A Massachusetts couple was arrested this week for their alleged involvement in a scheme that defrauded at least 50 individuals or insurance providers of more than $700,000 through their insurance agency, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.
Brendan Lawler and Lisa Lawler, both of New Bedford, were charged with one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday, according to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley of the District of Massachusetts.
According to the charging document, prosecutors allege that from March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers solicited and collected insurance payments from their clients, which should have been paid to the clients’ insurance providers. However, instead of paying the insurance companies what they were owed, the Lawlers allegedly pocketed their clients’ payments and used the money for their own purposes.
To conceal the theft of client funds and to keep their company BL Insurance afloat to perpetuate the scheme, the Lawlers allegedly used incoming client funds to pay outstanding balances due to other clients’ insurers. Prosecutors further charge that the couple also created and distributed fake certificates of insurance, checks and other documents to clients that falsely indicated that the clients were insured.
One victim was an insurance brokerage in Florida for which BL Insurance had agreed to find insureds in exchange for a commission. The Florida brokerage calculated that BL Insurance failed to remit approximately $109,621.05 in payments from insureds for the 2023-2024 coverage year.
According to its archived website, BL Insurance identified itself as a full-service insurance brokerage licensed in several states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut. BL Insurance purported to offer insurance for professional liability, general liability, commercial property, financial products, and personal lines.
Bank records examined by prosecutors show that from at least March 2018 onward, the Lawlers struggled financially. Their account often did not have funds available to pay bills or to make necessary business expenditures, such as payments to insurance companies to obtain insurance coverage for clients, unless and until they replenished the account balance with new customer deposits or additional financing. From March 2023 to March 2024, the account was overdrawn more than 200 times.
The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) opened an investigation of the agency in 2023 after receiving complaints.
According to the prosecutor’s affidavit, in October 2023 Brendan Lawler sent an email to one of BL Insurance’s attorney clients explaining that the DOI investigation was the result of payment errors made by his wife while he was absent undergoing a hip replacement.
The Lawlers surrendered their insurance licenses to the state in March 2024 and the agency closed.
The charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the loss to the victim.
The Lawlers are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Topics
Agencies
Fraud
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