Jeffrey Brian Cohen, 39, of Reisterstown, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to a massive insurance fraud scheme that left thousands of policyholders in the dark.
Cohen, the president and chairman of the board of Indemnity Insurance Corporation RRG (Indemnity), admitted to obtaining and attempting to obtain money from policyholders and potential policyholders of Indemnity-DC and Indemnity based on financial ratings, financial audits, and insurance regulatory approvals that he fraudulently obtained.
Between January 2008 and the fall of 2013, Cohen defrauded insurance policyholders and prospective insurance policyholders to obtain more than $100 million in insurance premiums by falsely representing the financial status of Indemnity-DC, Indemnity, and other Cohen-controlled entities.
Cohen created false financial documents, including bank statements, letters of credit, and confirmations of bank account balances, and transmitted some of these false documents to the rating agency A.M. Best to obtain financial ratings for Indemnity-DC and Indemnity that were not based on the companies’ true financial condition.
Cohen also transmitted false and fraudulent emails, management representation letters, financial statements, and other documents to the auditing firms Marcum and BDO to obtain an unqualified audit opinion on Indemnity-DC and Indemnity financial statements that Cohen knew were false.
As a result of his guilty plea, Cohen faces up to 30 years in prison for wire fraud, up to 10 years for aggravated identity theft, and up to 5 years for obstruction of justice. He is also required to pay restitution to the victims of his scheme.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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