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U.S. Attorney expects more charges against Cohen
Federal prosecutors anticipate additional charges will soon be filed against Jeffrey Cohen, the founder and former CEO of Sparks-based Indemnity Insurance Corp. Risk Retention Group.
“The grand jury investigation is ongoing and it is anticipated that additional charges may be returned in the near future, including but not limited to a wire fraud scheme and money laundering charges,” according to the Motion for an Order Concerning Speedy Trial Status filed last week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The motion requests additional time for discovery.
Cohen is currently facing five counts of making false statements to an insurance regulator. Previous filings in the case, however, said that in searching Cohen’s home, police found evidence which suggests that the former insurance executive was plotting to harm or kill the Delaware judge who heard Indemnity’s liquidation case, and a Delaware elected official.
According to the motion, the discovery “will be extremely voluminous, involving hundreds of thousands of documents relating to the financial frauds uncovered. It will also involve extensive electronic data and media,” requiring a delay in court proceedings.
Indemnity was seized by the Delaware Department of Insurance in May 2013, and Cohen was ousted from the company a few months later.
In its original liquidation order, Delaware said it had found evidence to suggest that Cohen had submitted fraudulent financial records. It also said that more than $20 million in premiums collected on behalf of Indemnity had not been remitted to the company, making it insolvent.
Cohen has also been accused of interfering with the state’s attempt to rehabilitate the company before it decided to liquidate it. Cohen’s license to produce insurance in Maryland was revoked in February.
