A statewide grand jury has indicted a man from Holbrook, Boston after prosecutors said he was associated in a scheme of purchasing luxury cars with fraudulent financing in order to intentionally damage them, collecting over $200,000 of insurance proceeds in the process.
The indictments charge Dion Augustin, 23, with seven counts of larceny of more than $250 under false pretenses and eight counts of automobile insurance fraud. The case is being prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office. Augustin is anticipated to be arraigned on the charges at a later date in Norfolk and Middlesex County Superior Courts.
Prosecutors stated that between August 2016 and December 2017, Augustin purchased a number of luxury cars, including a Bentley, a Maserati, and two Fisker Karmas. He is also alleged of renting U-Haul trucks both in his own name and using a number of intermediaries. Augustin obtained financing to purchase the vehicles by misinterpreting how creditworthy he and the others were, the prosecutors noted in a Friday press release.
After insuring the vehicles, Augustin would intentionally damage them and report the damage as accidental in order to get insurance proceeds, prosecutors noted.
Prosecutors said that Augustin fraudulently got about $136,940 in financing and collected over $208,700 in insurance payouts in the scheme.
The attorney general’s office started its investigation after a referral from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau.
