Posted: Saturday, October 2, 2010 12:00 am

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_8b6ad6f6-d2b8-5b0e-a74c-fe2988db0c37.html

Default font size Larger font size Two former insurance agents have been charged with mail fraud and money laundering, accused of embezzling their clients' insurance payments.

Mark Ophelia Islas and his ex-wife, Mayra Jeanette Angulo, both of Tucson, are suspected of defrauding their former employer, Woodbury Financial Services, a subsidiary of Hartford Financial Services Group, between 2002 and 2007, says a U.S. Attorney's Office news release. They have a court appearance set for Oct. 21.

The two reportedly created a corporation, International Financial Services Group, and opened a bank account in its name at JP Morgan Chase Bank. Authorities said they deposited premium payments for life insurance policies into that bank account instead of sending them to the Hartford payment center.

The couple is accused of then transferring the money to a personal bank account and using it for personal reasons. Islas and Angulo also are suspected of stealing money from clients' investment accounts opened with Hartford, prosecutors say.