MINNEAPOLIS – Prosecutors filed on Thursday an information in federal court that charges two Minneapolis women with stealing more than $1 million from the ING life insurance company.

Angela Patrice Madison, age 41, and Tracy Dione Jackson, age 42, were specifically charged with one count of mail fraud in connection to the alleged crime.

The information states that from 2003 through March 6, 2012, Madison worked as a policy plan and service coordinator for ING. In that capacity, she handled, among other things, requests from ING clients to obtain loans and “surrender” – that is, cash in – their life insurance policies.

Madison allegedly used ING’s computer system to generate false surrenders in the names of various individuals, including Jackson. The checks issued as a result of those surrenders were purportedly mailed to Jackson at various addresses across the state or intercepted by Madison and given to Jackson. Then Jackson allegedly cashed the checks and split the proceeds with Madison. Through this scheme, the women reportedly stole approximately $1,633,301 from ING, the result of 196 fraudulent checks.

If convicted, the defendants face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christian S. Wilton.