Former Law Enforcement Officer Sentenced in Connection With Arson and Wire and Bank Fraud Conspiracies

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal judge sentenced a former Maryland law-enforcement officer for his role in a wire-fraud conspiracy.

Judge Lydia Griggsby sentenced Philip James Dupree, 42, of Pikesville, to 70 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, arson, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud in connection with schemes to defraud an insurance company and three different financial institutions. Judge Griggsby ordered Dupree to pay $65,049.14 to the affected insurance company and $3,521 to the affected credit union.  The 70-month sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to an unrelated sentence imposed in the District of Columbia.

Dupree, a former Fairmount Heights Police Department officer, and his co-conspirator, Mark Ross Johnson, Jr., 38, of Camp Springs, a former Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) officer, conspired with others to carry out the schemes.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced Dupree’s sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI – Baltimore Field Office, and Chief George Nader, PGPD.

According to court documents, co-conspirators joined forces to commit two separate fraud schemes.  Through the schemes, co-conspirators filed false police reports and falsified loss claims to obtain and attempt to obtain funds from an insurance company along with three different financial institutions. 

In November 2018, as part of the insurance fraud scheme, Dupree and Johnson coordinated to burn Johnson’s Ford F450 truck that was experiencing mechanical and electrical problems.  Dupree “discovered” the burning vehicle while on duty in Fairmount Heights and filed an impound report containing false statements regarding the recovery of the truck.

Johnson then used the report number in support of his claim filed with the insurance company for a total loss on the truck.  He also submitted altered telephone records to his insurer to hide that he participated in a 16-minute conversation with Dupree just before Dupree “discovered” the truck.  A fire investigator, hired by the insurer, testified that the Ford F450 fire was intentionally set, and originated in the passenger compartment of the truck.  The insurer, relying in part on the police report and altered telephone records, paid out more than $68,000 to the lien holder on the truck.

Then, from May 2019 until June 2019, Dupree, Johnson, and others conspired to defraud three financial institutions. They coordinated the withdrawal of money from their financial accounts through ATMs so they could fraudulently claim their money was stolen. Then the co-conspirators sought reimbursement from their financial institutions.

In executing the scheme, Dupree and Johnson coordinated submitting police reports to PGPD. Through these reports, they falsely claimed their debit cards were stolen and then were used to withdraw funds from various ATMs without permission.  One police report that Dupree submitted to support his claim of a stolen debit card was a complete fake. The report was never submitted to the Prince George’s County Record Management System. Additionally, the report included the name of a non-existent police officer as the preparer. It also carried over Johnson’s name as the “victim” from the separate report Johnson asked a co-conspirator to generate to submit to his credit union.  The co-conspirators submitted fraudulent claims to the victim financial institutions seeking reimbursement for the purportedly unauthorized ATM withdrawals.

Johnson’s sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, at 2:30 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation and praised the Fairmount Heights Police Department for its assistance.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin who prosecuted the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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