The insurance agent accused of stealing $1 million from elderly clients was charged Tuesday with 21 counts of first-degree theft.
Jasmine Jamrus-Kassim, 48, was booked in King County jail, after an investigation by the Washington Insurance Commissioner’s office.
Prosecutors allege she had all the victims, ages 74 to 90, cash large portions of their annuities in Bankers, and then she stole the money.
“This is an appalling abuse of trust,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler in a release. “Vulnerable people trusted this agent with much of their life’s savings. And she just pocketed the money.”
The charging papers come with new details about how she scammed the five victims.
The investigation began with two consumer complaints at the Insurance Commissioner’s office.
An 80-year-old victim, who was in a nursing home, asked his son to help him sort out his finances, when the son discovered his father’s checks were allegedly being cashed by Kassim.
When the son confronted her, she said the father asked her to cash the money to pay for surgery bills, but the man hadn’t had any surgeries, according to the documents.
A second complaint was filed by a 90-year-old Renton woman, who had given Kassim two checks for $25,000. The incident ended with Kassim getting by an investigator and her manager, according to the documents.
She then resigned from Bankers Life in Jan. 2010, and the thefts stopped.
Investigators then found three other victims, including an 83-year-old Seattle man who had no idea the agent had taken his $352,000.
The alleged thefts also include an a 75-year-old Seattle man, who lost $60,000, and a 74-year-old Renton woman, $484,500 taken.
The commissioner’s office is still looking into how liable Bankers Life is for the actions of the agents.
The standard sentencing for this type of crime is 43 to 57 months. If convicted, prosecutors could extend her sentencing, because she stole specifically from the elderly.
She’s being held in the King County Jail on $100,000 bail, and scheduled to be arraigned March 23.
