Iowa bail bondsman pleads guilty to insurance fraud, identity theft

Charges arose following a 2021 investigation by state's insurance division

An Iowa bail bondsman has pleaded guilty on identity theft and insurance fraud charges, according to the Iowa Insurance Division.

David Mark Ellis, of Spring Hill, Iowa, pleaded guilty to two counts of identity theft, both aggravated misdemeanors, and one count of insurance fraud, a Class D felony.

The charges came following a 2021 investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division, according to a news release. The investigation found that Ellis, the owner of Des Moines-headquartered Always Affordable Bail Bonds, had misrepresented facts about a loss on an insurance claim in order to receive money to which he wasn’t entitled.

Ellis also used another person’s EBT card to obtain benefits he wasn’t entitled to receive, the division said.

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Ellis received suspended prison sentences of up to nine years, to be served consecutively. He also received two years of probation and was fined $2,735, according to the Iowa Insurance Division.

The division’s investigation was assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the Ankeny Police Department, and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the Polk County Attorney’s Office.

In other news, a study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau recently revealed that staged vehicle accidents are the top insurance fraud issue in the state of South Carolina, and the alleged mastermind behind a multimillion-dollar insurance fraud scheme was recently arrested after four years on the run.

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