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Friday, April 19, 2024

Audit nets defrauded Massachusetts customers additional restitution

Coakley

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - A court-ordered audit of an insurance brokerage firm in Massachusetts has resulted in an additional $410,000 for customers and the Commonwealth, Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, said Friday.

William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, Inc., charged undisclosed feeds and double-billed clients for insurance brokerage services by maintaining two sets of books, providing false client invoices and altering documents from insurance companies before giving them to clients, it is alleged.

A consent judgment in Dec. 2007 required William Gallagher Associates to return more than $3 million to customers and pay $925,000 to the Commonwealth. William Gallagher Associates was also ordered to adopt transparent fee practices by the judgment.

Following a recent court-ordered audit, required under terms of the December 2007 settlement, an additional $330,624 will be paid in restitution to 11 companies as well as an $80,000 payment to the Commonwealth.

William Gallagher Associates was required by the audit to pay five Massachusetts-based companies a total of $248,300 in restitution by Nov. 5. Those companies are US Genomics, Waterside Power, LLC, Vista Print Ltd., Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

The remaining $82,321 in restitution will be paid to Energia Global de Costa Rica, LSP Kendall Energy, Pittsfield Hydropower, Conceptis Technologies, TECO Energy and Concord Steam Corporation.

Coakley's Insurance & Financial Services Division handled the matter.

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