A New Bedford couple was charged in connection with an insurance business that defrauded 50 of their clients out of $700,000, United States Attorney Leah Foley’s office said.
Brendan Lawler, 58, and Lisa Lawler, 45, were charged with one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both were scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Friday.
The Lawlers operated BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC, Foley’s office said in a statement. Between March 2023 and March 2024, they solicited and collected insurance payments from their clients to be paid to the clients’ insurance providers.
Instead, the Lawlers pocketed these payments and used the money for their own purposes, Foley’s office said. They hid the theft to keep their business afloat and pay any outstanding balances. The Lawlers also created and distributed documents to clients that told them they were, in fact, insured.
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.
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