An insurance adjuster from Texas was sentenced to 20 years in prison for pocketing more than $200,000 in insurance payouts meant for St. Charles Parish residents who filed claims to repair damage to their property following Hurricane Ida, according to the St. Charles Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Andrew Joseph Mitchell, 44, of Clear Lake Shore, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft valued over $25,000, two counts of theft valued over $5,000 and five counts of forgery, the District Attorney’s Office said.
“Mitchell could have been a force for good in our community, post Ida. But he chose to victimize our residents all over again for his own financial gain,” St. Charles District Attorney Joel Chaisson said in a statement released Thursday.
Mitchell was arrested in January 2023 following an investigation by the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud Unit and the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
In the wake of Hurricane Ida’s landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, Mitchell and his company, Mitchell Adjusting International LLC, began reaching out to residents across the state, soliciting his services as an adjuster who could negotiate with insurance companies on their behalf, according to the District Attorney’s Office and State Police.
But instead of turning over the settlements to property owners, authorities say Mitchell stole the money, in somce cases forging victims’ signatures on documents.
He pleaded guilty to taking more than $200,000 from four victims in St. Charles Parish, the District Attorney’s Office said.
State Police obtained warrants for his arrest on similar charges in Orleans, St. John the Baptist and Tangipahoa Parishes. As of earlier this year, investigators allege Mitchell stole almost $600,000 from seven residents across Louisiana.
No details were immediately available about the status of Mitchell’s criminal charges in the other jurisdictions.
Mitchell was also accused of stealing insurance money from residents in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. He was indicted earlier this year with second-degree forgery in Kimble County, Texas, while jailed in Louisiana.
In St. Charles Parish, ad hoc Judge Kirk Vaughn sentenced Mitchell to 20 years for each count of theft over $25,000, and 10 years for each of the remaining theft and forgery charges, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Mitchell forfeited $39,000, which will be given to the victims in the case. He has also agreed to a judgement to repay the victims the full remaining balance of restitution, the District Attorney’s Office said.