Ex-Dallas man gets 7 years for insurance scam of London firm

A former Texas businessman was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $4 million in an insurance scam targeting a British company.

Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Wesley Michael Woodyard was sentenced Friday in Dallas. Investigators say the 66-year-old defrauded ACE European Insurance Company of London from 2002 through 2013.

An indictment alleges Woodyard stole money meant to buy annuities for beneficiaries of ACE European Insurance policies, including United Nations employees hurt or killed in connection with their jobs.

Woodyard owned an insurance company and acted an agent to sell annuities. Prosecutors say Woodyard fraudulently induced ACE European Insurance to send funds to bank accounts he controlled.

Woodyard was arrested in Minnesota last year. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December.