by Dave Williams | Oct 12, 2021 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Tuesday for fraud and money laundering, Fox 5 News in Atlanta reported.
A federal indictment charged Beck with 37 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and tax fraud for embezzling more than $2.5 million from the Georgia Underwriting Association in Suwanee. He served as the association’s manager before being elected insurance commissioner in 2018.
Beck, a Republican, didn’t serve long before Gov. Brian Kemp suspended him after the indictment was handed down in May 2019. However, he has continued to receive his salary of $195,000 a year while on suspension.
The governor subsequently appointed Doraville Police Chief John King to replace Beck. King will be seeking a full four-year term next year.
Beck has remained free on bail. However, he has been mostly confined to his home in Carrollton.
The prosecution had sought a 10-year prison sentence for Beck. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen sentenced him to serve a sentence of 87 months and pay $2.6 million in restitution.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
