After fleeing to the Caribbean eight months ago to avoid charges that they stole $10 million from insurance clients, a San Jose, Calif. couple appeared in court Tuesday for the first time and were ordered held on $10 million bail each.
Robert and Kimberly Morgan did not enter pleas during their hearing in Santa Clara County Superior Court according to a report by the Associated Press. The next hearing was set for Sept. 25.
Robert Morgan, 37, could face 16 years in prison if convicted; Kimberly Morgan, 36, could get eight years. Robert Morgan allegedly bilked about $10 million from 700 clients of ISU Diligent Insurance Agency in San Jose, the AP report said. The company reportedly collected premiums for policies that were never written, and as much as $3 million went into the Morgans’ pockets.
The Morgans disappeared last year from their $950,000 home with their two young children, nanny and dog just as investigators were close to charging them. They fled to St. Lucia, where they allegedly assumed the identities of two of their cousins and settled in one of the island’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Family members tipped authorities as to the location of the Morgans, and they were arrested last month and extradited to San Jose. Robert Morgan is charged with insurance fraud, grand theft and identity theft. His wife faces theft charges relating to the couple’s escape to the Caribbean; prosecutors have not charged her in the alleged insurance scam. Defense attorneys say the couple panicked and feared for their children when authorities began investigating Kimberly Morgan as well as her husband.
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