The Texas Department of Insurance was never informed about an Allstate adjuster who siphoned off $1.3 million in company funds and scammed 408 insureds, a TDI spokesman said yesterday.

"We were not aware of that Allstate adjuster situation," said TDI's Jerry Hagins, responding to a National Underwriter inquiry to the department. However, he added, "at the time of this incident [1996-2002], Allstate, or any insurance company would not have been required to have reported it to us."

The adjuster in the case--Chandler S. Bruton--is due to be sentenced June 23 in federal court in San Antonio on a racketeering charge. He pleaded guilty to a seven-year-long scheme in which he funneled money that was supposedly going to pay for policyholders' repair work to a corrupt contractor, Roland F. Villarreal, who did little or no actual work on the damaged properties.

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