Two men were recently found guilty of fraud and conspiracy offenses related to their staging of car accidents for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, between April 2011 and February 2014, Mackenzy Noze, 32, and Jonas Joseph, 33, also known as “James,” both residents of Norwich, along with 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 approximately $10,000 to $30,000 per accident.

The jury found Noze and Joseph guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, Noze guilty of eight counts of mail or wire fraud, and Joseph guilty of five counts of mail or wire fraud. The charges carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count.

After the verdict, Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer ordered Noze, who is a citizen of Haiti and lawful permanent residence of the U.S., detained pending sentencing. Five other individuals charged as a result of this investigation have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.