Former insurance agent facing embezzlement charges, claims intentions were good
LOGAN COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) — A former insurance agent is facing embezzlement charges for mishandling a client's account. Investigators said there are now unaccounted funds. However, the former agent told News 4 he was only trying to help the client keep up with her bills, even if he went about it the wrong way.
"It is a very complicated way to do things," said Rick Wagnon, Director of the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
The case started in 2018 but only surfaced in 2021. Christopher Cochran, a former insurance agent, claimed he only had good intentions.
"There was no wrongdoing," said Cochran during a phone interview.
While working at Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Cochran said his client was a recently widowed woman in her 80s. She struggled to keep track of insurance payments.
"We would get a notice that, you know, she's fixing to cancel. So, I'd have to go out there, pick up a check for her and I did that for two years. And then finally she said, 'Can I just write you a big check?'" said Cochran.
Wagnon said the client was set up to pay one annual lump premium. She was billed once a year for her policy, meaning she could pay everything with one check.
Instead, Wagnon said Cochran kept billing the widow quarterly on some policies, deposited the checks, and rerouted the money.
"There were multiple business accounts and personal accounts that the money was being transferred back and forth," said Wagnon. "Some of the payments were made, but they were being made off of a personal credit card, his personal credit card."
"I took one payment and she had probably five or six different policies coming throughout the year. And I made payments as they come due and put it in an account that was part of my overall agency fund account, which you can't do that. It's called co-mingling the funds and I paid it as due," said Cochran.
"Then it got to the point where the payments were missed," said Wagnon. "She began to receive notices about her payment and cancellations."
Cochran claims there were no missed payments and no cancellations.
However, Wagnon adds there's another mystery.
"We're looking at somewhere around between $8,000 and $9,000 that's still unaccounted for," said Wagnon.
"There was no money missing," said Cochran.
Court documents show Cochran was fired before the Farm Bureau reached out to investigators.
In August, Cochran pleaded guilty to an insurance fraud claim, a felony, involving this client. His license was revoked.
When News 4 called him on Thursday, he had no idea about the new charges.
"I shouldn't have done that. I know that and I took full responsibility for that," said Cochran.
News 4 waited a day to report this story, because we had an in-person interview set up with Cochran. He cancelled the interview 45 minutes prior to meeting, saying that he was advised not to speak with us.
News 4 contacted the Oklahoma Farm Bureau twice, both my email and phone. We never heard back.
We also never heard back from the client.