Married Insurance Brokers Charged in $750K Fraud Scheme
A federal grand jury on January 30 indicted a Massachusetts couple for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud individuals and insurance providers through their business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.
According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley of the District of Massachusetts, Brendan Lawler and Lisa Lawler, residents of New Bedford, face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors allege that the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals and insurance providers, stealing over $750,000 from various entities, including insurance providers, premium finance companies, and hard money lenders.
Foley noted that both defendants were previously charged by criminal complaint in August 2025 and are scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. It is important to emphasize that the charges are merely allegations, and the Lawlers are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to the charging documents, from March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers allegedly solicited and collected insurance payments from clients of BL Insurance that should have been directed to the clients’ insurance providers. Instead of paying the insurance companies what was owed and retaining only the commission, the Lawlers are accused of pocketing the full amount of their clients’ payments. They allegedly used these funds for personal purchases, loan repayments, utility bills, and credit card balances.
The couple is also accused of using incoming client funds to settle outstanding balances owed to other clients’ insurers. Furthermore, they allegedly created and distributed fraudulent insurance documents, such as certificates of insurance, which falsely indicated that clients were insured.
When clients discovered they lacked the coverage for which they had paid, the Lawlers reportedly made excuses to conceal their fraudulent activities. In addition to issuing false certificates of insurance, they allegedly sent clients images of mail tracking numbers, receipts, and checks, falsely claiming these represented payments they had mailed or made. At times, they even refunded complaining clients or belatedly paid for their coverage, often using another client’s insurance payment to do so.
Court documents indicate that the Lawlers defrauded insurance providers and premium finance companies of at least $462,247.89, along with at least $307,486.33 from lenders. Among the victims was an insurance brokerage in Daytona Beach, Florida, which obtained insurance coverage for its clients, as well as insurance customers operating law offices in New Bedford and East Boston.
On its website, BL Insurance identified itself as a full-service insurance brokerage based in Fairhaven, licensed in several states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The brokerage claimed to offer a range of services, including professional liability, general liability, commercial property, financial products, and personal insurance.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a potential 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 incurred by the victims.
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A federal grand jury on January 30 indicted a Massachusetts couple for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud individuals and insurance providers through their business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.
According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley of the District of Massachusetts, Brendan Lawler and Lisa Lawler, residents of New Bedford, face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors allege that the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals and insurance providers, stealing over $750,000 from various entities, including insurance providers, premium finance companies, and hard money lenders.
Foley noted that both defendants were previously charged by criminal complaint in August 2025 and are scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. It is important to emphasize that the charges are merely allegations, and the Lawlers are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to the charging documents, from March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers allegedly solicited and collected insurance payments from clients of BL Insurance that should have been directed to the clients’ insurance providers. Instead of paying the insurance companies what was owed and retaining only the commission, the Lawlers are accused of pocketing the full amount of their clients’ payments. They allegedly used these funds for personal purchases, loan repayments, utility bills, and credit card balances.
The couple is also accused of using incoming client funds to settle outstanding balances owed to other clients’ insurers. Furthermore, they allegedly created and distributed fraudulent insurance documents, such as certificates of insurance, which falsely indicated that clients were insured.
When clients discovered they lacked the coverage for which they had paid, the Lawlers reportedly made excuses to conceal their fraudulent activities. In addition to issuing false certificates of insurance, they allegedly sent clients images of mail tracking numbers, receipts, and checks, falsely claiming these represented payments they had mailed or made. At times, they even refunded complaining clients or belatedly paid for their coverage, often using another client’s insurance payment to do so.
Court documents indicate that the Lawlers defrauded insurance providers and premium finance companies of at least $462,247.89, along with at least $307,486.33 from lenders. Among the victims was an insurance brokerage in Daytona Beach, Florida, which obtained insurance coverage for its clients, as well as insurance customers operating law offices in New Bedford and East Boston.
On its website, BL Insurance identified itself as a full-service insurance brokerage based in Fairhaven, licensed in several states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The brokerage claimed to offer a range of services, including professional liability, general liability, commercial property, financial products, and personal insurance.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a potential 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 incurred by the victims.
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