Insurance Agent Involved in NY Boat Accident Pleads Guilty to Fraud

A Houston man has pleaded guilty to a charge related to selling fraudulent insurance policies, including one to a company that owned a tour boat which capsized in a New York lake in 2005, killing 20 tourists.

Federal officials say Christopher Purser pleaded guilty in Houston federal court Wednesday to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Authorities say Purser sold fraudulent policies from 2004 to 2006 in Texas and across the U.S.

One of the policies he sold was to Shoreline Cruises Inc., which operated the Ethan Allen, a boat that tipped over on Lake George in northern New York in October 2005. Officials say none of the claims made against the policy could be paid.

Purser faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced Jan. 19.