zero-point offender classification, for convicts with no prior criminal record, was considered a significant change in the sentencing guidelines, and could affect many federal inmates, according to reports from ZeroPointOffender.com and from news outlets and law firms.

Beck’s attorney also noted in a memorandum to the court that Beck has used his time wisely while behind bars. “Impressively, Mr. Beck has completed 37 classes,” all that he was eligible for while incarcerated, attorney Randy Chartash wrote. He also has completed the written portion of a commercial driver’s license program, potentially making him eligible to drive trucks or buses after he is released from prison.

Beck and his wife also have paid $359,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service in back taxes, his lawyer noted.

All of that should have led to a reduced sentence of just 70 months in prison, Beck’s lawyers said. But the judge declined to go lower than 78 months. Cohen also noted that Beck is still responsible for paying $2.6 million – with interest – to the Georgia Underwriters Association, a corporation that provided property insurance for homeowners and others that could not find affordable coverage in the primary market.

Most of that restitution must go to Cincinnati Insurance Co., which paid the association for the losses due to Beck’s embezzlement.

Beck, now 62, was president of the association from about 2012 to 2018. Prosecutors said he stole the funds from the association by setting up front companies that were paid by the association. Some of the stolen money was used to fund Beck’s successful campaign for insurance commissioner in 2018, prosecutors have said.

Just weeks after he was elected, Beck was indicted and the Georgia governor removed him from office.

Topics Georgia