Suspended attorney indicted for title insurance fraud

Susan C. Kevra-Shiner operated Avoca abstract business
Last updated: October 10. 2014 5:49PM - 4494 Views

By Roger DuPuis - rdupuis@civitasmedia.com

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A suspended Lackawanna County attorney who operated an abstract firm in Avoca has been indicted for more than $70,000 in alleged title insurance fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said.

Susan C. Kevra-Shiner, 46, of Clarks Summit, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury and charged with seven counts of mail fraud relating to GK Abstract Co., Inc., of Avoca.

Kevra-Shiner faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count, as well as an order of restitution to the victims.

A voicemail message left for Kevra-Shiner at GK Abstract was not immediately returned on Friday.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Kevra-Shiner was an attorney admitted to practice in Pennsylvania in 1994. Kevra-Shiner handled real estate transactions as part of her legal practice, and starting in 2003, she issued title insurance policies on behalf of Stewart Title Guaranty Company, a title insurance underwriter based in Texas.

Stewart terminated its agency agreement with Kevra-Shiner on Sept. 23, 2008, but the indictment alleges that Kevra-Shiner continued to issue numerous title insurance policies to her clients after that date.

“In order to give GKA sufficient time to finish transactions that were already in process, Stewart gave GKA an additional sixty days from the termination date to finalize all outstanding business. GKA was not authorized to issue new commitments or new policies during this sixty-day time period or anytime thereafter,” the indictment states.

“Despite the existence of the termination agreement, Susan C. Kevra-Shiner continued to represent herself as an agent of Stewart who was authorized to issue title insurance policies in Stewart’s name,” according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that she defrauded approximately 76 homeowners and lenders of $72,278 in title insurance premiums which she was not authorized to receive and for which no valid title insurance policy was issued, and did not remit any of that cash to Stewart.

“As a result, the potential liabilities under these policies were not covered by Stewart, and the lender and the homeowner did not receive the insurance protection they believed the homeowner had paid to receive,” the indictment states.

On Feb. 28, 2013, the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel suspended Kevra-Shiner’s law license for four years as a result of those alleged activities.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is assigned to Senior Litigation Counsel Bruce Brandler for prosecution.

Arraignment has been set for 10 a.m. Oct. 20 in U.S. District Court in Wilkes-Barre.