By Brett Milam
Editor
A Milford insurance agent was sentenced to nine years in prison for “misappropriating” more than $1.1 million from numerous residents on July 27.
Action was first taken against Gregory Oliver, 61, and his company, Oliver Financial Services Corporation based in Milford, by the Ohio Department of Insurance in May 2019.
ODI issued two orders against Gregory Oliver and OFS “commanding [Gregory] Oliver to immediately cease his fraudulent, coercive, and dishonest practices,” according to a press release.
In addition, they sought to revoke his ability to operate under Ohio’s insurance laws. Gregory Oliver first gained his insurance license in 1989.
“Mr. [Gregory] Oliver violated the trust of his clients, he harmed Ohio consumers, and now we are holding him accountable for his actions,” Jillian Froment, director of ODI, said.
By Feb. 25 of this year, Gregory Oliver was charged in Clermont County Common Pleas with six felony counts of theft.
After receiving a tip, ODI began its investigation into Gregory Oliver, and found evidence to support that from at least 2011 through 2018, Oliver withheld, misappropriated or converted more than $1.1 million from at least 17 consumers and their accounts without their knowledge, ODI said.
Many of the clients were over the age of 65, Froment said.
In addition, ODI said evidence supports that he submitted fabricated documents to insurance carriers in order to be designated as the beneficiary of insurance policies he had established or serviced.
By March, Gregory Oliver pleaded guilty to all six counts, and faced a maximum prison sentence of 18 years, and a fine of $60,000.
The State sought restitution in the case, which was not limited to those six counts. There are also a number of individual civil lawsuits involving Gregory Oliver and individual victims.
Herbert Haas, Gregory Oliver’s defense attorney, said in the sentencing memorandum, “Mr. [Gregory] Oliver’s marching orders to myself, the attorney of record, was I want to accept responsibility, I want to get this done, I want the people to know I did them wrong and the Court should do what the Court needs to do in terms of fashioning a sentence for me.”
“He developed a business from the ground up, and in times of great emotional and physical stress made the worst decision a person can make as a business owner. He stole from clients,” Haas added.
Defense was worried that with Haas’ medical issues (hypertension, heart disease and a chronic cough) and age, that he would be particularly susceptible to contracting COVID-19.
A number of individuals also wrote to Judge Victor Haddad on Oliver’s behalf before sentencing, including friends, his wife, stepdaughter, and daughter, Lacie Berger. Berger said the past 10 years have been “very difficult on my family.”
“It was one of the hardest things in the world as a daughter to see your dad falling apart and not being able to help him in the way he needs,” she said. “For one person to carry the weight of what feels like the world, it can cause someone to break and have misjudgments.”
The sentencing hearing before Haddad lasted more than two hours, with about 30 minutes for Haas and Gregory Oliver’s family to offer mitigation, and his victims also received more than 30 minutes to have their say.
“You know, a man can lose his way,” Gregory Oliver said, saying the point isn’t a woe-is-me story. “I take full responsibility for everything I did. It’s out of character; it’s unlike me. And if I could turn back the hands of time, I would.”
Steven Oliver, Gregory Oliver’s son, also spoke on his father’s behalf. He said he understood his father has made mistakes. However, he noted that what he’s learned from his father, he didn’t learn in the classroom.
“Through my entire life, nobody has shown me the importance of family, kindness and community more than my father,” he said.
He broke down at the thought that he could grow up the rest of his life without having a father.
Gregory Oliver’s victims trusted him
Carol Rowe, assistant prosecuting attorney, said Gregory Oliver told his victims he would look out for their financial well-being and “he chose not to.”
“He didn’t look out for them at all; he only looked out for himself,” she said.
Rowe said he essentially used the money taken as a “personal piggy bank” to pay his mortgage, car payment and credit cards.
Linda McKinney, one of the victims who lost $32,500, spoke in court. McKinney said her parents trusted Gregory Oliver with their life savings, and when they passed away, she trusted him with her life savings.
“I just think my parents would be rolling over in their graves if they realized what he had done not only to their life savings, but to my life savings,” she said.
Leslie Henderson, one of the victims who lost $86,490, said she was “very disappointed” in Gregory Oliver.
“I trusted you, you were my friend,” she said.
Henderson choked up, talking about how her house needs a new roof, and wondering how she was going to pay for that.
Erin Bicknell, whose mother Mary Bicknell lost $25,000, spoke on her mother’s behalf. She also choked up talking about how this situation has been one of the most “painful reminders of my dad’s death.” Her dad died in early 2016, but ensured Mary Bicknell was financially secured, Erin Bicknell said.
That’s when Mary Bicknell enlisted the help of Gregory Oliver, a familiar face and an acquaintance for many years, she said.
“Honestly, I wish I could say the money was the most hurtful part of this whole situation for my family, but I’m sure that you’ve gathered from us, it is not. It’s the newfound inability to know how or who to trust, it was the stress, and the misplaced blame and guilt I witnessed my mom experience through this situation right on the heels of the death of her lifelong partner, and it was the anxiety of wondering if we would be ostracized by our friends and neighbors who connected us for many years to Mr. [Gregory] Oliver,” she said.
But mostly, Erin Bicknell said it was the “sheer betrayal,” at a time when they were already experiencing vulnerability.
Anna Crow, who was speaking for her father-in-law, Charles Crow who lost $93,564, said Charles Crow just wanted to know, “Why?”
Charles Crow, who will be 100-years-old this year, is a WWII veteran.
“He had dreams of saving the money, giving the money to Oliver so that he would invest it, so he could help his grandchildren in college,” she said. “He was devastated when this happened.”
Pam McKay, representing Elizabeth Hunt who is now dead and lost the most money at $483,275, also spoke.
“Greg Oliver didn’t just make a mistake, he made a calculated scheme to steal people’s money — elderly people’s monies,” she said.
McKay said Gregory Oliver stole Hunt’s charity remainder trust, which was slated to go to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children.
“Greg Oliver has no moral compass and has no respect for the law,” she said.
Gretchen Murphy, who lost $79,622, also spoke, as did her daughter Chelsea Murphy. She said she’s known Greg Oliver and his family for more than 15 years, going to each other’s kids’ weddings, soccer games, and so on.
When her husband died in 2008, she said he left her and their two kids enough money to be financially taken care of for the rest of their lives. She just needed someone to help her manage it, so she called Gregory Oliver because he’s a friend, she said.
“I could not even fathom that I would be standing here today with this right now. I’ve lost so much money that I don’t know if I’m going to have enough to retire when I’m 67. And I should not be in this situation at all,” she said.
Chelsea Murphy added that if Gregory Oliver could do this to their family, a family he was emotionally invested in, then he can and will continue to do this to anyone.
Cathy Rolfes, who is Leslie Henderson’s cousin, who lost $86,490, said Gregory Oliver misrepresented himself as the brother of Henderson to be a beneficiary on an annuities policy when she doesn’t even have a brother. An additional cousin and their mother (who died in 2014) were also among Gregory Oliver’s victims. All told, the family members lost $250,000, Rofles said.
“When my aunt passed in 2014, my cousins trusted [Gregory] Oliver to manager their modern inheritance because he was known to them and so the trust was passed from one generation to the next,” she said. “This financial fraud will affect them and all the victims for the rest of their lives. Besides the significant financial impact, the emotional toll is great.”
In addition to pretending to be the brother of Leslie Henderson, there was also the issue of putting the house into an irrevocable trust with Gregory Oliver designated as trustee.
“The legal effort and cost of untangling this mess is significant. The damage goes on and on,” she said.
Haddad weighs the pros and cons
Haddad said on the “pros” side of things, there is the consideration that Gregory Oliver served the country for most of the 1980s as a United States Marine, has no record, admitted responsibility, and had letters of support from family.
“At some point, in all our lives, everyone is going to let you down, and he let you down. It’s sad, but that’s kinda how it works,” Haddad said.
The common denominator he said was that all the victims knew Gregory Oliver well and trusted him.
“You were there like a family and lo and behold right before their eyes, like a magician, you stole from them. And you knew you were stealing from them when you were showing yourself in their lives. And that takes it to another level,” he said. “To the Court, that’s disappointing.”
Gregory Oliver owes restitution in the amount of $990,027.83.
Overall, there are 15 victims listed who are owed restitution. Hunt’s amount aside, other victims’ restitution amounts range from $2,894 to $93,564.
After the sentencing in an email follow-up, Rolfes said Haddad appeared to understand the “severity of [Gregory Oliver’s] actions, and for that we are grateful.”
Gregory Oliver filed an appeal on July 28 in Common Pleas to the Twelfth Appellate District.
ODI reacts to the sentencing
“Mr. Oliver took full advantage of the trust factor granted to him by many of his older clients and he is being held accountable for those wrongful actions,” Froment said upon the news of his sentencing in a press release. “I would like to commend the hard work put forth by our investigative team and the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure justice was served. I also want to thank both the Miami Township Police Department and Clermont County Sheriff’s Office for assistance provided to our organization.”
ODI said they urge all consumers to actively monitor their insurance accounts by regularly reviewing account statements. Consumers are also encouraged by ODI to report questionable transactions or suspected agent misconduct to the department at 1-800-686-1527 and www.insurance.ohio.gov.
Additionally, ODI said agent disciplinary action and license information, as well as an agent locator tool to help shop for an agent by city, are available on the department’s website.