FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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BALTIMORE, MD - Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that a Baltimore County judge sentenced Michael C. Okolo, 68, of Pikesville, Maryland, to six months incarceration for 10 counts of insurance fraud for acting as an insurance agent without a license. This is the second case against Okolo for insurance fraud.
The jury found that Okolo acted as an insurance agent without a license by selling 11 annuity policies on 10 occasions from 2021 to 2024, receiving more than $88,000 in commissions. The Maryland Insurance Administration revoked Okolo’s license in 2019 for misappropriating client premium payments. After Okolo’s license had been revoked, he set up a new business, Wise Money Group, and recruited a licensed agent to sign applications for annuity policies that Okolo illegally sold.
On July 29, 2026, the Honorable Michael S. Barranco imposed concurrent sentences of six months incarceration in the Baltimore County Detention Center for each count. Upon his release, Okolo will be on three years of supervised probation. If he violates probation, he could be sentenced to as much as 14 years 6 months of additional incarceration.
In the first case, Okolo was convicted by a jury in December 2025 of two counts of insurance fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. The jury found that a client gave Okolo two incomplete checks totaling $36,500 intended for premium payments on annuity and life insurance policies. Okolo illegally made the checks payable to his own business, deposited them into his business account, and used the money for personal and business expenses. While that case was pending, Okolo obstructed justice by presenting as evidence a fabricated letter purportedly written and signed by the client. In January 2026, Okolo was sentenced to six months incarceration for that case.
In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Brown thanked his Criminal Division, specifically Division Chief Katie Dorian, Fraud and Corruption Unit Chief Alex Huggins, and Assistant Attorneys General Michelle Martin and William Elman, who prosecuted these cases. Attorney General Brown also thanked the Maryland Insurance Administration for their assistance with this investigation. Finally, Attorney General Brown thanked State’s Attorney for Baltimore County, Scott Shellenberger, for his assistance with this investigation and prosecution.
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