Local Businessman Tied to Scheme

An insurance bribery case that the FBI was investigating may have ties to Mid-Missouri, according to federal court document. Four men were named as being involved in a multi-million bribery scheme, where two former Humana employees, James Wenger and Glenn Fine have pleaded guilty in January and February, respectively, in U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky. The other two have not been charged, but named in the plea agreement of one of the defendants. In the court documents, Wenger told prosecutors he took money from Cutler & Associates, a South Carolina company, in exchange for referring insurance agents to the marketing company and to Dan McNerney of Columbia, Mo. Shep Cutler of Cutler & Associates and his business associate, McNerney, were named in Wenger’s plea agreement as the people involved in the kickback relationship that spanned nearly four years starting in 2006 and ended in the summer of 2010. McNerney is listed as the President of Barnes Insurance Group in Columbia on their website. When ABC 17 News staff tried to obtain comment from McNerney at his office Wednesday, his assistant said he was not in and that they have no comment for the press. A message left with Cutler & Associates was not returned Wednesday. Wenger and Fine received more than $2 million dollars for personal profit, according to prosecutors. Sentencing date has not yet been set for the two defendants, who can face up to five years in prison and a hefty fine. They may also be ordered to pay their former employer restitution for legal costs and businesses lost due to the scheme, according to prosecutors who say Humana was a victim in this case. No charges have been filed against McNerney and Cutler, according to Stephanie Collins, Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kentucky’s Western District. According to policy, Collins said they do not comment on open cases, neither denying nor confirming investigations on the other two men named in the scheme.