Home Milwaukee Press Releases 2009 Janesville Man Pleads Guilty to Misappropriation of Funds
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Janesville Man Pleads Guilty to Misappropriation of Funds

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 30, 2009
  • Eastern District of Wisconsin (414) 297-1700

MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Douglas A. Nickerson, 45, Janesville, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Madison to willfully misappropriating money and funds belonging to General Casualty of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Chief Judge Barbara B. Crabb accepted the guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for February 16, 2010. Nickerson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a restitution order.

The government's proof at the guilty plea hearing established that Nickerson was employed by General Casualty as a Property Program Manager. In this position, Nickerson's duties included providing oversight on large property claims and directly handling many of the largest property claims covered by General Casualty. As part of his scheme to misappropriate money from General Casualty, Nickerson used other individuals to conceal fraudulent payments in large, otherwise legitimate insurance claim files. He directed that checks be drawn by General Casualty to other individuals; he then provided these checks to the other individuals each of whom kept a portion of the funds and returned the majority of the funds to Nickerson. The government's proof established that approximately $800,000 in General Casualty checks were issued by Nickerson and he retained approximately $560,000.

Acting United States Attorney Sinnott stated that today's guilty plea was the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of General Casualty staff. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant United States Attorney John W. Vaudreuil.

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