Baltimore Woman Sentenced for Theft

BALTIMORE, MD ( February 26, 2010) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Maria F. McMahan, 64, of Baltimore City, pled guilty and sentenced on a single count of misdemeanor theft. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge George L. Russell, III struck the guilty finding and placed McMahan on one year probation and ordered her to perform 50 hours of community service.

The investigation found that in May 2006, McMahan had a single car accident on I-95 in her 2000 Dodge Durango. She reported the loss to her insurance company, Safeco Insurance Company. After an inspection of the vehicle, Safeco determined that McMahan’s car was a total loss. On June 6, 2006, McMahan told the adjuster for Safeco that the vehicle was paid for and she held title solely in her name. In fact, McMahan, owed money for the vehicle to Lendmark Financial. Safeco issued a payoff check in McMahan’s name alone for $12,241.25 and she deposited it in her bank account on June 16, 2006. Had Safeco been aware of the outstanding balance on the vehicle, a separate check would have been issued to Lendmark to satisfy that balance.

The conviction follows a joint investigation by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland State Police and the Office of the Attorney General.