Former insurance agent gets jail for scam

Heidi Calonge, a onetime insurance agent in Plant City, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a scam to steal money from the firm she worked for.

Calonge, 34, was a lead agent and manager of Express Insurance of Plant City, where she led a scheme to defraud the owners out of bonus and commission checks from insurance companies they did business with, authorities contend. She posed falsely as the owner to open a post office box in a similar corporate name and a personal bank account to deposit the checks, officials add. She spent the money on personal items for herself and her family.

Calonge pleaded guilty Aug. 13 to band, wire and mail fraud charges, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. In addition to prison, she was also sentenced to six more months of home detention and ordered to pay $150,371 in restitution.