South Jersey Insurance Salesman Stole $100K From Client: USAO

A salesman who was the principle of a South Jersey company has been sentenced to three years in prison for fraudulently stealing $100,000 from one of his clients and using for his own benefit, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Patrick McCullagh, 70, of Georgetown, Kentucky, was previously convicted of wire fraud following an eight-day trial before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper. Cooper imposed the sentence on Wednesday. McCullagh was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and must pay $98,067.82 in restitution.

McCullagh was the principle of MidAtlantic Regional Services Inc., a purported insurance company located in Bordentown, according to documents filed in this case and evidence presented at the trial.

In 2001, McCullagh was entrusted with money that was entrusted to a client when the client’s mother died, authorities said. McCullagh told the client he would invest that money in a way that would preserve the principle while paying the client back in interest.

However, McCullagh instead kept the money and used it to forge withdrawal requests so he could steal money from that client’s investment accounts, authorities said. He also had his client’s account statements diverted from his address.

McCullagh also used money from those investment accounts to pay the client the interest he promised, according to authorities. He even told his client that some of the investments were tied-up in legal disputes surrounding a Kentucky property and that he needed money for legal fees, which the victim later provided.

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