A former Prince George’s County police officer was sentenced to six months in federal prison for falsifying records as part of an auto-insurance fraud scheme that involved multiple current and former law enforcement officers, including a La Plata man.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Griggsby sentenced Michael Anthony Owen Jr., 37, of Accokeek, to six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The first six months of supervised release will be served on home detention.
Griggsby also ordered Owen to pay $17,585 in restitution connected to one of the fraudulent insurance claims.
Owen pleaded guilty in June 2025 to falsification of records. Federal prosecutors said he and other officers used false police reports and staged vehicle thefts to make fraudulent insurance claims or avoid paying loans on vehicles worth less than their outstanding balances.
The scheme operated between August 2018 and February 2020, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Owen and former Anne Arundel County Police officer Jaron Earl Taylor worked with several other officers, including Candace Tyler of Bowie, Conrad D’Haiti of La Plata and Davion Percy of Suitland.
In August 2018, Owen and Taylor staged the theft of Taylor’s Chevrolet Tahoe, according to prosecutors. After Taylor filed a fraudulent police report, the pair stripped the vehicle and drove it into woods on Maryland State Highway property near Largo.
Taylor then submitted a false claim to USAA, which paid $38,670.
Federal prosecutors said Owen later helped D’Haiti avoid paying the remaining loan balance on a Jaguar XKR by participating in another staged-theft scheme.
In January 2020, D’Haiti parked the Jaguar behind Marlow Heights Shopping Center, where Percy worked as police chief. Prosecutors said D’Haiti paid Percy $350 to arrange for another person to tow and heavily vandalize the vehicle so it would be considered a total insurance loss.
Tyler later filed a false police report that D’Haiti used to support a claim with Liberty Mutual Insurance. In February 2020, Liberty Mutual paid Navy Federal Credit Union, the vehicle’s lienholder, $17,585.
That amount matches the restitution Griggsby ordered Owen to pay at sentencing.
Prosecutors also said Owen and Taylor helped dispose of an Infiniti sedan in January 2020 so another participant in the conspiracy could avoid further vehicle payments while overseas.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the vehicle’s owner paid Taylor $1,000 through Cash App to stage the theft. Taylor transferred the money to Owen, who filed a false Prince George’s County police report stating that the vehicle had been stolen.
Instead, prosecutors said Owen, Taylor and others moved the Infiniti to the top floor of an apartment-complex parking garage in Camp Springs and replaced its license plates with plates registered to another vehicle.
The owner later filed an insurance claim with GEICO, but the company denied the claim on fraud grounds.
The case has produced multiple convictions and guilty pleas.
In June 2026, a federal jury found Percy guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for his role in the scheme. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Griggsby sentenced Taylor in July to three years of probation, including five months of home detention, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Taylor was also ordered to pay $38,670 in restitution to USAA.
Tyler pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, while D’Haiti pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
The prosecution stems from a broader federal investigation that began years earlier. A federal grand jury indicted Owen, Taylor, D’Haiti, Tyler and others in 2021 on charges related to insurance and financial fraud.
Owen’s June 2025 guilty plea carried a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, although federal judges determine sentences after considering advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced Owen’s sentence with FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul and Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader.
The FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Owen’s sentence Aug. 19.
