Maryland Couple Sentenced for $20M Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Maryland husband and wife were sentenced today to 12 years in prison and four years in prison, respectively, after their convictions for a scheme to commit insurance fraud.

The following is according to court documents and evidence presented at trial: James and Maureen Wilson, of Owings Mills, conspired to defraud insurance companies by obtaining over 40 life insurance policies for applicants by mispresenting their health, wealth, and existing life insurance coverage. The total death benefits from these policies exceeded $20 million. The Wilsons also conspired to defraud individual investors to obtain funds that Wilson used to pay premiums on fraudulently obtained life insurance policies.

To conceal the fraud, the Wilsons transferred the money they made from the fraud through multiple bank accounts, including accounts in the name of trusts. The Wilsons filed false individual income tax returns for 2018 and 2019, which did not report as income or pay tax on the approximately $5.7 million and $2 million, respectively, they made from the fraud.

In addition to their prison sentences, Judge Deborah K. Chasanow for the District of Maryland ordered both Wilsons to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $16 million in restitution to victims of the insurance fraud scheme and $2.7 million in restitution to the United States. She also ordered the Wilsons to forfeit approximately $14.8 million in seized funds.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland Office of The Attorney General.

Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Richard Kelley of the Tax Division, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Phelps and Philip Motsay for the District of Maryland, and Trial Attorney Stephanie Williamson of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.