Committing Insurance Fraud & Forgery While on Probation Requires Jail Time

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Dustin Jungvirt, appealed the sentence imposed following his guilty plea to insurance fraud. In State Of Iowa v. Dustin Jungvirt, No. 21-1130, Court of Appeals of Iowa (April 13, 2022) the Iowa Court of Appeals resolved the dispute.

BACKGROUND FACTS

The State charged Jungvirt with insurance fraud. Jungvirt committed the offense while on probation for child endangerment causing bodily injury. The State later added a charge for fraudulent practice. After Jungvirt’s arrest, he was released to the Iowa Department of Corrections for supervision.

Later Jungvirt was arrested for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Due to the arrest, the court revoked Jungvirt’s pretrial release. The court received a presentence investigate report (PSI) which recommended probation and placement in a Davenport residential correctional facility (RCF).

Jungvirt failed to appear for sentencing, resulting in the court issuing a bench warrant for his arrest. Jungvirt, after being charged with new crime and returning to the court, expressing chutzpah, asked for probation. The State urged the court to impose a prison sentence.

The court sentenced Jungvirt to a prison term of five years for insurance fraud, to run consecutively to the two-year sentence for Jungvirt’s forgery convictions.

DISCUSSION

The Court of Appeals concluded, faced with the clear and logical statement made by the sentencing court, properly considered the defendant’s chances of reform, criminal history, mitigating factors such as mental health and substance abuse, the resources available to the defendant, the effect Jungvirt’s crime had on the community, and what punishment would best protect the public. In particular, the court emphasized Jungvirt’s consistent pattern of engaging in illegal activity while on probation or pretrial release. The court determined incarceration was necessary.

A district court is not bound by the recommendations in a PSI. Due to its consideration of the relevant factors, the total lack of respect for the court system, the criminal actions when on probation, it became obvious that the district court did not abuse its discretion.

ZALMA OPINION

It is time that trial and appellate courts stop coddling insurance fraud criminals with probation and half-way-houses and deter the crime with real prison time. His appeal was an amazing waste of the time of two courts and should have been condemned with more than affirming the sentence and the addition of serious sanctions.

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Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].

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