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Bluffton man begins prison term in fraud case

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A man whose prison sentence was delayed because he claimed his wife was terminally ill is now serving his time.

Joseph P. Crowley, 63, of Bluffton, who pleaded guilty in February 2007 to federal fraud charges, is in prison after his sentence was pushed back more than a year.

U.S. District Judge Sol Blatt Jr. had delayed the sentence so Crowley could care for his wife, Anne.

Crowley had told the judge that his wife was terminally ill with cancer.

But when Blatt learned from newspaper articles that Crowley's wife was working a part-time job and described herself to a magazine as not "terminal," he signed an order March 7 ordering Crowley to report to prison.

Crowley arrived at a minimum security prison in Estill on May 29, a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Crowley ran a now-defunct company that managed health insurance claims for several Midwestern employers.

He was charged with illegally shuffling money earmarked to pay health claims into an account that covered company expenses, including his salary.

Crowley was charged in South Carolina because he used a Hilton Head Island-based holding company to move the money.

Crowley's was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.

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