News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2009
In matters prosecuted by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia:
FORMER HUNTINGTON BUSINESS OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING FROM EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
HUNTINGTON, WV – Andrea Mills, 49, of Huntington, West Virginia pled guilty today before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers to embezzling and converting over $1.1 million in premiums from employee welfare benefit plans.
Mills was the owner and operator of Allied Benefit Administrators, Inc., ("Allied Benefits") an independent third party employer health benefit claims administrator. Allied Benefits contracted with various businesses to administer their partially self-funded employee health care benefit plans. In doing so, Allied Benefits was required to obtain and maintain reinsurance contracts for the plans. Mills admitted to converting in excess of $1.1 million of the reinsurance premiums collected from her clients to her own use and to the use of Allied Benefits from March 2006 to January 2008. As a result, clients sustained losses in excess of $2 million in health claims which should have been covered by reinsurance but were not.
Mills is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10, 2009. She faces a five year term of imprisonment, a fine and an order of restitution for the losses caused by her conduct. The case was investigated by the United States Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration and Office of the Inspector General, West Virginia Insurance Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation and West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Susan M. Robinson is handling the prosecution.