Ala. Man Pleads Guilty in Pre-Need Theft

July 28, 2003

A Russellville, Alabama man surrendered his license to sell insurance, including pre-need policies, as a part of a guilty plea recently on theft by deception charges.

Mark Spry, 48, reportedly admitted that he pocketed $4,000 in premiums collected from an elderly woman rather than sending them to an insurance company in Utah that he had represented as the insurer of a pre-need policy he sold to the woman.

In 2002, the Alabama Legislature passed a law that regulates the pre-need industry.

Spry is the first to lose his license under that law to sell pre-need policies through a guilty plea or jury conviction. Spry has made restitution through the purchase of a policy for the woman, and must remain out of trouble for two years or face six months in the Franklin County Jail.