On April 1, 2019, Attorney General Maura Healey announced that Adam Haddad, 42, of Shrewsbury the owner and sole officer of Accurate Collision, Inc., 1051 Millbury St, Worcester, MA and ADH Collision of Boston d/b/a Accurate Collision, of 36 Mystic St, Everett had been indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury on March 28, 2019, along with these two companies.
The statewide grand jury law allows the Attorney General to use a simplified indictment procedure the Attorney General need only present evidence to a designated county grand jury to have indictments returned for any county. In this case, a grand jury sitting in Suffolk County indictments for alleged crimes committed in Middlesex and Worcester County.
No dates for the arraignment of Mr. Haddad and his companies in the Superior Courts for Middlesex and Worcester County have been set.
Seventy-five counts charging insurance fraud levied against Mr. Haddad and his companies
The seventy-five counts in the indictments against Mr. Haddad and his two automotive repair businesses allege a complex motor vehicle fraud scheme in which he damaged vehicles taken to his body shops for repairs to increase the insurance company’s claim payments. The indictments allege that as a result, Mr. Haddad and his companies stole $170,000 from eleven insurance companies.
The indictment against Mr. Haddad consists of forty-two charges including eighteen counts of motor vehicle insurance fraud; fifteen counts of larceny by false pretenses over $1,200 (grand larceny), three counts of attempted larceny; and six counts of malicious destruction of property.
The indictment against Mr. Haddad’s Everett corporation, ADH Collison of Boston Inc., d/b/a Accurate Collision consists of eighteen charges including ten counts of motor vehicle insurance fraud and eight counts of larceny by false pretenses over $1,200.
The indictment against Mr. Haddad’s Worcester corporation, Accurate Collision, consists of fifteen charges including eight counts of motor vehicle insurance fraud and seven counts of larceny by false pretenses over $1,200.
Sledgehammers and mallets used to enhance cars’ damage to increase insurance payouts
The Attorney General’s Office began its investigation in 2017, after a referral from the Insurance Fraud Bureau.
A joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office and the Everett Police Department revealed that over the past four years, Mr. Haddad regularly enhanced damage, and caused new damage, to customer’s vehicles to falsely inflate insurance appraisal quotes for labor, paint and parts reimbursement requests.
Surveillance footage from one of Mr. Haddad’s business locations allegedly shows him intentionally using mallets, sledgehammers, and pieces of wood to cause additional damage to five customers’ vehicles.
In addition to enhancing damage to his customer’s cars to inflate insurance payments, Mr. Haddad would also make an additional profit by pocketing the insurance company’s check and not completing all the necessary repairs to his customers’ cars.
Most counts in the indictments charge felonies with state prison sentences and fines
In Massachusetts, any crime punishable by a state prison sentence is a felony. Seventy-two out of the seventy-five counts in these indictments charge felonies. The three counts of attempted larceny alleged against Mr. Haddad charge misdemeanors.
The larceny statute, M.G.L. c. 266, § 30, as amended in 2018, provides, in part, that anyone found guilty can “be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years, or by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars and imprisonment in jail for not more than two years…”
An attempt to commit larceny is punishable by “imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than two-and-one-half years or by a fine, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”
The motor vehicle insurance fraud statute, M.G.L. c. 266, 111B, provides for “imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not less than 6 months nor more than 21/2 years or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”
The malicious destruction of property statute allows a court to impose upon conviction a state prison sentence of not more than ten years or a fine of $3,000 or 3 times the value of the damage if the defendant’s acts were “wilful and wanton.” Otherwise, the maximum sentence is imprisonment in jail for not more than 2½ years; or a fine of $1,000.
Each count of the indictment sets out a separate crime punishable as per the statute. While consecutive sentences are legally permissible for each count if a defendant is found guilty, many, but by no means all, sentences imposed in the ordinary course of criminal proceedings have concurrent sentences.
Of course, for the corporations involved the only punishments applicable are the fines the court may assess if the corporation is found guilty or pleads guilty by a corporate vote.
Attorney General ask for information from the public on any other victims
The Attorney General’s announcement, besides identifying the defendants, the charges, and some of the fraudulent means used also asked for any having any information on other victims of body shop fraud to contact the Attorney General. Her public statement was:
If any member of the public believes they may have been victimized by this conduct or has any information relating to others who may have been victimized, they are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s Office Insurance Fraud Tip Line at 617-573-5330.
Prosecutors, investigators, and police involved in the prosecution
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Cotter, Chief of the Attorney General’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division, with assistance from Senior Criminal Investigator Phillip Mantyla, Massachusetts State Police, Digital Forensics Laboratory Investigators, and Victim Witness Advocate Amber Anderson, all of the Attorney General’s Office. Also, the Attorney General’s Office received assistance from the Everett Police Department and Investigators at the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau.
About the Attorney General’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division
The Attorney General’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division investigates and prosecutes serious criminal misconduct involving crimes against public agencies, corrupt public employees and public entities, crimes that harm public confidence in our government and other trusted institutions, and financial crimes.
Michael Sweeney says
Excellent reporting…