GREENBELT, MD—Two former Maryland police officers were convicted by a federal jury on Friday of conspiracy, arson, and bank and wire fraud in connection with a scheme that involved filing false police reports to carry out fraudulent claims.
Philip James Dupree, 41, of Pikesville, a former Fairmount Heights police officer, and Mark Ross Johnson Jr., 38, of Camp Springs, a former Prince George’s County police officer, were found guilty of multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, arson, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes announced the verdicts.
According to evidence presented at trial, the two men engaged in two separate fraud schemes. The conspiracies involved falsifying loss claims and filing fraudulent police reports to obtain funds from an insurance company and three financial institutions.
In the first scheme in November 2018, Dupree and Johnson conspired to burn Johnson’s Ford F450 pickup truck, which was experiencing mechanical issues. Dupree, while on duty, “discovered” the burning vehicle and filed an impound report containing false information about its recovery. Johnson then used the report to file a total loss claim with his insurer, which paid more than $68,000 to the lien holder. Johnson also submitted altered phone records to hide a 16-minute conversation he had with Dupree just before the vehicle was found. A fire investigator later testified that the fire was intentionally set.
In the second scheme, from May to June 2019, Dupree and Johnson conspired with others to defraud three financial institutions. They coordinated withdrawals from their accounts at automated teller machines (ATMs) and then falsely claimed the money was stolen to seek reimbursement. As part of this fraud, Dupree and Johnson coordinated the submission of police reports falsely claiming their debit cards were stolen and used without permission. One police report submitted by Dupree was entirely fabricated, featuring the name of a nonexistent officer.
Both Dupree and Johnson face substantial prison time. They face up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, a minimum of five years and up to 20 years for arson affecting interstate commerce, and up to 30 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Griggsby has scheduled Dupree’s sentencing for Feb. 19, 2026, and Johnson’s sentencing for Feb. 23, 2026.
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