Dover – The Delaware Department of Correction announces that a work release offender assigned to the Morris Community Corrections Center in Dover has failed to return to the facility as required. Offender Jason McKenna left the facility yesterday, July 6 on an authorized work pass. After McKenna failed to return later that evening as required efforts to locate him were immediately undertaken and an escape warrant for his arrest was issued. Ongoing attempts to make contact with McKenna have been unsuccessful.

Date of walkaway: July 6, 2015
Offender name: Jason McKenna
Age: 44
Last known address: Dover, DE
Race/Gender: White male
Height: 5’06”
Weight: 150 pounds
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
Aliases/Nicknames: Jaybird McKenna
Scars/Marks/Tattoos: Tattoos on left arm, back, and right shoulder
Current Offense: McKenna is serving a sentence of level 4 work release for a violation of probation on a Burglary conviction

Anyone with information on this offender is asked to call (800) 542-9524 or their local police department.

Commissioner Stewart Celebrates Stepping Stones Credit Union’s
Partnership with Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh

House Bill 15 Encourages Delaware-domiciled Captive Insurers to Join FHLBank System

(DOVER, DE) – Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart joined with Senator Tom Carper and state and federal banking officials on Monday, June 29 to celebrate Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union’s joining forces with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to make more affordable housing dollars available to people who live or work in Wilmington.

Commissioner Stewart also announced that House Bill 15, signed into law by Governor Jack Markell on June 24, specifically states that Delaware-domiciled captive insurance companies may apply for membership in the FHLBank system.

“Partnering with the FHLBank of Pittsburgh allows Stepping Stones to expand the good work it’s been doing throughout Wilmington,” Stewart said at the ceremony, which took place across from Stepping Stones headquarters on North Church Street in Wilmington.  “And I know the increased liquidity provided by the FHLBank of Pittsburgh will only make Stepping Stones stronger.”

Since 2011, Stepping Stones has been serving its members in and around Wilmington with financial counseling and products including savings accounts, car loans, first mortgage loans and fixed and adjustable mortgages. Part of the Federal Home Loan Bank System,  FHLBank Pittsburgh serves financial institutions in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and will help Stepping Stones leverage its efforts in the low-income market it serves.

Captive insurance companies are owned by the entities that they insure, and are formed by businesses that wish to manage the cost and administration of their insurance coverage more efficiently. During Stewart’s administration, the captive division has flourished, growing from 38 companies in 2009 to over 1,000 entities today.

“As insurance commissioner, I am always looking for new ways to benefit my constituents,” said Stewart. “By coupling the FHLBanks and insurance companies, I am increasing the pool of money available for affordable housing opportunities to improve the lives of many Delawareans.” When insurance companies of all types borrow monies from the FHLBank system, the interest they pay on the borrowed funds is income for the FHLBanks. Each FHLBank is required to set side ten percent of its annual net earnings for affordable housing programs.  “I strongly encourage captive insurers to consider becoming members of FHLBank Pittsburgh.”

The FHLBank Pittsburgh’s affordable housing program provides grants and subsidized loans for costs associated with the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of single or multi-family housing for individuals and families with incomes at 80 percent or less of the area median income.

In 1932, Congress established the FHLB system to fill a need for a stable source of funds for residential mortgages.  The FHLBs provide cash advances to their nearly 8,000 members, which include insurance companies, community banks, thrifts, credit unions, and community development financial institutions.  Members of the FHLB system use their access to FHLB credit to help finance affordable housing and economic development efforts in their service areas.

House Bill 15 is one more step in Stewart’s ongoing effort to improve Delaware’s insurance laws.  In 2014, she supported legislation that equalized the treatment for FHLBanks when lending to insurance companies regulated under state insolvency laws. FHLBanks now have the peace of mind to know that when making a loan to a Delaware domiciled insurer, their right to the collateral is protected and treated in the same manner as when FHLBanks lend to FDIC-insured depository institutions governed by federal banking law. Stewart noted, “Delaware is one of the only states that guarantee this level of protection to the FHLBanks.”

Another important part of House Bill 15 is providing clarification of the term “series captive insurance company.”  A series captive insurance company is an insurer whose organizational status is as a series either under Delaware’s Limited Liability Company Act or Statutory Trust Act.  Five years ago Delaware pioneered the licensing of series as captive insurance companies and this type of captive has become the flagship product.  Since 2009, Delaware has issued captive insurance licenses to 754 captive insurers whose organizational status is as a series.  House Bill 15 defines what a series captive insurance is and what it can do.  Delaware’s captive insurance program is built upon Delaware’s respected corporate and business entity laws.  “One of the reasons that the captive insurance program is successful is because I am promoting the formation of captive insurers under the laws of Delaware” said Stewart.

Since becoming insurance commissioner in 2009, Stewart has transformed Delaware into the nation’s third largest captive insurance domicile and the sixth largest in the world.  She has also made Delaware the number one state for the formation of risk purchasing groups.  “The captive insurance program under my administration is a clean, non-polluting industry that provides economic opportunities by attracting intelligent human capital and generating an annual surplus of tax and fee revenue for Delaware.  I am very proud that this program benefits my constituents.”

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Delaware’s Captive Insurance Program: http://captive.delawareinsurance.gov/

The Delaware Department of Insurance mission: Protecting Delawareans through regulation
and education  while providing oversight of the insurance industry to best serve the public.

Delaware Department of Insurance | www.delawareinsurance.gov | 302.674.7300

More news from the Department of Insurance: http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/newsroom.shtml

Media Questions? Contact Jerry Grant at (302) 674-7303

Wilmington – The Delaware Department of Correction announces that a work release offender assigned to the Plummer Community Corrections Center in Wilmington has left the facility without authorization. During an offender headcount during the overnight hours of July 4, Abdullah Abdurraqeeb (aka Kevon Harris-Dickerson) was found to be unaccounted for and a search of the facility failed to locate him. A subsequent review of security camera footage revealed that Abdurraqeeb absconded over the perimeter wall during the evening of July 4 and proceeded on foot in the direction of Market Street. Attempts to make contact with Abdurraqeeb have been unsuccessful and an escape warrant for his arrest was issued on July 5.

Date of walkaway: July 4, 2015
Offender name: Abdullah Abdurraqeeb
Age: 19
Last known address: Wilmington, DE
Race/Gender: Black male
Height: 5’1”
Weight: 130 pounds
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Aliases/Nicknames: Kevon Harris-Dickerson
Scars/Marks/Tattoos: Scar on forehead; Tattoos left hand.
Current Offense: Abdurraqeeb is currently serving a 9-month sentence of level 4 work release following a 15-month period of incarceration for a conviction for Escape After Conviction.

Community Corrections Centers are Level 4 facilities where the Department of Correction manages offenders who are transitioning back into the community. These centers are not secured like Level 5 prisons, as offenders are permitted to the leave the facility to go to work, seek jobs or attend approved treatment sessions.

Anyone with information on this offender is asked to call (800) 542-9524 or their local police department.

The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present Midway, an exhibition of paper-based and pop-up sculpture by Robert Kelly. The exhibition will be on view from July 2-31, with an opening reception on July 10, 5-8 p.m. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. Please note that the Gallery will be closed on July 3 for the holiday.

The title Midway alludes to the space between science and art in which Kelly works as well as the arcade influences from a carnival midway. Kelly is inspired by movement and incorporates elements of amusement, surprise, and entertainment into his work. Robert Kelly resides in Wilmington, Delaware.

WILMINGTON, DE – The Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice is warning Delawareans of a number of scams involving wire transfers and prepaid debit cards.

The message is simple – don’t wire money to anyone who asks you to. Wiring money is like sending cash. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. The same is true for prepaid debit cards. Do not put money on a card at the request of anyone who asks you to. Scammers may try to trick you into doing so using the following scams, so please protect yourself and your money and don’t fall for them:

Scenario #1: A loved one is in jail or otherwise in serious trouble (perhaps while on vacation) and needs you to wire money immediately to help

What you should do:

Stop. Don’t act immediately no matter what the crisis may be and no matter that the scammer appears to know information about your family that no one else could know.

Check with the person who seems to be in trouble at a trusted phone number or email address. If the caller says not to tell anyone or that if you delay then the loved one will suffer some consequence those are signs of a scam.

Don’t send money. If the caller wants money to be wired or a prepaid debt card, you know it’s a scam.

Scenario #2: The sheriff or some other local law enforcement agency is going to arrest you for failing to report for jury duty unless you pay money immediately

What you should do:

Do not wire cash or provide the caller with a prepaid debit card. Scammers can spoof a telephone number on caller ID so that it looks like the call is coming from a legitimate source such as a courthouse or a sheriff’s office – but it’s not. Law enforcement or court personnel never make a call like that.

Stay calm. Don’t let the caller scare you. Note as many details about the call as you can, such as the phone number the caller appears to be calling from and who they claim to be, and end the call.

Call the Consumer Protection hotline at 1-800-220-5424 to report it.

Scenario #3: The IRS is calling because you owe them money and need to pay up

What you should do:

Do not send money or give the caller any personal or financial information. The IRS would contact you by mail, not phone.

Stay calm. Although the caller ID may indicate that the call is coming from the “IRS”, that number is being spoofed. Write down as many details about the call as you can, such as the caller ID number and who they claim to be.

Contact the IRS directly if you are worried that the call is real at 800-829-1040 or go to irs.gov.

Report the call to the following agencies:

• The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at tigta.gov or 800-366-4484.

• The FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or 877-FTC-HELP