BOSTON – A married couple from New Bedford pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to a scheme to defraud individuals seeking insurance coverage through the couple’s business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.
Brendan Lawler, 58, and Lisa Lawler, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2026. The Lawlers were charged by criminal complaint in August 2025 .
From March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers solicited and collected insurance payments from BL Insurance’s clients, which should have been paid to the clients’ insurance providers. Instead of paying the insurance companies, the Lawlers pocketed their clients’ payments and used the money for their own purposes. To conceal this theft of client funds and to keep their BL Insurance afloat to perpetuate the scheme, the Lawlers used incoming client funds to pay outstanding balances due to other clients’ insurers. The Lawlers also created and distributed certain insurance documents to clients that falsely suggested that the clients were insured. In total, through this scheme, the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals or insurance providers and stole more than $750,000 from insurance providers, premium finance companies and hard money lenders.
Members of the public who believe they may be a victim of this case or have any relevant information related to this case are requested to please fill out the attached form to be contacted by a member of law enforcement: https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/BLInsuranceVictims/view .
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides 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 gain to the defendant or loss to the victim. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance and Insurance Fraud Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Cleary of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Massachusetts — U.S. Department of Justice press release.