Is an Iowa Gay Marriage Group in the Middle of $5.9 Million Embezzlement Case?

• Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 4:02
• Iowa, News Center, Top Story
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Craig Robinson has written 454 stories on this site.

Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.

46 Comments on “Is an Iowa Gay Marriage Group in the Middle of $5.9 Million Embezzlement Case?”

• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 29 September, 2009, 6:19

  SIX MILLION DOLLARS? The way it’s being reported on the WHO radio news, it may as well have been six hundred dollars.

  I am sure the ever-pure, Ed Fallon will be returning his ill-gotten gain very soon, right along with Murphy, McCarthy and the state Dimocrat party.

  This six million dollars is somewhere and there’s a heck of a big gap between the numbers reported and six million.

  Why the heck wouldn’t AVIVA have noticed a long time ago?
• 
  HawkCR1 wrote on 29 September, 2009, 6:41

  Well DVFO…from what I’ve seen in this story…Phyllis Stevens ALMOST got away with the fraudulent activity if it wasn’t for ONE very observant employee at Aviva USA who noticed the inconsistencies.

  It almost sounds like she pulled a stunt like you saw in the movie “Office Space”..you know..move a decimal point over a few places and redirect where the money gets placed..and voila..you’re in the money.

  Why didnt AVIVA find out earlier? According to the lawsuit filed against her, Phillips manually made these adjustments in their computer system in 2004. Apparently now, their computer systems now prevent these types of manual adjustments.

  If this was something like the scheme in the movie “Office Space”, the scheme likely would have dumped money into these accounts in transactions that would not raise red flags. So, instead of say..trying to transfer a million at a time…the transactions might have been done a few thousand dollars at a time.

  What I’d love to see is to see if Stevens tries to use some sort of justification defense…and makes her defense that she was “fighting the big bad insurance companies” from the inside or some other kooky thing.
• 
  Scott M wrote on 29 September, 2009, 10:35

  I’m sure the feds and the civil attorneys will be digging into where this money went. If One Iowa was benefitting from this, we should find out eventually. It will also be interesting to see if they fight giving the money back to the big bad corporation.
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 29 September, 2009, 13:14

  really, trying to make this a political story is weak, politicians on both sides of the aisle have had to give money back because it is found out later it came from a dubious souce that at the time no one knew about or could have know about. You shouldn’t throw rocks in a glass house craig.

  Silence
• 
  desmoinesdem wrote on 29 September, 2009, 18:53

  Yes, this is a fairly weak effort from Craig. How were any of these candidates or organizations supposed to know that she was allegedly embezzling money?
• 
  HawkCR1 wrote on 29 September, 2009, 23:43

  You’re seriously putting that out there DSMDem? In the course of ONE month, these two dropped over 60 grand on political candidates and causes…Now.. really..someone who’s a financial analyst at an insurance company can do that? Hardly. That’s why when a person makes a donation to a federal candidate, they have to state what their profession is. Its up to a candidate to do due diligence to insure that a donation isn’t coming from a questionable source.

  Some serious questions need to be asked here about how the Iowa chapter of Marriage Equality USA was being funded. Were the Stevens using the ill-gotten gains from AVIVA to fund their activities in Iowa?
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 30 September, 2009, 7:53

  It really doesn’t take someone who has years and years of computer training to tamper with computer code and get it to do something it wasn’t intended to do. Most of the computer viruses that float around the net are written but teens and tweens from countries where exposure to a computer as a tool for learning is limited.
• 
  Scott M wrote on 30 September, 2009, 8:35

  1. No one is saying these candidates/ groups should have known the money was stolen before about a week ago (although some with personal knowledge of the couple might have suspected). The point is that they should give the money back now that they know it was stolen.

  2. Like it or not, this is a relevant political story. Yes, things like this have happened before, and it’s always in the news. TIR doesn’t seem to be the only one who thinks this is important. http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-stevens-aviva-092909,0,3250318.story?track=rss
• 
  Peggy wrote on 30 September, 2009, 10:54

  Marla & Phyllis Stevens also donated enough to make the Director’s Circle ($5,000 – 9,999) for the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force sometime between January ‘06 and September ‘07.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 30 September, 2009, 11:22

  Committee to Elect Matt McCoy (Phyllis), $2,000, 6/2/06
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 30 September, 2009, 13:32

  OK, scott, so they give the money back, would you then agree that it becomes a non issue politically?? for the record, I agree they should give the money back. It is a story, just keep it in perspective, it is not a major story, and not really that political one, as long as they give the money back.

  Silence
• 
  Peggy wrote on 30 September, 2009, 13:57

  “it is not a major story” — Silence

  Only a flaming liberal Democrat from Iowa would say such a stupid thing. She stole $6 million, you tool.

  Maybe you, Phyllis and Marla can organize one more “big-insurance-is-screwing-Americans” protest before they’re hauled off to prison. Be sure to invite Frank Cordaro, and then have him draft a ‘Repent of Embezzlement’ letter for all his radical friends to sign and mail to Phyl and Mar, signers of his ‘Repent of Heterosexism’ letter.

  “Fiscal conservatives,” are you paying attention? This is what happens when we capitulate to immoral people.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 30 September, 2009, 21:06

  Immorality is not the sole Purview of homosexuals and being born a homosexual or acting on it is not immoral. Stealing money regardless of the good causes you give it to is immoral.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 1 October, 2009, 6:14

  VV: If God tells me homosexuality is immoral, I’m gonna believe him. Not only is it immoral, it’s dangerous. Funny how that works. Violate God’s laws and there are consequences.

  God also tells us adultery in any form is immoral.
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 1 October, 2009, 9:31

  yes deace, god says lots of things, like he told W to invade iraq, that worked out well, god also says to stone homosexuals, are you going to follow that advice too deace??? beware of the false prophets. it is wonderful how you can shed yourself of all responsibility for your thoughts and actions by blaming god.

  Silence
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 1 October, 2009, 9:32

  oh deace, pretty sure god also said love thy neighbor as thy self, you may have forgotten that one, or find it inconvenient.

  Silence
• 
  Peggy wrote on 1 October, 2009, 10:02

  Silence,

  It’s loving to warn someone that their behaviors are a danger to themselves and others, both physically and spiritually, especially when their so-called friends are telling them otherwise.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 1 October, 2009, 11:24

  DVfO

  The problem there is that your mistaking words written by men for what God says. There are also parts of the bible that show an acceptance of homosexuality, or are you simply choosing to ignore them just like you choose to ignore the parts that say adulterer should be stoned to death and that if your brother dies you should marry his wife, even if you are all ready married.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 1 October, 2009, 11:27

  Peggy, There is no scientific evidence that shows that homosexuality is any more dangerous than heterosexuality. As for spiritual danger, not everyone has the same spiritual beliefs, even Christians and Catholics can’t agree on whether or not the Bible and God truly condemn homosexuality. Spirituality is a very personal choice, and no one has the right to tell another person what is right or wrong when it comes to spiritual maters.
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 1 October, 2009, 12:02

  Vast how dare you point out inconsistancies in the bible, or that it was man made, or that it can be interpreted differently, or that it might be outdated to take literally, how dare you.

  Silence
• 
  Peggy wrote on 1 October, 2009, 15:40

  Silence,

  Ever heard of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant?

  Don’t be so arrogant about your biblical ignorance. You’re making a fool of yourself.
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 1 October, 2009, 16:29

  Oh, yeah vast, don’t mention science to this crowd either, they don’t need no stinkin science, or facts or logic or rational thought……

  Silence
• 
  Peggy wrote on 1 October, 2009, 16:36

  OMG, you are such an imbecile! First, Vast DIDN’T mention science. Second, if you can find a homosexual willing to discuss with me the adverse physical effects of homosexual sex acts, I’ll buy you a beer. Trust me…they scatter like cockroaches when I bring it up.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 1 October, 2009, 16:41

  “Spirituality is a very personal choice, and no one has the right to tell another person what is right or wrong when it comes to spiritual maters.” — Vast

  Wrong again, Vast. Ever heard of freedom of speech? I can tell you a million times over that what you’re doing is bad for you. Doesn’t mean you have to listen, but I still have the right to say it. A right, BTW, the homosexual lobby is trying to strip from me.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 7:36

  Ok, Peggy, you have me there. You do have the right to say it and I agree that it’s wrong for people to try and remove that right from you. However, you don’t have the right to codify your spirituality into law and force me to live by it.

  And Peggy, I’d be more than willing to debate with you the supposed adverse physical effects of homosexuality. Do you want my address for where you can send me that beer?
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 7:50

  Vast,

  What happens when a certain denomination’s spirituality also happens to come down on the side of beneficial legislation, i.e. prostitution? Do we throw out the law merely because someone religious agreed with it?

  We can discuss the adversities right here and educate a whole lot of ignorant people in the process. I’d want Craig’s permission, though.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 9:32

  http://napwa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26:napwa-launches-the-first-annual-national-gay-mens-hivaids-awareness-day&catid=3&Itemid=58
• 
  LuckyDog wrote on 2 October, 2009, 9:52

  HawkCR1 wrote on 29 September, 2009, 23:43
  You’re seriously putting that out there DSMDem? In the course of ONE month, these two dropped over 60 grand on political candidates and causes> They didn’t drop 60 grand in one month.. it’s 60 grand SINCE January 2007
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 10:02

  Here’s another:

  Marla L. Demass & Phyllis Stevens, Delegate’s Circle ($1,200 – 2,499), July ‘01-Sept ‘02, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 2 October, 2009, 10:58

  Lucky dog, don’t point out facts to hawk, he finds them quite inconvenient to his talking points that he has been indoctrinated with.

  Silence
  vast, not to tell you what to do, but learn a lesson from me, and don’t debate ignorant bible beaters, they enjoy life with their heads up their arses and never come out for air. Plus, you really can never have a battle of wits with the unarmed.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 11:26

  This one’s interesting:
  Phyllis Demass, Analyst, Indiana Life Insurance Co
  $500 to Iowa Democratic Party on January 31, 2004
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 11:26

  Sounds like ol’ Phyl and Mar were using aliases, too.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 13:07

  Peggy

  Prostitution is far different from homosexuality. A person is either forced into or chooses to be a prostitute. It’s not something that they are born with.

  Being a homosexual is not a choice, it’s something that a person is born with. It’s as much a part of a person as heterosexuality is to others.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 13:08

  Silence, the worst thing a homosexual can do is remain silent against inequality.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 13:27

  An alcoholic could say the same thing.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 13:31

  BTW, Marla R. Stevens, ‘wife’ of Phyllis the Embezzler, disagrees with you.

  Read “Lesbian by Grace of the Goddess, Queer by Choice”

  http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:zyrxxZyExlYJ:www.educatedeclectic.blogspot.com/+%22Marla+R.+Stevens%22&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
• 
  Silence Dogood wrote on 2 October, 2009, 15:20

  I didn’t realize you were gay, vast, don’t let me deter you from carrying on the fight, it was just with certain people there is no point, I have tried it as rationally as I can, and some people just don’t want to listen, they want to stick there heads in the sand and cling to old tired myths and lies, and then hide behind the bible to justify their prejudice and homophobia. Anyway, didn’t mean to offend.

  Silence
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 16:59

  Peggy, no an Alcoholic can not say the same thing. Alcoholism is an addiction to a drug. While it may be true that some people are more susceptible to addition than others, there is still a conscious decision being made to have that first drink. I never made a conscious choice to be attracted to other guys.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 16:59

  Silence,

  I’d much rather drink a beer and hang out with Vast than you.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 16:59

  No offense taken Silence.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 2 October, 2009, 17:49

  Vast,

  I don’t deny that you may have had same sex attraction from a very young age. If so, this is, of course, nothing of your doing and I can totally empathize with what you may have gone through. However, you also made a conscious decision to take that first drink as it were.
• 
  VastVariety wrote on 2 October, 2009, 20:57

  But sexual attraction isn’t an addiction.
• 
  Peggy wrote on 3 October, 2009, 7:45

  No, but you’re still in control of your actions and, frankly, what you’ve chosen is not good for you.

  I’m not trying to beat you over the head with judgmentalism but the obvious double standard must be noted. Smokers, overeaters, alcoholics, etc. all have to be brow-beaten about their habits so why not the same treatment for homosexuals?

  Another thing I don’t understand is why health insurance premiums aren’t higher for practicing homosexuals, especially men. The verdict is in and there’s no denying that practicing homosexuals are taking risks with their health. What’s good for the goose….
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 3 October, 2009, 7:59

  Peggy: Absolutely. Homosexuals should be required to obtain licenses to “practice”. Then they can be taxed appropriately to cover their increased medical costs. The way it is now, they are given a free pass with smokers expecting to pick up the increased costs of homosexuals’ risky behavior.

  It’s a matter of fairness.
• 
  Deace voted for Obama wrote on 3 October, 2009, 8:10

  This could be a way to solve the “gay marriage” issue.

  If two homosexuals show up asking for a marriage license, they can get one but the fee will be thousands of dollars to cover their excess medical expenses that are expected. It could be sorta like a bond.

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1. Prominent Iowa LGBT Activist Charged With Embezzling Millions From Employer « Daily News

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