Appeals Court upholds Rainey’s insurance fraud conviction

SOUTHAVEN — A federal appeals court has upheld the 37-month sentence handed to Robert Rainey, a Mississippi man convicted of defrauding a Memphis insurance company.

Robert Rainey and his wife, Elizabeth, both of Southaven, were sentenced earlier this year on charges stemming from a scam involving insurance checks totaling nearly $700,000. Elizabeth Rainey was sentenced to four years.

They admitted to siphoning money from her employer, Direct General Insurance Corp. of Memphis, by creating fraudulent checks on insurance claims. Prosecutors say Elizabeth Rainey was a claims adjustor at Direct General whose job was to issue claims checks for legitimate claims.

The Commercial Appeal reports Robert Rainey received 224 of the bogus checks.