A former South Texas attorney has been sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to insurance fraud and barratry for filing numerous hail damage lawsuits against insurers on behalf of homeowners who never hired him.

As part of a plea bargain with prosecutors, Richard Kent Livesay agreed to surrender his law license, pay restitution to victims and testify against other co-defendants in exchange for dropping 14 other insurance-related fraud charges against him.