DA: 4 indicted, 2 on the lam in Everett auto body shop insurance scam

Timothy Nazzaro
·2 min read

Authorities announced on Monday six people have been indicted in connection with a large-scale insurance fraud scheme at an autobody shop.

According to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, FT Auto or Riveria Auto Body on Bow Street in Everett was the headquarters for a wide-ranging scam that defrauded several insurance carriers over $1 million in payments.

The suspected masterminds of the plan, 40-year-old Jhon Alexander Lopera Munera of Revere and 31-year-old Fabio Rodrigo Jordao Correa of Saugus, allegedly filed scores of false insurance claims over the course of several years.

Investigators say the false claims included car crashes that never happened, exaggerated claims of damages in minor motor vehicle accidents, or damage to cars done at the shop itself but filed under collisions. As part of the scam, Lopera reportedly bribed an RMV clerk, identified as 56-year-old Wanda Greene from Revere, with electronic payments and gift cards to assist the claims.

The scheme also involved other persons listed as drivers of vehicles involved in crashes that were simply aliases or stolen identities in an attempt to get more money from the insurance companies.

As a result of the two-year investigation:

  • Fabio Rodrigo Jordao Correa is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,200, six counts of larceny over $1,200, one count of common and notorious thief, eleven counts of false or fraudulent insurance claims, and one count of identity fraud.

  • Jose Manuel Gordon, 49, of Roxbury, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,200 and one count of receiving stolen property.

  • Tabajara Alves Ribeiro, 23, of Saugus, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,200.

  • Wanda Greene is charged with receiving a bribe as a public employee, receiving unlawful gratuities as a public employee, and receiving improper compensation as a public employee.

They were all arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court.

Jhon Alexander Lopera Munera and 33-year-old Edwin Alexander Lopera Munera of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, were indicted by the grand jury but are fugitives who are believed to have fled to Colombia, according to the DA’s office.

Jhon is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,200, six counts of larceny over $1,200, one count of common and notorious thief, 15 counts of false or fraudulent insurance claims, one count of bribery of a public employee, one count of giving unlawful gratuities to a public employee, and one count of promising or offering improper compensation to a public employee.

Edwin is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit larceny over $1,200.

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