Former Norwich resident sentenced in insurance scheme

A former Norwich resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison Monday for staging more than 50 car accidents in eastern Connecticut for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies.

Mackenzy Noze, 33, was found guilty in June by a jury in U.S. District Court in New Haven of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Six others have been charged and convicted in connection with the conspiracy, which took place between March 2011 and February 2014.

According to the government, a high percentage of the planned crashes were single-car 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 companies. They collected payouts from the insurance companies that typically ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per accident.

Evidence at Noze’s trial indicated he participated in as many as 50 staged crashes, 11 of which were described in detail to the jury.

At the sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer ordered Noze to pay restitution in the amount of $207,083.36.

Noze has been detained since he was arrested on May 23, 2016. A Haitian national, he is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and faces immigration proceedings after he serves his sentence.

A total of seven people have been indicted in the scheme. One other has been sentenced and the remainder await sentencing.

The case was investigated by the FBI, 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.