A Haitian citizen residing in Norwich was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 48 months in prison for his role in staging car accidents in order to defraud automobile insurance companies.
Mackenzy Noze, 33, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven.
On June 15, a jury found Noze guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, Five counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud.
According to evidence presented during the trial, between March 2011 and February 2014, Noze and others conspired to stage numerous car crashes in Eastern Connecticut for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies.
A high percentage of the planned crashes were single-vehicle accidents on remote roads where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the crashed vehicle, according to the court.
After each staged accident, the defendants filed false property damage and bodily injury claims with various automobile insurance companies, according to the court. They then collected payouts on the fraudulent claims from the victim insurance companies.
The payouts typically ranged from approximately $10,000 to $30,000 per accident.
The evidence at trial indicated that Noze participated in as many as 50 staged crashes, 11 of which were described in detail during the trial.
Meyer ordered Noze to pay restitution of $207,083.36.
Noze was arrested on May 23, 2016, and remains in custody. He is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and faces immigration proceedings after he serves his sentence, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Six other individuals have been charged and convicted as a result of the investigation.
The case has been investigated by the FBI, the Norwich Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Avi Perry and Michael J. Gustafson.
Source: The Bulletin 225