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Virginia Beach man sentenced for life insurance fraud scheme

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A Virginia Beach man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for defrauding life insurance companies.

According to court documents, in 2018, Michael Leonard Morgan-Towe, 37, and Antionette D. Pringle, 33, also of Virginia Beach, obtained approximately $150,000 in fraudulent advance commissions from life insurance companies.

Morgan-Towe recruited indigent individuals, falsely promising them months of “free” life insurance if they would provide their personal identifying information. Then, Pringle, a licensed insurance agent in Virginia, used this information to submit applications for life insurance, falsifying their income to make it appear as if they could pay the monthly premiums, when she knew they could not.

In some instances, she misstated their health conditions as to ensure their application would be approved.

The life insurance companies sent Pringle thousands of dollars in advance commissions as soon as the applications were approved, which she shared with Morgan-Towe. However, almost all of the policies lapsed immediately because no premiums were paid, as the individual beneficiaries thought they were obtaining free life insurance.

In 2020, Pringle was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the scheme.

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