Former St. Louis Alderman Indicted, Accused of Insurance Fraud

ST. LOUIS – A grand jury has indicted former St. Louis Alderman Brandon Bosley on charges accusing him of committing insurance fraud while in office.

Bosley was indicted on three felony wire fraud charges Wednesday. The indictment was sealed until his appearance in court Monday, when he pleaded not guilty.

The indictment accuses Bosley of orchestrating a scheme to obtain money from his insurance company by falsely inflating the cost of repairs to a Prius that he was driving. The car had been obtained by Bosley from a businessman who owned a convenience store in Bosley’s ward as well as a used car lot and an auto repair business elsewhere.

Bosley paid $500 cash for the Prius, which had an approximate value of nearly $10,000, but he did not register or title the car in his name, the indictment says. The Certificate of Title listed the purchase price as $3,000.

On Sept. 16, 2021, another driver struck the Prius while it was parked in front of Bosley’s office. After the other driver’s insurance company contacted Bosley about the damages, Bosley offered a bribe to the businessman to prepare an inflated estimate of the repair costs so the insurance company would total the car, the indictment says.

He also asked the businessman to prepare a second, legitimate repair estimate in case he wanted to buy the car back from the insurance company, the indictment says. Based upon the falsely inflated repair estimate which Bosley submitted to the insurance company, the insurance company paid Bosley $7,978.90 for the vehicle, and Bosley then asked the businessman to offer the insurance company $2,000 to buy the car back, the indictment says.

Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.