LAKEPORT — The prosecution Wednesday played for the jury a series of recorded voicemails left for California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigators by local agent Glenn A. Neasham nearly three years ago.
Judge Richard C. Martin presided. Deputy district attorney Rachel Abelson represented the Lake County District Attorney”s Office and attorney Mitchell Hauptman represented Neasham.
The 51-year-old insurance agent faces one felony count of theft from an elder or dependant adult exceeding $950. The results of a CDI investigation allege Neasham acted illegally when he sold a $175,000 annuity to Lucerne resident Fran Schuber, then 83, in February 2008.
Neasham has pleaded not guilty to the felony and denied two special allegations in the case.
A CDI investigator previously testified that Neasham left her several voicemails in December 2008. The voicemails were then recorded, but subsequent phone conversations between CDI representatives and Neasham weren”t recorded.
The jury heard those messages, and others, Wednesday morning.
On the voicemails, Neasham denied any wrongdoing during the transaction, saying several times that he did his “due diligence” to make sure the investment was suitable for Schuber.
“That was a good improvement for her,” he said in one voicemail. “I didn”t take advantage of anybody.”
Neasham also told investigators that the annuity Schuber bought, an Allianz MasterDex 10, provided a lower commission than other products he sells.
He mentioned that Schuber had roughly $100,000 liquidity remaining after buying the annuity. The $175,000 she used for the purchase came out of a certificate of deposit (CD), and Neasham asked in one voicemail whether the bank would”ve been investigated for elder abuse if it sold Schuber another CD.
Schuber appeared “coherent” and understood the investment, Neasham said in another message. The prosecution claims the alleged victim had a diagnosis of dementia dating back to 2004.
Betty Koenig, the daughter of Schuber”s longtime boyfriend, testified Wednesday and talked about Schuber”s mental state.
Koenig was a defense witness ? the prosecution rested soon after presenting the audio recordings. She said Schuber “was not confused about her money matters at all” around the time of the annuity purchase.
Schuber”s mental state has declined in the past couple years and is now “markedly different” than it was in 2008, according to Koenig, who said Schuber appeared “very incapacitated” during their last contact two weeks ago.
Penny Patrick, Neasham”s former assistant, described meeting Schuber several times. She testified that the alleged victim appeared to understand the annuity during an appointment in 2008. “She never was confused, in my presence anyway,” Patrick said.
Under cross-examination, Patrick said she and her husband have bought several MasterDex 10 annuities from Neasham.
Other clients of Neasham were outside the courtroom Wednesday afternoon to testify as defense witnesses, but they were not called to the stand.
The defense rested after calling its two witnesses of the day. The testimony of several defense witnesses occurred earlier in the trial during the prosecution”s presentation of evidence.
Both attorneys are scheduled to give closing arguments this morning, after which the jury is expected to begin deliberations.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
