New London Man, Haiti Citizen Pleads Guilty to Role in Insurance Fraud Scam

NEW LONDON, CT - Court officials said Monday a citizen of Haiti has admitted to his alleged role in an insurance fraud scheme.

Jacques Fleurijeune, 27, (also known as “Magic”) of New London pleaded guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud stemming from his involvement in an insurance fraud scheme.

Court officials said Fleurijeune and others conspired to stage approximately 50 car crashes in southeastern Connecticut between April 2011 and February 2014 in order to defraud automobile insurance companies for money. Many of these planned crashes were single-vehicle accidents on remote roads where there were no witnesses.

After each staged accident, the suspects filed fraudulent property damage and bodily injury claims with various 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.

Fleurijeune plead guilty to his involvement in one staged crash that occurred on October 22, 2013, in Norwich.

After another suspect crashed the vehicle, Fleurijeune replaced the other participant in the driver’s seat and falsely reported to responding police officers that he had been driving the car at the time of the crash. He also told officers the crash occurred because he swerved into a tree to avoid hitting a deer.

After the crash, Fleurijeune and conspirators submitted fraudulent insurance claims that misrepresented the conditions that caused the crash, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash and the extent of injuries suffered as a result. As a result, the suspects collected a total of $31,334.52 from the insurer.

Sentencing in Fleurijeune's case has been scheduled for May 10, where he faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison. He is a citizen of Haiti.

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