Woman accused in $5.9 million embezzlement

(AP) - Charges reportedly have been filed against a Des Moines woman who is accused of embezzling an estimated $5.9 million from Aviva USA.

Aviva USA general counsel Mike Miller said Monday that Phyllis Stevens was arrested in Las Vegas by FBI agents on fraud charges on Friday. A U.S. District Court official in Las Vegas told the Des Moines Register that Stevens was scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

The 58-year-old Stevens, a 35-year-employee of Aviva and a predecessor company, is accused of creating a computer program that channeled commission payments into a bank account jointly held by her and a companion.

Miller said Monday a lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Des Moines naming Stevens and her companion as persons who defrauded the insurance company in a five-year scheme. Miller said the scheme discovered by company employees last week.