Haverhill Chiropractor Arraigned in Auto Fraud Case

A Haverhill chiropractor charged in the ongoing auto insurance fraud probe can't be faulted for what his clients do, his lawyer said.

Dr. Troy Wheelwright, 40, of Amesbury pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges at his arraignment in court yesterday. He is the owner of Haverhill Family Chiropractic at 606 Broadway in Haverhill.

The state attorney general's office alleges Wheelwright participated in the auto fraud scheme by treating people involved in staged car accidents and then submitting false insurance claims for money.

Wheelwright was indicted earlier this month along with a North Andover chiropractor, two local lawyers and three other men. Those men are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Court.
In September 2004, a grand jury initiated by District Attorney culminated in the indictments of 16 people — including three lawyers and four chiropractors — who were charged with being part of a "network of fraud" that helped drive up auto insurance rates across the state. That probe focused on a cottage industry of crime where middlemen known as "runners" get paid to steer accident victims to lawyers and chiropractors for cash.

Wheelwright was indicted on two counts of making a false motor vehicle insurance claim, two counts of larceny over $250, two counts of attempting to commit a crime, and four counts of conspiracy.

Because he surrendered his passport, Wheelwright will remain free until his trial and must appear at police station to be booked on the charges.

The Judge also warned Wheelwright if he failed to comply with any of the conditions of his release or committed another crime while his case was pending, he could be held in jail without bail for up to 60 days.

Police Chief said yesterday that information developed during the multiple auto insurance fraud investigations showed that in 2003 there were 23 chiropractic offices, that together billed insurance companies for $8 million, but by 2007, there were only four chiropractic offices that together billed insurers $700,000.

"One would have to think the efforts of the task force certainly had a significant impact on chiropractic services," said he, who assembled the special task force after the September 2003 death of Altagracia Arias, who had been soliciting participants for a staged crash just hours before her death.

"That statistic shows that what we were able to expose was just the tip of the iceberg; that's why the investigations will continue," he said.

He said speaking generally, that in insurance fraud cases, the people who stand to make the most money are the medical and legal professionals.

"There are many fine chiropractors and lawyers who are a credit to their professions. In the course of a continual four-year investigation into insurance fraud, there are some who are not," he said.Two lawyers have all served jail sentences after their convictions of auto insurance fraud-related charges.

Area Ford Dealer Pleads to Fraud

The former owner of Whitehall Township's Discovery Ford dealership has pleaded no contest as charged to three felony fraud charges.

Tony Allen Nielsen will avoid state prison under a sentencing commitment. That still leaves the option of a county jail term of up to a year when Nielsen is sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 11. Judge allowed Nielsen to remain free on bond until sentencing.

Nielsen also is expected to be socked with a huge restitution tab. Prosecutors say he has already paid back more than $300,000 that authorities say he stole by defrauding hundreds of customers.

Nielsen, 43, now of Wayland, pleaded to three counts of larceny by conversion of more than $1,000 but less than $20,000. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but results in conviction, and judges treat it as a guilty plea at sentencing. It's allowed when a defendant faces civil liability, as in Nielsen's case.

The criminal charges against Nielsen were the outcome of a complicated, yearlong investigation that included repeated interviews with more than 400 victims allegedly defrauded in an extended warranty scam and failure to pay off loans on trade-in cars. Investigators also painstakingly scrutinized reams of financial documents.At the time of the fraud -- from April 2005 through August 2006 -- Nielsen owned and operated Discovery Ford at 3001 W. Holton-Whitehall.

Auto Fraud: The Price Is Wrong

Within the last week, the Associated Press reported that a lady who won a car on the game show "The Price is Right" had filed a lawsuit against the game show on CBS Broadcasting and the auto dealer who sold her the car. Back in 2004, she won a new 2004 Pontiac GTO Coupe while appearing on the show. She had the car for approximately a year when she took it in for service and learned that it had been wrecked and repaired before it was delivered to her as a "new" car.

This lawsuit has garnered publicity simply because of the connection with "The Price is Right." A car dealer took a car that they knew had been wrecked, repaired it and passed it off to this contest winner, ripping her off for potentially thousands of dollars. Then the contest winner somehow finds out about it and sues. This happens every day all over the United States.

Car consumers don't realize how much money is involved in buying and selling cars in the U.S., or how competitive the market is, or how greedy automobile dealers can be, or how people who work in the industry, for whatever reason, get to a place where misleading consumers and taking advantage of them isn't seen as wrong but as a legitimate way to do business.