Former Palos Heights Insurance Agent Diane Lazar Pleaded Guilty to Bank Fraud in Case Over Elderly Client's Annuities and Bank Account

Case from 2020–2022 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Feb. 10, 2020; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Diane Lazar, a former insurance agent from Palos Heights, Illinois, who was charged in 2020 with swindling an elderly client, pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, 2022, to one count of bank fraud and was sentenced on May 18, 2022, according to the federal court docket [2]. We could not find the terms of her sentence in public sources.

What prosecutors alleged

According to the February 2020 indictment, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. Policies for a client in his 80s: From 2008 to 2014, Lazar, a licensed insurance producer, submitted applications for an elderly client to buy several annuities and a life insurance policy from companies she represented. He paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums, and she earned commissions.
2. Her daughter as beneficiary: In some cases, she allegedly named her own daughter as beneficiary, falsely claiming the daughter was the client's grandchild or great-grandchild.
3. After his death: When the client died in 2014, she allegedly tried to collect some of the annuity and insurance proceeds and used a phony power of attorney to withdraw about $100,000 from his checking account.

The person charged

Diane Lazar (also known as Diane Dowd), of Cape Coral, Fla., formerly of Palos Heights, Ill. (46 when indicted)

• Indictment (Feb. 4, 2020): two counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution [1].
• Plea (Feb. 9, 2022): pleaded guilty to Count Three (bank fraud) before U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle, a month before a scheduled trial [2].
• Sentencing (May 18, 2022): sentencing hearing held; judgment entered May 19, 2022. The sentence terms were not available in the public records we could access.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago.

Red flags

• An agent selling an older person multiple annuities and policies in a short period.
• Beneficiaries the policyholder doesn't recognize, or "relatives" who aren't family.
• A power of attorney appearing after a death or one the family never knew about.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Review beneficiary designations on an older relative's annuities and policies with them.
2. Ask banks to flag powers of attorney and large withdrawals on seniors' accounts.
3. Report elder financial exploitation to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311 and your state insurance department.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Diane Lazar (aka Diane Dowd), Cape Coral, Fla.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Norgle), No. 1:20-cr-00078	Indicted Feb. 4, 2020; pleaded guilty Feb. 9, 2022, to bank fraud; sentenced May 18, 2022; sentence terms not found in public sources	[1], [2]

If you have a public record of the sentence, write to us at the address below.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Former Suburban Insurance Agent Charged With Fraud for Allegedly Swindling Money From Elderly Client," Feb. 10, 2020. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-suburban-insurance-agent-charged-fraud-allegedly-swindling-money-elderly-client
2. CourtListener, docket for United States v. Lazar, No. 1:20-cr-00078 (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16828935/united-states-v-lazar/

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