North Augusta man charged in murder-for-hire insurance fraud scheme

July 05--A North Augusta man, associated with the Irish Travelers, has been indicted, along with a Texas couple, in a federal courtroom on charges of using the U.S. Mail to defraud insurance companies connected with a Texas woman.

Charles Mercier, who is from North Augusta, and Mark Buckland and Virginia Buckland, both of Texas, are charged with attempt and conspiring to commit mail fraud, according to court records.

All three were indicted on June 20 and arraigned in federal court on Tuesday, records show.

The three are said to have fraudulently obtained life insurance policies on a 69-year-old Texas woman who was fatally stabbed in Sept. 23, 2014, for the insurance payout, according to a June 22 report by the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas. The paper also said Bernard "Big Joe" and his son Bernard "Little Joe" Gorman stalked and killed the woman.

According to the Orlando Sentinel in 2015, the younger Gorman was arrested on the charge in Polk County, Fla.

Court records state the "scheme and artifice" was "to defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises."

Mercier, who is an insurance agent in North Augusta, is said to be a member of the Irish Travelers who live in Murphy Village, according to the Star-Telegram.

There have been more than 50 residents of Murphy Village convicted on federal charges of conspiracy and fraud in recent years.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard. Follow him on Twitter at @trippgirardeau.

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