Defendant Charged After Fleeing Before Trial

Press Release

ATLANTA - Roscoe McMillan, also known as "Roscoe McMillian" and "Ross McMillan," has been indicted after he failed to appear for trial on wire and mail fraud charges related to a fraudulent life insurance scheme.

"Every defendant has a right to a fair trial by a jury of his or her peers, but no one is entitled to refuse to appear for trial," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "McMillan promised to appear for his court dates after the district court released him on bond. His alleged failure to appear indicates a disregard for the rule of law and cannot be tolerated."

"McMillan has taken a criminal allegation and created an even more serious situation," said FBI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke. "Our special agents will not rest until McMillan is in custody and appearing in court like he promised to do last month."

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and other information presented in court: In September 2023, Roscoe McMillan was charged with wire fraud and mail fraud related to a scheme to defraud seven life insurance companies. Under the guise of a sham company called Chosen Outreach Ministries, McMillan allegedly provided false and fraudulent information to obtain group life insurance policies. These group life insurance policies were predicated on Chosen Outreach Ministries being the employer of the insured individuals, but the indictment alleges that none of these individuals were actual employees.

The indictment further alleges that Chosen Outreach Ministries never conducted any legitimate business or paid wages to these individuals. In fact, many of the insured individuals were suffering from serious health problems and died within a year of being added to Chosen Outreach Ministries' group policies. McMillan allegedly submitted more than 30 fraudulent claims for life insurance benefits after the insured individuals passed away. The defrauded insurance companies disbursed approximately $2.7 million in benefits based on the fraudulent claims.

On October 29, 2024, McMillan failed to appear for his trial on these fraud charges. He was granted pretrial release from custody on October 11, 2023, and is now a fugitive.

Roscoe McMillan, 43, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, and failure to appear in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on November 4, 2024.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Russell Phillips and Kelly K. Connors are prosecuting the case.

If you know Roscoe McMillan's whereabouts or have information that may lead to his arrest, please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (770) 216-3000 or submit information at https://tips.fbi.gov/home.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Updated November 7, 2024