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Auto fraud ring case in Massachusetts – three persons convicted
Three men have been convicted in the auto fraud ring case by the Massachusetts jury and this includes a chiropractor and a lawyer as well. They have been accused of staging a number of fraudulent accidents, according to reports from the attorney general’s office.
Michael H. Kaplan from Hampstead, N.H., Omar Castillo from Methuen, and James C. Hyde from Boxford were found guilty following a jury trial that lasted for six weeks. They were charged with insurance fraud, attempted larceny, and larceny.
The additional charges of conspiracy to commit larceny and conspiracy to commit auto insurance fraud are still on, and the three will face a trial shortly. Both Hyde and Kaplan will be serving a two-and-a-half year prison term at the Essex County House of Correction and that would be followed by 5-year probation. Castillo will have to serve nine months and was also sentenced for two-and-a-half years in the House of Correction.
These men used the knowledge they had in the auto insurance sector and used it to their advantage to defraud insurance companies in order to make a quick buck, especially in the face of rising insurance costs, stated Attorney General Martha Coakley. This crime was very serious in nature and it had hurt the sentiments of consumers apart from the losses it caused insurance companies. The consumers faced hardships due to the increase in premiums.
The Lawrence Police Department as well as the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts had joined hands to create the Lawrence Task Force to help investigate into staged accidents in this area. This was after the September 2003 incident when a woman died in one of these staged accidents. This task force has helped in prosecuting several fraudsters. The local district attorney has helped in bringing them to book while several cases that are pending have also been referred to the attorney general’s office.
These convictions are based on a couple of staged accidents that occurred in October 2002 as well as December 2002, and both have been due to the joint efforts by the Massachusetts State Police and the Lawrence Task Force.
Leo Lopez was arrested in September 2006, in connection with this case, by the authorities in Georgia. He was also indicted on various counts of auto insurance fraud, attempted larceny, and larceny subsequently. Lopez pleaded guilty on January 22, 2020 and was further sentenced to 9 months in the Essex County House of Correction.
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