Former Insurance Agents Charged with Embezzling Clients’ Premium Payments

TUCSON, AZ—Mark Ophelia Islas and Mayra Jeannette Angulo, both of Tucson, Arizona, have been charged in the United States District Court in Tucson, Ariz. with mail fraud and money laundering resulting from a scheme to defraud Woodbury Financial Services, a subsidiary of Hartford Financial Services, for whom Islas and Angulo worked as agents.

The complaint alleges that beginning in at least 2002, defendants Angulo and Islas, who at the time were husband and wife, embezzled clients’ insurance premium payments for their personal use. The defendants created a corporation, International Financial Services Group, also known as IFS Group, and opened a bank account in the corporation's name at JP Morgan Chase Bank. Premium payments for life insurance policies sold by Angulo and Islas were then deposited into the IFS Group bank account rather than being sent to Hartford Financial Services payment center. They then transferred the embezzled monies to a personal bank account in their names, later using the monies for their personal benefit. Angulo and Islas also stole clients' funds from the investment accounts which some clients had opened with Hartford Financial Services. The scheme continued to 2007. A court appearance is scheduled for October 21, 2010.

A conviction for mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, a $250,000 fine, or both. In determining an actual sentence, the Court will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tucson, Arizona.

CASE NUMBER: CR-10-03895M
RELEASE NUMBER: 2010-218(Islas et al.)