Man takes out life insurance policy without consent: feds

A Georgia man took out a $250,000 life insurance policy on a fellow churchgoer, with himself as beneficiary. But he never told her.

Jonathan Seay, a 56-year-old from Telfair County, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a felony charge for Unlawful Use of a Means of Identification In or Affecting Interstate Commerce. He was sentenced July 14 to three years probation, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The scheme started in 2015, after the woman, a parishioner of Kingdom Hall Church, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Seay set up the life insurance policy in the woman’s name and listed himself as the woman’s brother and sole beneficiary, court documents show.

added/Neither the woman nor her husband ever authorized Seay to act on their behalf, according to court documents.

Between December 2015 until at least January 2018, officials say, Seay upaid the monthly premiums on the plan before the policy was canceled.

“This guilty plea and felony sentence ensures Jonathan Seay is held accountable for this attempt to cash in on an innocent victim’s death,” David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in the release. “It also should serve as a warning to others tempted to try such a cynical ploy at profiting from someone else’s demise.”

Telfair County is about 85 miles southeast of Macon, Ga.

This story was originally published July 14, 2022 4:18 PM.

Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.