Reality TV Star, Her Husband Indicted for Defrauding An Insurance Company

The two claimed their house in Finksburg was burglarized in April, 2024.    Edward Osefo                                                          Wendy OsefoHampstead, Md (KM) A Carroll County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted a Finksburg couple for defrauding their insurance company., Edward Osefo, 41, and Wendy Osefo, 41, are both charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and one count each of making a false statement to a police officer.Wendy Osefo is a star of the Maryland-based reality show “The Real Housewives of Potomac.”During a news conference on Friday, Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees says his agency was contacted in April, 2024 by the couple who said their home in the 1900 block of Turnberry Court had been broken into between April 2nd and 7th, 2024  when the two were out of town on vacation. They claimed more than $200,000 worth of luxury goods were stolen., including clothing,, jewelry and shoes. “Osefos alleged that the burglar came in through a second-story window into the master bedroom There’s no evidence inside the residence that someone made an attempt to get into the residence through that particular window. No evidence indicated anyone attempted to enter the house,” he said.”It should noted that the residence does have interior and exterior surveillance cameras. None of the cameras picked up any motion or indicated a breach inside the house,” Dewees continues. “Cameras also did not pick up any suspicious activity outside of the residence during the time the Osefos were away from the residence.”Detectives concluded that this was an attempt by the Osefos to defraud their insurance company. “E-mails provided additional evidence that indicated this was a fraudulent claim, specifically Edward’s communication with Wendy–and I quote–‘are there additional high-value items we can add to this inventory list?  I’m trying to get the total to exceed $423,000  which is our policy maximum,’” Dewees said, quoting Edward’s e-mail to Wendy.He also said the Sheriff’s Office investigation found that the Osefos had returned a number of these items to the stores where they were purchased, and detectives found images of one of the suspects wearing jewelry that had been reported stolen.”Based on a thorough investigation conducted by detectives in my office in coordination with the Carroll State’s Attorney’s Office, it became clear that the Osefo’s fabricated the burglary, and filed a false report in an attempt to defraud their insurance company,” says Dewees.The Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office says Wendy Osefo is charged with seven counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and one count of making a false statement to a police officer. Edward Osefo is charged with nine counts of insurance fraud, eight counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and one count of making a false statement to a police officer.Both are free on bail.Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker says insurance fraud is a very serious offense which affects everyone. “Some folks may view insurance fraud an innocuous crime since it only affects insurance companies. That’s certainly not true,” he says. “Insurance fraud affects all of us in the form of increased premiums that we all bear. So we take those offenses seriously.”By Kevin McManus