LAKEPORT — A judge Wednesday sentenced local insurance agent Glenn A. Neasham to serve 90 days in jail and complete formal probation for being convicted of felony theft from an elder last fall.
Judge Richard C. Martin pronounced the punishment after denying a request for a new trial earlier Wednesday at the Lake County Courthouse.
“I”m kind of disappointed we weren”t able to get the motion for a new trial,” Neasham said after the sentencing hearing. “I”ve been in business for 23 years and I”ve never had any problems.”
Prosecutor Rachel Abelson, who opposed the defense request, said, “Obviously, I think there was no improprieties and I think the jury did the right thing.”
Twelve Lake County jurors found Neasham, 52, of Hidden Valley Lake guilty of felony theft in October.
The charge stemmed from a $175,000 Allianz MasterDex 10 annuity he sold to Lucerne resident Fran Schuber, then 83, in February 2008, several years after she allegedly had been diagnosed with dementia.
The California Department of Insurance investigated the transaction and determined it was illegal. The Lake County District Attorney”s Office arrested Neasham in December 2010.
The case seemed to hinge on the question of Schuber”s mental capacity at the time of the sale.
“Fran Schuber wasn”t in a state of mind to be able to consent,” Abelson said Wednesday.
The verdict, according to Abelson, sends a message “that people shouldn”t take advantage of people who are vulnerable.”
Neasham, who denies wrongdoing, said he has no misgivings about the transaction.
“I still feel the same way. She was fine that day,” he said of Schuber. “If I would have noticed that there was a problem, I wouldn”t have helped her. I would have walked away from the case immediately.”
Defense counsel Mitchell Hauptman filed a motion in December asking the court to set aside the jury”s finding and order a new trial. He alleged juror misconduct, prosecutorial error and inadequate evidence among the reasons for the request.
Martin presided over the motion hearing Wednesday and ruled the defense claims were not sufficient enough to justify throwing out the verdict.
Hauptman also asked the court to reduce the conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor — a request Martin denied.
The defense called six of the nearly 30 Neasham supporters in the courtroom Wednesday to testify as character witnesses.
Each person said they knew Neasham, personally or professionally, and believed he did nothing wrong with the Schuber sale.
“I think the train”s coming through and he”s getting run over,” Roy Parmentier said.
Parmentier, a Lakeport City Councilman, testified he bought two annuities from Neasham, which he called, “the greatest deal I ever made.”
Martin imposed a 300-day sentence but stayed all of that time except for 90 days. He also ordered Neasham to serve three years formal probation. The judge reserved restitution for Schuber.
Neasham”s turn-in date is April 18. Hauptman said he filed an appeal Wednesday and plans to ask the court to delay the jail time while the appeal is pending.
Neasham said he expects to lose his insurance license soon as a result of the conviction.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
