KC Reporter

Two Columbia, Mo., residents, Michael Lee Gene Stapleton and Latoya Marie Brown, have been sentenced for their involvement in a $1.1 million insurance fraud scheme. Stapleton, 37, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $166,363 in restitution to his victims. Brown, also 37, received a four-year sentence without parole and was ordered to pay $72,069 in restitution to her victims.

According to reports, the scheme orchestrated by the defendants involved false claims of injuries from faked car accidents. Stapleton had pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud, while Brown had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

The fraud scheme, which spanned from June 2017 to July 2020, defrauded six insurance companies of a total of $1,234,581. The investigation revealed that most of the accidents reported were staged, with individuals claiming injuries and submitting false claims to insurance companies.

Brown admitted her involvement in three incidents and received $44,269 in insurance payments, while Stapleton confessed to participating in a staged accident in Kansas City, Mo., where he and another defendant received checks from State Farm. None of the medical bills related to the accident have been paid.

This case is part of a broader investigation into co-defendant Lawrence Courtney Lawhorn, who recruited individuals to participate in staged accidents. Lawhorn pleaded guilty to various charges and awaits sentencing, as does Tara Colleen Jackson, Lawhorn's mother, who also pleaded guilty in connection to the fraud scheme.

In total, 16 defendants have been sentenced in connection to this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Maness and investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.