A New Bedford, Massachusetts couple admitted in federal court in Boston yesterday that they carried out a scheme to cheat their own insurance clients—using their company, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC, as the vehicle for the fraud.
According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Brendan and Lisa Lawler have now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud—marking a major turn in the case that first surfaced with criminal charges filed against them in August 2025.
According to court documents, between March 2023 and March 2024, the Lawlers collected insurance payments from BL Insurance clients—money that was supposed to go straight to insurers. Instead, prosecutors say, they diverted those funds for themselves, quietly pocketing client payments and using the cash for personal expenses.
Federal prosecutors say the scheme was far-reaching, with the Lawlers defrauding at least 50 victims, including individuals and insurance providers. Court filings allege they siphoned off no less than $462,247.89 from insurers and premium finance companies, along with another $307,486.33 from lenders—adding up to a staggering financial hit.
Prosecutors say the Lawlers went to great lengths to cover their tracks—and keep BL Insurance from collapsing. They allegedly used new client payments to plug unpaid premiums owed for other customers, effectively shuffling money to stay afloat. At the same time, they issued fake certificates of insurance, giving clients the false impression they were fully covered when, in reality, they were not.
Prosecutors say that when clients began to realize they weren’t actually insured, the Lawlers scrambled to keep the scheme alive—offering excuses and doubling down on deception. Beyond issuing fake insurance certificates, they allegedly sent clients images of tracking numbers, receipts, and even checks, falsely claiming these were proof that payments had been sent or processed.
Prosecutors say that, at times, the Lawlers tried to quiet complaints by issuing refunds or belatedly securing coverage—but often by dipping into payments from other clients, shifting funds around to keep the scheme from unraveling.
According to an affidavit, the fallout stretched far beyond a single community. Victims included an insurance brokerage in Daytona Beach, Florida, which had arranged coverage for its own clients, as well as insurance customers operating law offices in New Bedford and East Boston—underscoring just how wide the scheme’s reach had become.
On its website, BL Insurance portrayed itself as a full-service brokerage based in Fairhaven, touting licenses across multiple states—including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut. It claimed to offer a wide range of coverage, from professional and general liability to commercial property, financial products, and personal insurance—presenting an image of credibility that prosecutors say masked a far different reality.
