2002
On July 11, 2002, James E. Hurley, an agent and representative for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, (Equitable), pled guilty in federal court in Dallas to one count of mail fraud, stemming from his scheme to steal a client's invested funds. Hurley, age 46, faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and he will be ordered to make restitution to the victims of his crime. Sentencing has been set for October 3, 2002. Hurley admitted that in June 1997, he took a Equitable annuity application, of approximately $250,000, from a client. From February 1998 through April 2000, Hurley devised a plan to defraud Equitable and Hurley by removing funds from her annuity for his own personal use. He submitted forged Financial Service Request forms to Equitable requesting withdrawals and disbursements from this client's annuity. Hurley obtained these disbursement checks, forged the endorsement on the checks, and deposited the checks into his own bank account, using the majority of these funds for his own personal use. The case resulted from the collaborative efforts of the Texas State Securities Board, the Texas Department of Insurance, the NASD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United State Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.