U.S. DOJ Charges 6 for Life Insurance Scam

According to the US Attorney’s Eastern District Office, a Norfolk grand jury called for the arrests of the four family members last month and then two more yesterday for their alleged roles in a scheme that left life insurance companies defrauded out of more than $3.5 million dollars.

“Last month, a Norfolk federal grand jury indicted Mitchell Marks, 58; Laura Marks, 57; Steve J. Marks, 60; and Danny Marks, 41, on conspiracy and mail fraud charges relating to their scheme. The indictment had been sealed pending their arrests.  Two others – Sarah Williams, 73, of Wichita, Kansas, and David Marks, 36, of Reno, Nev. – were also charged in the indictment.  Sarah Williams was arrested today in Wichita, while David Marks remains at large.”

The indictment  alleged that the suspects took out multiple life insurance policies on older and sicker family members and fudged the insurance applications by misstating the number of life insurance policies that were in force and the health conditions of the proposed insureds. 

And just in case the millions of dollars in insurance proceeds weren’t going to be enough, according to the indictment the suspects were said to have sent imposters to pass medical examinations to get better rates.

Authorities claim that throughout the scheme the suspects attempted to take out $16 million in life insurance policies and had already filed $3.5 million in claims on the deaths of two individuals. 

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.