Two sentenced to prison, restitution in staged crash insurance fraud case
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man and a woman from Columbia were sentenced to federal prison for their respective roles in an insurance fraud scheme involving claims from car staged crashes.
Michael L. G. Stapleton, 37, and Latoya M. Brown, 37, were sentenced Wednesday in separate appearances. Stapleton received four years and three months in prison and $166,363 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Brown was sentenced to four years in prison and $72,069 in restitution.
Each will have to serve their sentence without parole.
Stapleton pleaded guilty in April 2023 to two counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud and Brown pleaded guilty in February 2023 to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The FBI alleged that the two were part of a conspiracy with Lawrence C. Lawhorn, 36, formerly of Columbia, that involved staging crashes and defrauding insurance companies for the injury claims. The fraud led to more than $1.2 million in payments.
The conspiracy members agreed to be personally liable for some medical expenses using part of the money but spent all of it on personal expenses, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.
Brown admitted involvement in three staged crashes and pocketed more than $44,000, the release says. Stapleton and another co-defendant -- Lawhorn's mother -- staged a crash in Kansas City and received checks totaling $100,000, the authorities say.
In total, 16 defendants have been sentenced in connection with the conspiracy, the release says.
Lawhorn pleaded guilty to several charges and faces sentencing in a separate wire fraud cause.
