By AP/KWMU
New Haven, CT – An accountant from Tennessee has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in helping to defraud insurance companies in Missouri and four other states of more than $200 million dollars.
51-year-old Gary Atnip was chief financial officer of various insurance companies acquired by former financier Martin Frankel from 1991 to 1999. In federal court yesterday, Atnip said he helped transfer $200 million from those companies to Frankel's control.
Atnip faces up to 40 years in prison. But under a plea agreement, prosecutors say they will seek a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and $208 million dollars in restitution.