A federal jury convicted Calvin Kemp of Gonzales, Louisiana, and Chevez Tywan Robillard of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 20 of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and multiple counts of aggravated identity theft. The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall after a three-day trial before U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Kemp, age 60, and Robillard, age 33, created a scheme to defraud insurance companies by obtaining the personal identifiers of three victims without their knowledge. They used this information to apply for multiple life and accidental death insurance policies with eight different providers over several months.
Kemp and Robillard established companies with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office that did not conduct any business activity. They also opened a bank account listing themselves as officers for one company involved in the scheme. During the application process for insurance policies worth $4.325 million in total, Kemp made seven calls impersonating all three victims and falsely described them as musicians and CEOs of music production companies. Robillard made two calls using stolen identifiers from two victims and was named sole beneficiary on all obtained policies.
Robillard submitted claims for benefits on four fraudulent policies issued in the name of one victim who was murdered in Baton Rouge in December 2022.
Following their convictions, Kemp faces up to 26 years in federal prison, while Robillard faces up to 24 years; both are also subject to significant fines and supervised release terms. U.S. Attorney Wall praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work on the case, while Assistant United States Attorneys M. Patricia Jones and Paul L. Pugliese led the prosecution.