Saugus woman convicted of auto insurance fraud

LYNN – A Saugus woman’s conviction this month for car insurance fraud is the latest example of police working with insurance agencies to successfully eliminate millions of dollars in fraudulent claims.Joyce Moore, 51, of 8 Biscayne Ave., was convicted Aug. 14 of filing a false motor vehicle accident claim after a trial in Lynn District Court.Charges were brought against Moore after her insurance company, Arbella Mutual Insurance, alerted the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts to her alleged bogus claim in February 2007.The IFB collaborates frequently with the Lynn police department’s Community Insurance Fraud Initiative, whose goal is to eliminate fraudulent claims.Moore filed a report stating her car was parked at the corner of Liberty and Willow streets in Lynn when it was struck by a driver who fled the scene without leaving information.”The investigation undertaken by the CIFI task force showed that the damage could not have occurred as claimed and that Moore had in fact filed a fraudulent report,” Lynn police spokesman Lt. William Sharpe said.Sharpe said Lynn’s CIFI has charged 60 people with insurance fraud and related crimes since it was established in 2005.”The success of the task force has produced a remarkable decline in the number of injury claims and the total number of dollars paid out as the result of medical billing in the city,” Sharpe said.In 2003, before the CIFI was established in Lynn, the number of accidents resulting in injury was 70 out of 100. In 2007, it was 40 out of 100. The statewide average is 30 out of 100.Additionally, chiropractic billing was reduced from $2.8 million in 2003 to $1.5 million in 2007. Physical therapy billing declined from $2.3 million in 2003 to $1.8 million in 2007.Moore was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay restitution to her insurance company.The Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts will pay up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in insurance fraud in Lynn. Their toll free number is 1-800-32-FRAUD (1-800-323-7283).