Scott Rolin, 55, owner of Steele Rolin Co. insurance agency in Franklin, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in 2018 to wire fraud for making unauthorized withdrawals from an elderly client's annuity policies from 2011 through 2015, forging the client's endorsement signature on the resulting checks, and depositing the funds into his personal accounts.

Steele Rolin Co. / Scott Rolin — Elder Annuity Fraud, Franklin, Tennessee (2018)

Outcome: Scott Rolin, 55, of Franklin, Tennessee, owner of Steele Rolin Co. insurance agency, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018 for making unauthorized withdrawals from an elderly client's annuity policies between 2011 and 2015, forging the client's signature on the resulting checks, and depositing more than $50,000 into his personal accounts.

Scott Rolin operated Steele Rolin Co., a Franklin, Tennessee insurance agency. Between 2011 and 2015, Rolin exploited his position as the trusted insurance agent and annuity manager for an elderly client to steal from that client's annuity policies. Rolin made unauthorized withdrawals from specific annuity policies belonging to the elderly client, circumventing the client's knowledge or consent by forging the client's endorsement signature on the checks that resulted from each withdrawal. He then deposited the stolen funds into his own personal bank accounts.

The scheme continued for approximately four years and resulted in total losses exceeding $50,000 to the elderly client — a victim particularly vulnerable to this type of financial abuse due to the trusted professional relationship established through years of legitimate insurance and investment services. The wire fraud conviction reflected the interstate nature of the annuity transactions used to execute the theft.

Primary Source: DOJ Middle District of Tennessee — Franklin Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Fraud Against Elderly Client