Ex-La. Citizens CEO indicted on theft counts

BATON ROUGE, La. - The former chief executive of Louisiana's state-backed insurance firm was indicted Thursday on 14 counts of theft, accused of spending over $33,000 of the company's money on himself and his family, including the purchase of beer and provisions for his daughter's prom party.

Terry Lisotta, former CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., will surrender in Baton Rouge on Friday or Monday, defense lawyer David Courcelle said.

Courcelle said the allegations stem from administrative errors, not wrongdoing, at Citizens and two related firms Lisotta oversaw.

"We're going to defend him vigorously," Courcelle said.

The indictments stem from investigations by the Legislative Auditor's Office that questioned $106,000 of Lisotta's expense reports from 2003-06.

Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said Lisotta's misuse of Citizens' money is "particularly egregious" because the firm is financially backed by fees — called "assessments" — paid by homeowners.

"All the folks in the state who have insurance are paying assessments. Taxpayers are footing the bill," Caldwell said.

Lisotta is accused of submitting fictional expense accounts and getting reimbursed $3,321 for insurance conferences he did not attend or did not pay for. One of the criminal counts accuses Lisotta of getting $1,495 in Citizens reimbursements for fees to attend the Property-Casualty Industry's conference in New York — though investigators say Lisotta, as a guest speaker, wasn't charged the fee.

The indictment has few details, but Caldwell said each count refers directly to the individual findings in the auditor's reports, including:

_ $1,102.75 for beer, soft drinks and food that Lisotta bought for the 2004 prom party for his daughter.

_ $1,723 of company money Lisotta is accused of spending on LSU season football tickets and a parking pass.

_ $1,219.75 for a plane ticket to Europe, for his wife. Lisotta took the trip, with stops in Bermuda and New York, for meetings about reinsurance, but he was reimbursed for his wife's ticket, the report said.

Courcelle declined to comment on details of the allegations, but has previously explained the LSU ticket expenditure by saying Lisotta reimbursed Citizens for the tickets and has the canceled check to prove it.

Courcelle said he hopes to have Lisotta, of Harahan, released on bond after he surrenders.

"He's certainly not a flight risk or a danger to the community," Courcelle said.

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