A Stanton couple were among those indicted recently by a federal grand jury on insurance fraud charges.
Five people, John and Tena Lynn Pennington of Stanton, Thomas J. Childers of Hazard, Karen Lynetta Fox-Burns and her daughter, Shannon Renee Hogg of Whitesburg, were all charged May 1 for allegedly participating in a mail fraud scheme to defraud Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance from 2003 to 2005, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
John Pennington allegedly misrepresented how many people worked for his ZAG Resources, Inc. and the amount of the company's payroll. Childers, 59, is the owner of CS&W Insurance Services, Inc. in Whitesburg, where Fox-Burns was a license insurance agent and Hogg worked as a customer service representative.
John Pennington was also accused of not paying federal taxes withheld from him employees' paychecks from 2003 to 2007.
An arraignment hearing has not been scheduled for the five in U.S. District Court in Lexington. If convicted, they could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years.
