HUSBAND AND WIFE CONVICTED OF STEALING
LIFE INSURANCE PROCEEDS

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that George Meekins, 55, and Barbara Meekins, 59, of the 300 block of Bayly Ave in Cambridge, Maryland, were both convicted in the Circuit Court for Dorchester County of conspiracy to commit felony insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit felony theft. George Meekins was also convicted of two counts of felony theft. The convictions follow a joint investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General, the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Maryland State Police. Following the verdicts, the Honorable Brett W. Wilson ordered a pre-sentence investigation. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

At trial, evidence was presented that George and Barbara Meekins conspired with John T. Coleman, Jr., in June of 2003, to submit false documentation to an insurance company after the death of his mother, Shirley Coleman, and steal approximately $81,200.00 in life insurance proceeds to which his father, John T. Coleman, Sr., was entitled. John Coleman, Jr. pleaded guilty to felony insurance fraud in April of this year for his part in the scheme and is presently incarcerated. Additional evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that George Meekins also stole approximately $31,000.in pension death benefit proceeds from the Maryland State Retirement System in January of 2004 to which both John Coleman, Sr. and John Coleman, Jr. were entitled. The Meekins could be sentenced to up to fifteen years in prison on each conviction.