SCRANTON — The owner of an Avoca insurance business was convicted Thursday on charges she defrauded nearly 70 homeowners by issuing invalid insurance policies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Susan C. Kevra-Shiner, 46, of Clarks Summit, was found guilty on seven counts of mail fraud following a three-day trial in Scranton before U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik. The jury returned the verdict after seven hours of deliberation, prosecutors said.
Kevra-Shiner, an attorney, handled real estate transactions as owner and operator of Avoca-based title insurance company GK Abstract. She began issuing title insurance policies in 2003 as an authorized agent of the Stewart Title Guaranty Company, a Texas-based title insurance underwriter, prosecutors said.
When her agreement with Stewart was terminated in 2008, Kevra-Shiner continued to issue invalid policies. Prosecutors said she defrauded at least 69 homeowners or lenders of approximately $69,000 in premiums.
Additionally, prosecutors said Kevra-Shiner never remitted any parts of the premiums to the underwriter.
As a result, Kevra-Shiner’s law license was suspended in 2009 for a period of four years, prosecutors said.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, court records show.
