Mass. Charges Fla. Man in Insurance Fraud Scam

A Florida man has been arraigned and ordered held on $30,000 cash bail in connection with filing false motor vehicle insurance and personal property claims, forgery of a police report, larceny, and filing false police reports with the Beverly, Massachusetts Police Department.

Tyler Parrish, 31, formerly of Peabody, was charged with Larceny over $250 (4 counts), Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud (2 counts), Filing a False Police Report (3 counts), Attempted Larceny, Forgery, Uttering, and Insurance Fraud.

Authorities allege that while living in Beverly, Parrish committed motor vehicle insurance fraud when he vandalized his Hummer H3 in an attempt to have it deemed a total loss in order to get out of his $45,000 auto loan in July 2007. In August 2007, Parrish’s insurance provider, Arbella Mutual Insurance Company (Arbella), referred this case to the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB) for investigation. Investigators found that Parrish filed a false police report with the Beverly Police Department regarding damage to his vehicle. The Attorney General’s Office began an investigation in April 2008, after the matter had been referred by the IFB.

After further investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Office, investigators discovered that Parrish filed a false insurance report in 2007, claiming that an engagement ring he had purchased was stolen in Boston. Parrish allegedly submitted a forged Salem Police Department police report in order to support his fraudulent insurance claim for the engagement ring. Investigators also discovered that on separate occasions in July 2006 and March 2007, Parrish falsely claimed that his ATM card had also been stolen and that the thieves had made withdrawals on his bank accounts.

Indictments were returned against Parrish on Sept. 19, 2008. Parrish was arrested in Florida on Nov. 5, 2008, on a default warrant. On Nov. 18, 2008, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office took Parrish into custody and transported him to Massachusetts.

Parrish was arraigned in Essex Superior Court, at which time he entered a plea of not guilty and was ordered held on $30,000 cash bail. Parrish is due back in court on Dec. 9, 2008, for a pre-trial conference.