Maryland Woman Convicted in Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud
A federal jury has found Maureen Wilson, a resident of Owings Mills, Maryland, guilty of a series of charges including conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. The verdict, delivered yesterday, concludes a case involving the fraudulent procurement of over $20 million in life insurance benefits.
According to court documents, Wilson conspired with her husband, James Wilson, to deceive insurance companies. They secured more than 40 life insurance policies for applicants by misrepresenting their health, financial status, and existing insurance coverage. Prosecutors revealed that Wilson also defrauded individual investors to obtain funds, which were then used to pay premiums on the fraudulently obtained life insurance policies.
To conceal their activities, Wilson and her husband transferred the illicit funds through multiple bank accounts, including those held in the name of trusts, prosecutors said. Furthermore, Wilson filed false individual income tax returns for 2018 and 2019, failing to report approximately $5.7 million and $2 million, respectively, that she earned through the fraudulent scheme.
The jury found Wilson guilty of 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. She was acquitted of one count of mail fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for June 20th.
The investigation was conducted by the criminal investigation unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with assistance from the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland Attorney General. The case was prosecuted by attorneys from the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Maryland.
