Six Charged in Alleged $1M Auto Insurance Claims Scheme in Massachusetts

Six people have been indicted in connection with the alleged filing of fraudulent insurance claims through their auto body repair business in Everett, Massachusetts.

Four of the defendants were arraigned this week in Middlesex Superior Court, while two others also indicted by the grand jury are fugitives.

The alleged insurance fraud is said to have bilked insurance carriers out of more than $1 million.

According to District Attorney Marian Ryan, Everett Chief of Police Steven Mazzie, and the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau’s Katherine Mulligan, a two-year investigation showed that through the auto body shop, FT Auto or Riviera Auto in Everett, the defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent insurance claims for customers that included descriptions of automobile collisions that never occurred, inflated damages, or damage that was inflicted by the shop and was not the result of a collision.

Those involved allegedly used the alias of the defendants or stolen identities.

As part of the scheme, prosecutors claim that one defendant had a relationship with a clerk at the Registry of Motor Vehicles branch in Revere who performed RMV queries and transactions upon request and received electronic payments and gift cards as compensation for her services.

Source: Middlesex County District Attorney