Billings man sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for mail fraud

Billings man sentenced to almost 2 years in federal prison for mail fraud
By the Associated Press

BILLINGS - A 37-year-old former claims adjuster who acknowledged stealing more than $150,000 from his employer to feed a gambling addiction has been sentenced to almost two years in federal prison.

Ryan Paul Shipman appeared in court in Billings on Thursday, and U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced him to 21 months in prison and ordered him to pay $155,015 in restitution.

Shipman, of Billings, pleaded guilty in February to one count of mail fraud for stealing that amount from Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., headquartered in Laramie, Wyo.

Prosecutors say the scheme ran from October 2008 until last September, and Shipman submitted false claims and invoices to the company and split the money with an unindicted co-conspirator.

The Billings Gazette reports the investigation into the scheme is continuing.