Witness Gets 2 Years in ‘Alliance’ Insurance Case

A former San Fernando Valley lawyer who enlisted other attorneys in “the Alliance” insurance scam and then became the star witness against them was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for his role in the fraud and legal corruption case.

Marc I. Kent, 42, of Granada Hills, shook his head and lowered his eyes disconsolately as U.S. District Judge Judith Keep pronounced sentence, rejecting a plea to limit Kent’s punishment to a year in a halfway house. “Mr. Kent was a big fish speaking against others who were not so big in the conspiracy,” Keep said. “He recruited so many in this organization, trading on his friendship with them.”

Keep also ordered Kent to pay a $5,000 fine and placed him on five years’ probation following his incarceration. He is to surrender Nov. 22 at an as-yet unspecified federal prison.