James William Wilson Jr., 77, from Owings Mills, Maryland, has been found guilty of multiple criminal charges, including 13 counts of fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced.
Wilson’s fraudulent activities involved securing over 40 life insurance policies by misrepresenting policy applicants’ health, wealth, and existing life insurance coverage. The total death benefits for these policies were estimated at more than $20 million.
The scheme also included defrauding individual investors to obtain funds that were used to pay premiums on the policies. To cover his tracks, Wilson transferred the proceeds to various bank accounts, including accounts under trust names.
Additionally, Wilson filed false tax returns for the years 2018 and 2019, hiding proceeds amounting to approximately $5.7 million in 2018 and $2 million in 2019.
Wilson is scheduled for sentencing on May 1, 2025, where he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the fraud-related charges and three years for each false tax return count. His wife, Maureen Wilson, 76, also faces charges for her involvement in the scheme. She will stand trial on March 3, 2025.