Two ex-law enforcement officers have pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to an automobile insurance fraud operation, according to U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Kelly O. Hayes.

Michael Anthony Owen, Jr., previously a Prince George’s County police officer, admitted guilt to charges of record falsification. Jaron Earl Taylor, who formerly served with the Anne Arundel County Police Department, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to their plea agreements, from August 2018 through February 2020, Owen and Taylor collaborated with other officers—Candace Tyler, Conrad D’Haiti, and Davion Percy—as well as additional participants, in a fraudulent scheme designed to have insurance companies cover the remaining loan balances on vehicles that the conspirators no longer wanted.

Authorities stated that the group submitted false reports of stolen or damaged vehicles to insurance providers in order to collect funds or to avoid paying off remaining balances on depreciated cars. The participants exploited their roles as police officers to support one another’s fraudulent claims by generating fictitious police reports. These fake reports were then presented to insurers to validate the fraudulent claims and to hinder or mislead any ensuing investigations, per court records.

In one instance, in August 2018, Owen and Taylor orchestrated the staged theft of Taylor’s Chevrolet Tahoe. Following a phony police report, the two stripped the SUV and abandoned it deep within a wooded area on Maryland state property near Largo. Taylor submitted a false insurance claim to United Services Automobile Association (USAA), which subsequently paid out $38,670.

In another case in January 2020, Owen helped D’Haiti evade a loan obligation on a Jaguar XKR. Together with D’Haiti and Percy, Owen planned a fake vehicle theft. On January 4, D’Haiti parked the Jaguar behind the Marlow Heights Shopping Center, where Percy was serving as police chief.

D’Haiti paid Percy $350 to arrange for another accomplice to tow and severely damage the vehicle to simulate a total loss. Tyler then submitted a false police report, which D’Haiti used to file a claim with Liberty Mutual Insurance. The insurer paid the vehicle’s lienholder, Navy Federal Credit Union, $17,585 based on the fraudulent claim.

Also in January 2020, Owen and Taylor assisted in disposing of an Infiniti sedan to help a co-conspirator, who was deployed overseas, escape making future payments. The co-conspirator transferred $1,000 to Taylor through CashApp to fake the theft. Taylor forwarded the funds to Owen, who filed a false theft report with the Prince George’s County Police Department.

In truth, the group relocated the car to the top level of a parking structure at an apartment complex in Camp Springs, Maryland. They attempted to hide the car’s identity by removing its license plates and attaching different ones registered to another vehicle. The owner then filed a claim with GEICO, which ultimately denied the claim on the basis of fraud.

The guilty pleas were jointly announced by U.S. Attorney Hayes, FBI Special Agent Amanda M. Koldjeski, and Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz.

Owen faces up to 20 years in federal prison, while Taylor could receive up to three years, depending on the court’s acceptance of the plea agreement.