CHICAGO --- Court documents released last month confirmed that Robert Groebner, a 35-year employee of Allstate, was sentenced to one year probation, fines and restitution after admitting he received payments from collision repair shops in exchange for keeping the shops in Allstate's direct repair program.

From 1992 through 2002, Groebner was an Allstate damage evaluator, or re-inspector, and visited and evaluated as many as 30 shops on the insurance company's PRO program, CollisionWeek reported. Court documents indicate Groebner used his position to get monthly payments from shops ranging from $500 to $2,000. In August of 2007, the U.S. Attorney's office charged him with demanding and receiving cash payments totaling approximately $60,000 from three of those shops in 2001 alone. There were tax evasion charges associated with these payments.

Groebner entered into a plea agreement in August. In December, Judge Charles Norgle sentenced Groebner to 10 months of home confinement, along with one year probation. In addition, he must pay restitution to three shops for a total of $93,500 plus tax obligations to the Internal Revenue Service, CollisionWeek reported.