Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120
BROCKTON – The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office has been awarded $50,000 from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts to continue its work with the Commissioner of Insurance to fight automobile insurance fraud in Brockton and throughout Plymouth County, District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced today.
In late 2003, after a staged accident in the city of Lawrence killed a 65 year-old woman, the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB) created the Community Insurance Fraud Initiative (CIFI). The CIFI consists of specialized taskforces with local law enforcement agencies in Brockton and 10 other communities in Massachusetts. The taskforces join IFB investigators, local police departments, DA’s Offices, the Attorney General, and insurance company investigators, to work together to detect, investigate, prevent and prosecute insurance fraud in the residual motor vehicle insurance market.
DA Cruz first partnered with the IFB and the Brockton Police Department in 2004. The funding delivered to the District Attorney’s Office by the IFB will supplement and support, in part, the participation of the PCDAO in the CIFI. DA Cruz accepted the funding from Anthony M. DiPaolo, executive director of the IFB. The $50,000 is funded by Arbella Mutual Insurance Company, as part of a program in coordination with the Commissioner of Insurance and the IFB.
“All of us pay the price when someone commits insurance fraud and intentionally scams the system,” DA Cruz said. “This partnership with Commissioner DiPaolo and the IFB has not only curbed auto insurance fraud significantly in Brockton, but has also been a major factor in reducing premiums for policy holders across the state. We look forward to continuing this successful program in 2024.”
IFB Executive Director DiPaolo said, “Thirty years ago, the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts was created to combat automobile insurance fraud. This type of fraud increases the cost of automobile insurance premiums for consumers in the state of Massachusetts. The partnership with Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz demonstrates the perseverance and hard work by all involved proves insurance fraud will not be tolerated in Plymouth County.”