Ex-CEO of Nonprofit P/C Statistical Agency Receives Sentence for Multi-Million Dollar Theft

A former chief executive officer of a statistical agent that compiles data from insurance companies for state insurance departments has been sentenced for her involvement in the theft of millions of dollars from the organization.

According to court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Theresa Szwast was sentenced to 33 months in prison earlier this month on a wire fraud charge. In addition to her prison sentence, the court ordered Szwast, who served as the CEO of the National Independent Statistical Service (NISS) from 2005 to 2022, to pay nearly $2.2 million in restitution and a fine of $5,000. Following her release, she will be under supervised release for two years.

Szwast was initially indicted in October 2024 on 11 counts of wire fraud and was arrested on October 23 of that year. In May 2025, she changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on one count of wire fraud.

The federal indictment revealed that Szwast “devised and executed a scheme to defraud” NISS, based in Indianapolis, starting around September 2005 and continuing until at least May 2022. Szwast, a resident of Fishers, Indiana, transferred funds from the organization to her personal credit accounts and wrote hundreds of checks to herself. The indictment noted that she used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including golf, travel, and wine.

As the CEO of NISS, Szwast earned approximately $188,000 in 2022. She was responsible for maintaining accurate financial records and was expected to contract with a certified public accounting firm for annual audits of NISS’s finances. However, federal attorneys alleged that she never engaged an outside CPA and falsified audit reports and financial statements presented to the NISS board.

About a year ago, a Marion Superior Court judge in Indiana issued a default judgment in favor of NISS against Szwast due to her failure to comply with court procedures. In this case, NISS claimed a loss of around $438,226, and the court awarded treble damages amounting to approximately $1.3 million.

In September 2022, Jeff Paterson was appointed interim CEO of NISS to succeed Szwast, who had served nearly 30 years with the organization. Paterson was later made the full-time president and CEO in May 2023.

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Fraud
Property Casualty

A former chief executive officer of a statistical agent that compiles data from insurance companies for state insurance departments has been sentenced for her involvement in the theft of millions of dollars from the organization.

According to court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Theresa Szwast was sentenced to 33 months in prison earlier this month on a wire fraud charge. In addition to her prison sentence, the court ordered Szwast, who served as the CEO of the National Independent Statistical Service (NISS) from 2005 to 2022, to pay nearly $2.2 million in restitution and a fine of $5,000. Following her release, she will be under supervised release for two years.

Szwast was initially indicted in October 2024 on 11 counts of wire fraud and was arrested on October 23 of that year. In May 2025, she changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on one count of wire fraud.

The federal indictment revealed that Szwast “devised and executed a scheme to defraud” NISS, based in Indianapolis, starting around September 2005 and continuing until at least May 2022. Szwast, a resident of Fishers, Indiana, transferred funds from the organization to her personal credit accounts and wrote hundreds of checks to herself. The indictment noted that she used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including golf, travel, and wine.

As the CEO of NISS, Szwast earned approximately $188,000 in 2022. She was responsible for maintaining accurate financial records and was expected to contract with a certified public accounting firm for annual audits of NISS’s finances. However, federal attorneys alleged that she never engaged an outside CPA and falsified audit reports and financial statements presented to the NISS board.

About a year ago, a Marion Superior Court judge in Indiana issued a default judgment in favor of NISS against Szwast due to her failure to comply with court procedures. In this case, NISS claimed a loss of around $438,226, and the court awarded treble damages amounting to approximately $1.3 million.

In September 2022, Jeff Paterson was appointed interim CEO of NISS to succeed Szwast, who had served nearly 30 years with the organization. Paterson was later made the full-time president and CEO in May 2023.

Topics
Agencies
Fraud
Property Casualty