“Real Housewives of the Potomac” star Wendy Osefo and her husband, Edward Osefo, were charged in Carroll County after allegedly lying about a burglary at their home to defraud insurance companies of more than $400,000, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.

The couple, who have three school-age children and film the show partly from their Finksburg home, face 16 charges, including seven felony counts, connected to what investigators describe as a scheme involving false and misleading information in an insurance fraud case, Sheriff Jim DeWees and Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker said in a news conference Friday.

Deputies said the charges stem from an April 7, 2024, report of a burglary at the Osefos’ residence in the 1900 block of Turnberry Court in Finksburg. The couple told responding officers that they returned from vacation to find their home broken into and said about 80 items, valued at more than $200,000, had been stolen.

The allegedly stolen items included luxury goods such as jewelry, designer clothing and high-end shoes, according to court documents. Investigators later determined that more than $20,000 worth of those items had been returned to stores by the homeowners after the date of the reported burglary. Detectives also found photographs of one of the Osefos wearing jewelry that had been listed as stolen.

“Some folks may view insurance fraud as an innocuous crime, since it only affects insurance companies. That is certainly not true,” said Shoemaker, noting that such fraud affects everyone’s premiums and his office takes these charges “very seriously.”

Court filings describe inconsistencies at the supposed crime scene, noting that the reported entry point — a second-floor bathroom window overlooking a small roof 9 feet above the deck — showed no signs of disturbance.

Wendy Osefo, above, and her husband, Edward Osefo, were charged in Carroll County after allegedly lying about a burglary at their home to defraud insurance companies. (Carroll County Sheriff)

“There were no ladders, the deck furniture was undisturbed, and no indication anyone had been on the deck,” court documents read. “The Osefos stated they did not touch anything prior to police arrival.”

A Carroll County grand jury indicted the couple Thursday on multiple fraud-related charges. Deputies executed a search warrant at their home and arrested Edward Osefo, 41, and Wendy Osefo, 41.

According to charging documents, Edward Osefo gave recorded statements to two insurance companies and denied that any of the claimed items had been returned. He also allegedly failed to disclose that he was filing a separate claim with a third insurer, Travelers Insurance, while providing lists of stolen property to Homesite and Jewelers Mutual.

The Sheriff’s Office reviewed interior and exterior cameras on the Osefos’ home, and from neighbors’ homes, DeWees said.

Detectives became especially suspicious when, a few weeks after the burglary reports, they saw Wendy Osefo post photos on social media of the jewelry that was reported stolen — specifically, a diamond anniversary band, DeWees said.

Edward Osefo also allegedly sent his wife email messages about looking for “additional high-value items” to add to the list, saying: “I am trying to get the value to exceed $420,000, which is our policy maximum,” DeWees said.

Edward Osefo, above, husband of Wendy Osefo, was charged in Carroll County after allegedly lying about a burglary at their home to defraud insurance companies. (Carroll County Sheriff)

The Osefos were taken into custody Thursday afternoon at the Turnberry Court home, during which law enforcement executed a search warrant that turned up more “jewelry and high-end handbags,” DeWees said.

The couple signed a sworn, notarized statement of loss to the insurance companies that claimed $2,500 in building damage and $450,000 in contents and personal property, Shoemaker said.

The couple was paid out $25,000 for the diamond band, DeWees said.

The Osefos do not have an attorney listed in online court records. Both defendants were taken to Carroll County Central Booking and later released on $50,000 bond each, authorities said.

At the time of the arrest, they were still filming Bravo’s “Real Housewives,” DeWees said, noting he doesn’t “watch the show.”

He also said the Sheriff’s Office would have scrutinized the case equally intensely if the suspect had been someone less famous.

“I don’t care if she’s a real housewife, fake housewife, whoever she is. We would have handled it the same way,” he said.

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