New Bedford couple charged in $750,000 insurance fraud scheme

BOSTON — On Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that a married couple from New Bedford was charged with allegedly defrauding clients and insurance providers of more than $750,000 through their insurance brokerage business.

Brendan Lawler, 58, and Lisa Lawler, 45, both of New Bedford, Massachusetts, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with their company, BL Insurance Brokerage LLC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported. The couple was charged by criminal complaint in August 2025. The Lawlers are expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

According to the charging documents, from March 2023 to March 2024, the Lawlers allegedly collected insurance premium payments from BL Insurance clients that should have been paid to their clients’ insurance providers, but instead kept the money for their own use.

To conceal the scheme and keep the business operating, the Lawlers allegedly used new client payments to cover outstanding balances owed on behalf of other clients. Prosecutors say they also created and distributed documents that falsely indicated clients had active insurance coverage.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, through this scheme, the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals or insurance providers and caused more than $750,000 in losses to insurers, premium finance companies, and hard money lenders.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the loss to victims.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division, announced the charges. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance and the Insurance Fraud Bureau assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Cleary of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.