Insurance Adjuster Agrees to Plead Guilty to Embezzling

A former Allstate claims adjuster has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling more than $500,000 from the insurance company following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Ronald F. Eubanks, 51, of White Bear, Minn., was charged with two counts of embezzlement and two related counts of tax evasion.

Eubanks was one of hundreds of adjusters hired by Allstate from across the country after the 1994 quake.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Gregory Weingart said Eubanks authorized Allstate to pay Nomad Construction Co. of Palm Desert for work that was not performed or for work that was billed at inflated rates.

In return, the prosecutor said, Eubanks received more than $275,000 in kickbacks from Nomad. The company’s owner-operator, Daniel Walls, died in 1997.

Eubanks also was accused of using claim checks from Allstate to buy a Palm Springs country club membership and a part ownership in a San Luis Obispo condominium.

The former adjuster failed to file federal income tax returns for 1994 through 1996 in an attempt to conceal at least $300,000 in income, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Eubanks is to be arraigned April 12 in Los Angeles federal court. Under terms of a plea agreement, he will serve at least two years in prison. Without the agreement, he could have faced a maximum sentence of 30 years and fines up to $1 million.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the IRS.