CFO SINK'S INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION, FBI & US ATTORNEY WORK TOGETHER TO BRING INSURANCE AGENT TO JUSTICE

Thomas F. Kirwin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Ashley Hunnicutt Barkocy, 37, of Shalimar, Florida, has been charged with one count of insurance fraud and 23 counts of wire fraud. Barkocy is an insurance agent and Vice President of John M. Hunnicutt Insurance & Investments in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

The indictment alleges Barkocy accepted insurance premiums from condominium association clients and represented to the clients that she would use the money to obtain or maintain insurance coverage on behalf of the clients. After accepting the money from clients, the indictment alleges Barkocy did not forward all of the money to the insurance carriers as represented. Rather, the indictment charges that Barkocy kept money for her own use and for the use of Hunnicutt Insurance. Consequently, many of her condominium clients had no multi-peril insurance during the 2002-2006 time period.

Barkocy made her initial appearance in federal court Tuesday. She is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. If convicted, Barkocy faces twenty years imprisonment for each wire fraud count and 10 years imprisonment for insurance fraud. She also faces a $250,000 fine per count and restitution. An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in United States District Court.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Financial Services, Fraud Division, assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle M. Heldmyer.