Mass. Business Owner Pleads Guilty to $28k Insurance Scam

SALEM, Mass., Dec. 28 -- The Massachusetts Attorney General issued the following news release:

A Peabody business owner pleaded guilty and was sentenced in connection with collecting over $28,000 in fraudulent insurance claims for work performed at his automotive and glass companies, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.

Robert Giller, age 53, of Swampscott, pleaded guilty to Insurance Fraud (20 counts), Larceny Over $250 by False Pretence (18 counts), and Attempted Larceny (2 counts). After the plea was entered, Judge David Lowy sentenced Giller to serve 9 months of probation and to pay restitution, which Giller paid at today's hearing.

From January 2006 through December 2009, Giller perpetrated a scheme in which he made false statements on invoices and other records that he submitted to insurers to collect payments for work that was not performed on motor vehicles. The Attorney General's Office began an investigation after Giller's activities were initially investigated and referred by the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB).

Giller is the owner and President of Advanced Automotive Concepts, Inc. (Advanced Automotive) in Peabody and serves as the Treasurer of New England Glass Company, Inc. (New England Glass), the on location glass repair wing of Advanced Automotive. Employees at Advanced Automotive and New England Glass perform work on motor vehicles, which includes glass repairs and replacement, sunroof repairs, the installation of sunroofs, and other automotive repairs and installations.

Giller created and submitted fraudulent invoices and other records to insurers for work that Giller falsely claimed was performed on customers' motor vehicles. The insurers then reimbursed Giller's businesses for the work that was performed.

An Essex County Grand Jury returned indictments against Giller on December 29, 2010. Giller was arraigned in January, 2011 in Essex Superior Court at which time he entered a plea of not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. Today, Giller pled guilty, paid restitution and was ordered to serve 9 months of probation.

AG Coakley's Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers, including the Commonwealth's unemployment insurance and workers' compensation system. The prosecution of insurance fraud helps prevent the increase in premiums and taxes that are the result of fraudulent insurance claims. In 2011, the Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division obtained $5,578,934 in restitution orders in 33 matters.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Brendan O'Shea of AG Coakley's Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division. The IFB assisted in the case.

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