CT man accused of victimizing seven people in life insurance scheme. How police allege he did it.
A Connecticut man faces larceny and forgery charges in connection with a scheme in which he has been accused of collecting premiums from at least seven people for fake or lapsed life insurance policies.
Ian Pierce, 34, formerly of Tolland was charged last Thursday in connection with four arrest warrants held by troopers, according to Connecticut State Police.
He faces nine counts of issuing a bad check, seven counts of third-degree forgery, four counts each of second-degree larceny and second-degree forgery, three counts of criminal impersonation, two counts of third-degree larceny and a single count each of first-degree forgery and first-degree larceny.
According to the arrest warrant affidavits, Pierce was fired from an insurance company in March 2020 for allegedly misappropriating client funds to himself. His insurance producer license was revoked by the Connecticut Insurance Department in June 2021, state police wrote.
Following his firing, Pierce allegedly began misrepresenting to multiple people that he was an insurance agent with another company, the arrest warrant affidavits said.
State police allege he made “false assurances to his existing clients concerning this fabricated employment,” including the claim that their existing accounts would be “properly closed for cash value or that he would remain the agent of record for those policies and that payments should still be made through him,” according to the warrant affidavits.
State police wrote in the warrants that at least seven people were allegedly victimized who paid premiums for “nonexistent” policies or funds that went to Pierce and not the legitimate insurance company. In multiple cases, state police wrote, the victims’ legitimate policies lapsed.
“Some victims also suffered losses through other means such as the sale of fraudulent CDs,” state police wrote in the warrant affidavits.
In December 2024, authorities carried out a search warrant at Pierce’s home and seized a number of items, including cell phones. After examining the devices, investigators reported finding “notes with drafts of letters and memoranda designed to appear as if they were drafted by other entities such as courts or attorneys,” the warrant affidavits said.
State police also found phony personas Pierce was allegedly using, according to the warrant affidavits.
Other evidence investigators say they found included images of forged checks, forged wire transfer confirmations and forged memos and correspondence related to the victims, the warrant affidavits said.
In spring 2023, Pierce allegedly convinced victims to take 401k loans under the “pretext of protecting against regional bank instability,” the warrant affidavits said. Pierce also allegedly convinced at least one victim to fund a series of CDs totaling over $30,000, though state police said no legitimate CDs were ever established, the warrant affidavits said.
Between March 2019 and November 2024, state police said one victim suffered a loss of about $15,000 after making payments to Pierce under false pretenses, the warrant affidavits said. Another victim reported suffering a loss of about $150,000 between June 2019 and November 2024, according to the warrant affidavits.
Another victim reportedly loaned Pierce about $4,400 in June 2024 under the pretense of a business loan, but admitted to investigators he believed Pierce needed to cover a gambling debt, the warrant affidavits said. Pierce later gave the individual two bad checks months later to repay him, state police allege.
In spring 2023, one victim became concerned about a missing $10,000 U.S. Treasury check that was supposed to be used toward her payments, the warrant affidavit said. When she expressed this concern to Pierce, he told her to contact a fictitious person he had made up using a phony email address, the warrant affidavits said.
Another victim reportedly invested upwards of $25,000 in a policy through Pierce between 2018 and 2019, the warrant affidavits said. When Pierce was fired from his insurance company, he allegedly promised that the policy would be paid out in monthly installments of $900, state police wrote. The victim told authorities they only received one payment.
Pierce allegedly gave the victim a check for $19,000 in July 2023 and told them not to cash it, saying the amount was incorrect, the warrant affidavits said. He later gave them a check for $58,000 that bounced, according to the warrant affidavits.
Pierce is free on $335,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on Aug. 7.
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