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By Lisa Redmond, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.
May 1--WOBURN -- A Lowell couple might have bilked an insurance company with a bogus car-accident claim if not for the video camera that recorded Jovi Chitpaseuth and his friends pulling up to a Lowell pizza place and using bats to smash the car.
As for his girlfriend, Michelle Neak, who was supposedly injured in the fake crash, the tape showed she wasn't even there.
In Middlesex Superior Court yesterday, Chitpaseuth, 21, was sentenced to five years probation with restitution and an order that he have no gang affiliations after pleading guilty to filing a false motor-vehicle insurance claim, attempting to commit a crime and conspiracy.
Neak, 18, pleaded guilty to filing a false motor-vehicle claim and conspiracy charges. Neak was sentenced to two years probation and restitution.
Prosecutors allege that on April 26, 2006, Chitpaseuth reported to Lowell police that he was involved in a hit-and-run accident at the intersection of Broadway and School streets in Lowell. The motor-vehicle report shows no passengers listed in the motor-vehicle accident.
Two days later, Chitpaseuth reported to his insurance company that he was involved in a hit-and-run with a red car and that Neak was the front-seat passenger. He later told the insurance company that he was struck from behind by an unknown vehicle near Broadway Pizza in Lowell. Neak also stated she was in the motor vehicle during the crash.
But in November 2006, during an unrelated investigation,
Lowell police discovered a video of the actual crash that had taken place.
In the video, Chitpaseuth's vehicle is shown pulling up to Broadway Pizza with numerous passengers getting out. It then shows Chitpaseuth and other individuals striking another vehicle with baseball bats.
The vehicle that was vandalized then fled the scene, striking Chitpaseuth's vehicle in the process. The video also reveals that Neak was not present at the scene or inside the vehicle.
"Instances of auto-insurance fraud impact all drivers through increased insurance premiums coming right out of their wallets," Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to diligently prosecute these matters to send a deterrent message to anyone who seeks to cheat and steal from the auto-insurance system."
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Car Insurance News: Lowell Couple's Insurance-Fraud Scheme Caught on Camera...Get an auto insurance quote!