What’s good for one guy is good for the other.
Melvin Lyle Quinn, 56, of Goldsboro, pled guilty to his involvement in the $5.3 million defrauding of Discovery Insurance Tuesday in Lenoir County Superior Court.
Like co-conspirator Edward Earl Waters of Kinston, Quinn received a conviction for two counts of aiding and abetting obtaining property by means of false pretense and two counts of conspiracy.
The plea leaves ringleader Robert Edward Steed of Swansboro and his brother, Franklin Ronald Steed of Denton, as the last two defendants in the case. Russell Simeon Ward, of Goldsboro, who was also named as a conspirator in the case, died Nov. 9, 2011.
Assistant District Attorney Imelda Pate read from the factual findings of the case that Quinn and Ed Steed knew each other since they worked together at a Goldsboro insurance company in 1983.
Quinn set up a bank account under Signal Claim service in 1996 under the thought he’d use it if he became an independent broker. Ed Steed approached Quinn “prior to 2000” about the possibility of embezzling money from Steed’s employer, Discovery Insurance.
They agreed and put the plan into operation, where checks would be written for false claims, Ed Steed would hand the checks to Quinn, who would then deposit them and split the money equally between Steed and himself.
Pate said during the Waters plea that prosecutors could only prove transactions through 2005, because the banks used didn’t keep records any older. Between January 2005 and the end of the operation, Quinn deposited 111 checks for $737,143.21, taking home $368,571.60, give or take a penny. That averages out to about $52,653.09 a year.
Quinn told investigators that during this time, he maintained a salaried position at another insurance company, and only used the money for “everyday expenses,” noting he didn’t have a gambling problem.
Waters told investigators he used most of his $2.3 million on lavish gambling trips.
Quinn acknowledged he knew the Steeds and Waters, but were unaware of Franklin Roland Steed’s and Waters’ involvement in the conspiracy. Prosecutors say Ed Steed operated as the hub of the operation, keeping information about the actions of the others from each other.
Quinn is seeking deference when it comes time for sentencing, which should be after disposition of the cases against the Steeds.
“There would be our petition that after all the cooperation, that there may be an ‘extraordinary mitigation,’ in as much there have been negotiations between Mr. Quinn and (Discovery Insurance CEO) Mr. (Stephen) Hill over recovery of the money, of the ill-gotten gains,” Quinn’s attorney, Jeff Holtz said.
The maximum sentence Quinn could receive is 71 years and six months in prison.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
Melvin Lyle Quinn
56, Goldsboro
January 2005-December 2011:
nReceived and deposited 111 checks for $737,143.21
Plead guilty to:
- Two counts of aiding and abetting obtaining property by means of false pretense
- Two counts of conspiracy
Source: Lenoir County Superior Court