NORWICH MAN TO SERVE 100 DAYS IN INSURANCE FRAUD SCHEME

A 40-year-old Norwich man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District court to 100 days in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in an insurance fraud scheme involving intentional car crashes.

Frandy Dugue, also known as “Jimmy,” had pleaded guilty on Aug. 9, 2016, to one count of wire fraud. A citizen of Haiti and a lawful permanent resident of the United States, he faces immigration proceedings when he is released from prison as a result of his conviction.

According to the government, between April 2011 and April 2014, Dugue and others conspired to stage approximately 50 car crashes in eastern Connecticut for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies and enriching themselves. A high percentage of these planned crashes were single-vehicle accidents on remote roads where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the crashed vehicle.

After each staged accident, the defendants filed fraudulent property damage and bodily injury claims with various automobile insurance companies. They then collected payouts on the fraudulent claims from the victim insurance companies. These payouts typically ranged from about $10,000 to about $30,000 per accident.

Dugue was involved in five false insurance claims, four of which stemmed from staged automobile crashes. He received $11,004 from insurers based on his false claims.

Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer ordered Dugue to pay $10,000 in restitution.

Six other individuals involved in this scheme have been convicted and await sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Norwich Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Avi Perry and Michael J. Gustafson.