Massachusetts Man Indicted for More Than $200K Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Holbrook, Mass., man was indicted in connection with damaging luxury cars bought under false pretenses in order to collect insurance proceeds, Attorney General Maura Healey announced.

Dion Augustin was indicted by a statewide grand jury on charges of larceny over $250 by false pretenses (seven counts) and motor vehicle insurance fraud (eight counts). He will be arraigned in Middlesex and Norfolk Superior Courts at a later date.

The attorney general’s office alleges that between August 2016 and December 2017, Augustin purchased numerous luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, a Maserati, and two Fisker Karmas, and rented trucks from U-Haul in his own name and by using a series of intermediaries known as straw purchasers.

Augustin allegedly obtained financing for those purchases by misrepresenting both his own creditworthiness and that of his straw purchasers. After securing insurance on the luxury vehicles, the attorney general’s office alleges that Augustin deliberately damaged them and reported the damage as accidental in order to collect the insurance proceeds.

The attorney general’s office began its investigation after a referral from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau. In total, the AG’s office alleges Augustin obtained $136,940 in financing through his use of misrepresentations. The office further alleges the false insurance claims made by Augustin resulted in insurance payouts in excess of $208,700.

These charges are allegations, and all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Eric Haskell, Investigator Michael Azevedo of the AG’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit, and Victim Witness Advocate Lia Panetta. Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau investigators and Massachusetts State Police provided assistance to this investigation.

Source: Office of Attorney General Maura Healey

Topics Fraud Massachusetts