Life Insurance Scammer Swindled Elderly While Living Large

Christian M. Allmendinger, a top executive at a company that defrauded hundreds of investors out of more than $100 million, has been convicted by a federal jury for his role in the scheme, the Justice Department announced.

Allmendinger, a 39-year-old Houston resident, was co-founder and vice president of A&O Resource Management Ltd., which bought and sold life settlements, which allow owners of life insurance policies to sell them before they die for more than they would receive if they cashed them in with their policy holders.

A&O Resource Management swindled more than 800 investors in the U.S. and Canada -- many of them elderly -- while Allmendinger and his cronies enriched themselves at their expense, department lawyers said. Allmendinger treated himself to a number of luxury items, including a $2 million house, a Lamborghini Spyder and a 15-carat diamond ring, according to court documents.