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Insurance Fraud Scheme Lands Maryland Couple in Prison
A Baltimore jury has delivered a harsh verdict to a Maryland couple accused of masterminding a $20-million insurance fraud scheme. James William Wilson, Jr., 78, and his wife, Maureen Ann Wilson, 77, both of Owings Mills, Maryland, were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the elaborate scam.
James Wilson received a 12-year sentence for 13 counts of fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Maureen Wilson was sentenced to four years for one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of money laundering, and two counts of filing a false return.
The couple was also ordered to pay $18,705,520.30 in restitution and the court entered a forfeiture order including over $14.8 million in seized funds. The scheme, which involved securing more than 40 life-insurance policies, was uncovered by the IRS-CI, with assistance from the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland Office of The Attorney General.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Wilsons conspired to defraud life-insurance companies by mispresenting policy applicants’ health, wealth, and existing life-insurance coverage. The scheme included using forged signatures to make themselves and other nominees they controlled the owners and beneficiaries of the life insurance policies. Maureen Wilson also impersonated other people when speaking with the life insurance companies.
James Wilson, a former Maryland life insurance broker, defrauded individual investors to receive funds that he used to pay premiums on the fraudulently obtained life-insurance policies. The Wilsons concealed the fraud by transferring the proceeds to multiple bank accounts, including accounts in the name of trusts. They then filed false individual income-tax returns for 2018 and 2019, which concealed the fraudulent proceeds from each year, approximately $5.7 million and $2 million, respectively.
The case was investigated by the IRS-CI, with assistance from the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland Office of The Attorney General. U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Philip Motsay, as well as Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Richard Kelley, who prosecuted the federal case. Trial Attorney Stephanie Williamson, from the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, also assisted with the forfeiture proceedings.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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