7-30-2025 4:05am

Local Fraudster Charged

Former MD Insurance Agent Indicted For Fraud Facing New Charges

In September 2024, a Baltimore County grand jury handed down an indictment charging him with felony theft and insurance fraud.

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — A former Baltimore County insurance agent who was indicted last fall for fraud is now facing new charges, the Maryland Attorney General's Office announced.

Michael C. Okolo, 68, of Parkville, was charged this week with obstruction of justice and fabricating physical evidence, according to Attorney General Anthony Brown. This is the fourth time Okolo has been charged with a crime since September 2024.

In September 2024, a Baltimore County grand jury handed down an indictment charging Okolo with felony theft and insurance fraud. In that case, prosecutors said a client gave Okolo two partially completed checks totaling $36,500 in 2016 to pay for a life insurance policy and an annuity contract.

Instead of forwarding the payments to the insurance company, prosecutors said Okolo made the checks payable to his business, deposited the checks in his business account, and spent the money on personal and business expenses.

According to court documents outlining the new charges, Okolo fabricated a “letter of instruction” purportedly written and signed by the client on Feb. 20, 2016, that instructed Okolo to deposit the checks in Okolo’s bank account while Okolo looked for the best insurance and annuity for the client.

Prosecutors said Okolo gave the letter to his attorney, who disclosed the letter to the state on May 1, so it could be used as evidence at Okolo’s upcoming trial.

According to prosecutors, the letter of instruction was fabricated, and the client did not write, authorize or sign the letter. The signature on the letter was cut and pasted by Okolo, without authorization, from a genuine letter the client had sent to Okolo in April 2017, prosecutors said.

Additionally, in a May 2017 letter to the Maryland Insurance Administration, prosecutors said Okolo had denied there was any written documentation of the client’s instruction to deposit the checks in Okolo’s accounts.

Okolo has two other pending cases in Maryland.

In one, Okolo is charged with numerous counts of acting as an insurance agent without a license after prosecutors said he continued to solicit and sell insurance products after the Maryland Insurance Administration revoked his license.

In the other case, Okolo is charged with theft of property with a value of $100,000 or more, after prosecutors said he cashed a check given to him by a client for a “real estate investment,” and instead spent the funds on his own personal and business expenses.

The Fraud and Corruption Unit of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division is prosecuting all four cases.