Six Maryland Law Enforcement Officers Struggling with Federal Indictment for Costs Relevant to Strategies to Defraud Economic Institutions and Insurance plan Firms | USAO-MD

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging an officer for the Fairmount Heights Police Section, the Anne Arundel County Law enforcement Division, the Maryland-Countrywide Cash Park Police, and three officers from the Prince George’s County Law enforcement Section (PGPD) with federal charges for conspiracy to commit lender fraud, wire fraud and/or mail fraud.  The indictment was returned on July 28, 2021, and unsealed today.  The next defendants are billed in the federal indictment.

            Conrad Darwin D’Haiti, age 52, of La Plata, Maryland, of the Maryland-Countrywide Cash Park
                 Police
            Philip James Dupree, age 37, of Pikesville, Maryland, of the Fairmount Heights Law enforcement Department
            Mark Ross Johnson, Jr., age 33, of Camp Springs, Maryland, of the PGPD
            Michael Anthony Owen, Jr., age 33, of Accokeek, Maryland, of the PGPD
            Jaron Earl Taylor, age 27, of Ft. Washington, Maryland, of the Anne Arundel County Police 
                 Department and
            Candace Danielle Tyler, age 34, of District Heights, Maryland, of the PGPD.

Dupree, Johnson, Taylor, and Tyler are predicted to have an preliminary look this afternoon in U.S. District Court docket in Greenbelt.  D’Haiti is envisioned to turn himself in at a later date and Owen is detained on an unrelated Point out cost.  Each will have initial appearances in U.S. District Court docket at a later on date.

The indictment was introduced by Performing United States Legal professional for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner Unique Agent in Cost Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Discipline Office and Main Malik Azziz of the Prince George’s County Law enforcement Office.

In accordance to the three-depend indictment, the defendants conspired to dedicate 3 separate frauds, each and every of which included submitting wrong law enforcement stories and falsified reduction promises in purchase to fraudulently acquire resources from fiscal institutions and insurance coverage firms.  The defendants were all police officers at the time of the alleged prison exercise.

Specially, the indictment alleges that from May 2019 until June 2019, Dupree, Johnson, and Tyler conspired to defraud 3 fiscal institutions by coordinating the withdrawal of funds from their financial accounts via ATMs for the function of fraudulently boasting the dollars was stolen and trying to get reimbursement from a money establishment.  In purchase to execute the fraud scheme, Dupree, Johnson, and Tyler allegedly coordinated the submission of police reviews to PGPD, falsely stating that their debit cards had been stolen and used to withdraw fund from the ATM with out their authorization.  The indictment alleges that users of the conspiracy, like the defendants, then submitted fraudulent statements to the target monetary institutions trying to find reimbursement for the purportedly unauthorized ATM withdrawals.

Further, the indictment alleges that in January 2020, D’Haiti and Owen coordinated the relocation and vandalism of D’Haiti’s auto in order to file a fraudulent insurance assert.  Customers of the conspiracy, such as D’Haiti and Owen, allegedly coordinated the submission of a PGPD police report that falsely stated that D’Haiti’s automobile was stolen.  D’Haiti then allegedly submitted an insurance coverage assert and files to the sufferer insurance corporation by mail and wire, seeking reimbursement for the vehicle that was noted as stolen.

Ultimately, the indictment alleges that in January 2020, Owen and Taylor coordinated the relocation of a auto in a garage to cover the automobile for the reason of filing a fraudulent insurance policy claim.  Specially, the indictment alleges that customers of the conspiracy, which include Owen and Taylor, moved the automobile to a garage and conspirators, including Owen, then submitted a phony PGPD law enforcement report stating that the vehicle was stolen.  A co-conspirator then submitted an insurance plan assert trying to find reimbursement for the motor vehicle that was reported stolen.

If convicted, Dupree, Johnson and Tyler just about every face a greatest sentence of 30 yrs in federal prison for conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud D’Haiti and Owen each deal with a optimum sentence of 20 a long time in federal jail for conspiracy to dedicate mail fraud and wire fraud and Owen and Taylor each experience a utmost sentence of 20 decades in federal prison for conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud.  Precise sentences for federal crimes are ordinarily much less than the utmost penalties. A federal district court choose will determine any sentence following getting into account the U.S. Sentencing Suggestions and other statutory variables. 

An indictment is not a locating of guilt.  An unique billed by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until finally demonstrated responsible at some afterwards prison proceedings. 

Performing United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner recommended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Section for their perform in the investigation and thanked the Anne Arundel County Law enforcement Section for its assistance.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Lawyers Dwight J. Draughon and Adam K. Ake, who are prosecuting the federal circumstance.

For a lot more information and facts on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Business, its priorities, and resources obtainable to enable the local community, make sure you stop by https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/local community-outreach.

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