Kentucky Court of Appeals, to be published (7/29/16).
Bentley entered a
conditional guilty plea to receiving stolen property. He was ordered to
pay restitution of $1,000 to the victims of the theft and $11,000 to the
victims’ insurance provider. The insurance company had paid the victims
$12,000 under a homeowner’s policy, with $1,000 amounting to the victims’
deductible under the policy. The Court of Appeals reversed the portion of
the final judgment ordering restitution to the insurance provider because the
insurance company was not a victim in this case as defined by KRS
533.030(3).
The Court distinguished Bentley’s case from Commonwealth
v. Morseman because, while the Morseman Court found it was proper
for that defendant to pay restitution to an insurance company, it was only
because that insurance company was the victim of the crime for which Morseman
was convicted, insurance fraud. The Court affirmed the portion of the
judgment ordering Bentley to pay restitution of $1,000 to the victims because
the victims had paid that amount out-of-pocket to cover their deductible.
Matt Michalovic represented Mr. Bentley in Letcher Circuit Court.
Steven
Buck represented Mr. Bentley on appeal.
