Berry Bishop’s defunct Alliance Insurance Group of Arkadelphia reported $2.9 million in gross revenue in 2017. It filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2018.
Berry R. Bishop, the former Hot Springs insurance agent who acknowledged in a July bankruptcy proceeding that he had taken out fraudulent loans, has pleaded guilty to defrauding two banks out of more than $3.5 million.
U.S. Attorney Duane “Dak” Kees of the Western District of Arkansas announced U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey had accepted the plea from Bishop in Hot Springs on Friday.
Bishop and his defunct Alliance Insurance Group of Arkadelphia Inc. had their insurance licenses yanked on April 17 in an emergency suspension order by state Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr.
Bishop waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury and instead pleaded guilty to an information filed directly by federal prosecutors.
More: Click here to see the information, and clear here to see the plea agreement.
The information specifies that Bishop defrauded the Bank of Prescott out of more than $2.1 million by applying for 27 separate loans by forging the names of multiple insurance clients in 2016 and 2017. He also defrauded Citizens Bank of Batesville out of $200,000 by misrepresenting his company’s financial condition between 2015 and 2017.
However, his plea agreement acknowledges that the loss attributable to his crimes totals more than $3.5 million, and he agreed to pay full restitution.
Both Citizens Bank and the Bank of Prescott had previously filed civil suits against Bishop.
Bishop’s sentencing date has not yet been set. The FBI investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wulff of the Western District of Arkansas is prosecuting the case.
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