NEW BEDFORD COUPLE SENTENCED FOR DEFRAUDING AT LEAST 50 CLIENTS OF OVER $750,000 IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR INSURANCE BUSINESS

The following information was released by the U.S. Department of Justice:

A married couple from New Bedford was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a scheme to defraud individuals seeking insurance coverage through the couple's business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.

Brendan Lawler, 59, and Lisa Lawler, 46, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date.In March 2026, the Lawlers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Lawlers were charged by criminal complaintin 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 $962,000 from individual customers, insurance providers, premium finance companies and hard money lenders.

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 prosecuted the case.