Crime & Safety
Former Palm Harbor Insurance Agent Ordered to Pay Back Millions
Neal Seth Smalbach, 50, of Palm Harbor was found guilty of grand theft for misrepresenting details of financial products to more than 30 clients who were senior citizens, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
A former Palm Harbor insurance agent will have to pay millions of dollars in restitution to senior citizens who he was convicted of selling unsuitable financial investments to.
Neal Seth Smalbach, 50, of Palm Harbor was found guilty of grand theft for misrepresenting details of financial products to more than 30 clients who were senior citizens, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
Smalbach was sentenced to seven years in prison and 10 years probation in addition to paying full restitution to his victims.
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Florida's Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud investigated Smalbach and found that when dealing with the senior citizens, he misrepresented the facts for his own financial gain. The investigation found that the senior citizens invested an estimated $4.6 million in the unsuitable products.
"Smalbach profited from knowingly misguiding elderly investors into making risky investments they did not qualify for, and these dishonest business practices will not be tolerated," said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi when announcing Smalbach's conviction.
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A second state organization, the Division of Agent and Agency Services also investigated and found that Smalbach falsified two applications for insurance. Smalbach agreed to surrender his insurance licenses and is permanently banned from working in the insurance industry.
Smalbach was arrested on six counts of felony grand theft in May of 2012. He lives in East Lake's Lansbrook subdivision in a 4,522 sq. ft. home he purchased for $620,000 with his wife, Deborah in 2005, according to Pinellas County property records. The couple also owns an 825 sq. ft. condo in Innisbrook.
Senior citizens can visit the On Guard for Seniors website for resources designed to help them avoid becoming victims of financial fraud.
Related-
- Former Insurance Agent Accused of Grand Theft
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