2 Norwich Men Charged With Staging Car Accidents In Eastern Connecticut

NORWICH, CT - A New Haven federal jury announced Thursday that two Norwich men were found guilty of staging car accidents in order to defraud car insurance companies. The trial began June 5 of this year, according to a release.

Court officials said Mackenzy Noze, 32, and Jonas Joseph, 33, conspired with others to stage approximately 50 car crashes in eastern Connecticut. 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, court officials said. (To sign up for Norwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

After each staged accident, the suspects would file 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.

Court officials said these payouts typically ranged from approximately $10,000 to $30,000 per accident.

Both suspects were found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Noze is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1 and Joseph is scheduled to be sentenced September 5.

Noze, who is a citizen of Haiti and lawful permanent residence of the United States, was ordered detained pending sentencing. Joseph was released on a $10,000 bond.

Court officials said five other suspects were charged as a result of the investigation. They have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, court officials said.

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