Boston Accident Injury Lawyer Blog

September 2, 2010 - Khith Kheav, 75, from Fall River, Massachusetts has died as a result of serious personal injuries sustained in a two car accident in Westport. Constance Bancroft, 61, from Somerset, was driving the other vehicle involved in the collision. The accident occurred along Route 195 at around 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to the Massachusetts State Police, Kheav's 1995 Nissan Quest was traveling east and then crossed the grass median into the westbound lanes prior to colliding with Bancroft's 2007 Chevrolet Equinox. Kheav was pronounced dead at the scene. Bancroft was transported by helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at around 9:00 p.m. Tuesday night.

This accident remains under investigation by the State Police.

Source: The Providence Journal

Continue reading "Westport, Massachusetts Crash Kills Two" »

August 9, 2010 - Jose Domingues, 39, from Boston, Massachusetts was involved in a car accident when he allegedly ran a red light and collided with another vehicle. Domingues' van rolled over after smashing into the other car. The accident occurred on Sunday in Roxbury at the intersection of Dudley Street and Harrison Avenue.

Neither driver was injured in the crash. Domingues was arrested and charged with running a red light and driving with a revoked license.

The accident remains under investigation.

Source: WCVB

Continue reading "Boston, Massachusetts Rollover Accident" »

August 4, 2010 - William Nichols, 48, from Blackstone, Massachusetts died as a result of serious personal injuries he sustained during an explosion at a construction site in Norfolk. David Bethel, 72, from Foxboro, Robert Dena, 43, of http://www.bostonaccidentinjurylawyer.com/wrentham-massachusetts-persona.html, Thomas DiPlacido, 17, from Wrentham were also injured while working on the condominium construction site at The Village at River's Edge, a housing development for people 55 and older. Mary Jackson, 58, who lived in the adjacent condominium, was also taken to the hospital. The accident occurred last Friday afternoon.

According to State Fire Marshall Stephen Coan, the explosion was accidental and construction being done in the basement resulted in the release of propane, which ignited. Coan has not yet determined the ultimate cause of the fire or why the gas caught on fire.

Continue reading "Norfolk, Massachusetts Construction Accident Kills One, Injures Seven" »

July 19, 2010 - Ashley Hannan, 23, from Worcester, Massachusetts, and Thomas Serewicz, 23, from Fitchburg have died as a result of serious personal injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Steven Larson, 25, from Worcester, was seriously injured when he was riding as a passenger in Serewicz' truck. Apparently, Hannan was traveling the wrong way on Route 190 North in Worcester when her car collided head on with Serewicz' northbound pick up truck. The accident occurred early on Saturday.

According to the Massachusetts State Police, Hannan and Serewicz were pronounced dead at the scene. Larson was transported to UMass Medical Center and has since been released.

The accident remains under investigation, but the State Police said the cause of the accident was a combination of Hannan's wrong way operation and her speed.

Source: NECN

Continue reading "Worcester, Massachusetts Wrong Way Accident Kills Two" »

July 1, 2010 - Katie Enos, 14, from Westford, Massachusetts suffered serious personal injuries when she was struck by a car while jogging with a friend on Carlisle Road. Richard Shattuck, 84, from Stoneham, was driving the vehicle that hit Enos. The accident occurred Tuesday at around 1 p.m. near the intersection of Concord Road in Westford.

A medical helicopter transported Enos from the scene to Children's Hospital in Boston, where she is currently being treated for life threatening injuries. The friend who was joggin with Enos was not injured in the accident.

Shattuck, who was driving home from New Hampshire, claims that the accident was not his fault. The accident remains under investigation by the Westford Police Department, who have not filed charges against Shattuck.

Source: WHDH

Continue reading "Westford, Massachusetts Teen Injured When Hit by Elderly Driver" »

June 30, 2010 - David Spitzer allegedly operated several business entities as a foreign currency investment fraud, which raised over $105 million from 400 investors. This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed a complaint that claims Spitzer misled investors from at least 2004 until as recently as March 2010. Spitzer, a resident of St. Thomas, recruited investors from all over the United States.

According to the complaint, Spitzer and his sales team told investors that their money would be placed in investment funds that would, in turn, primarily be invested in foreign currency. Spitzer allegedly enticed new clients by claiming he was an extremely successful fund manager and always produced exorbitant annual returns, including one year of 180%. To facilitate his purported scheme, Spitzer allegedly issued phony documents, including false K-1s, to clients.

The SEC claims that, in reality, Spitzer only invested $30 million of client funds, including $16.5 million in a foreign entity that ultimately lost money and was liquidated back to Spitzer. Spitzer also apparently invested $16 million in money market funds but only earned a few thousand dollars.

Continue reading "Daniel Spitzer Ponzi Scheme Busted" »

June 17, 2010 - Milowe Brost, Gary Sorenson, Larry Adair, Ward Capstick, Bradley Regier, and Martin Werner allegedly operated their entities Syndicated Gold Depository, Merendon Mining Corp. Ltd., Merendon Mining (Nevada) Inc., and the Institute for Financial Learning Group of Companies, Inc. as a massive $300 million Ponzi scheme. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed a complaint that alleges Brost and Sorenson were the leaders of the alleged Gold mining fraud, which convinced 3,000 investors to cough up large amounts of money.

The SEC claims that Brost led a sales team, called Structurists, which held investment seminars where they claimed to be independent financial professionals. At the seminars, the men allegedly pushed investments in gold mining businesses that could generate annual returns ranging from 18 to 36 percent.
The SEC also alleges that Brost and the Structurists promised that all investments were collateralized by gold.

The complaint claims that Brost and his sales team sold shares in various entities and then through a unique "structuring" process that ultimately led to the transfer of funds from Syndicated Gold Depository to Merendon Mining Corp. Ltd. Apparently, Sorenson claims to be an independent businessman making loans to Merendon, but in reality controlled the company.

Continue reading "Milowe Brost, Gary Sorenson Gold Investment Fraud Stopped by Feds" »

June 3, 2010 - Luis Felipe Perez allegedly operated his investment business, which he claimed financed jewelry stores and pawn shops, as a massive $40 million Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed a complaint, which alleges that from 2006 to June 2009 Perez operated his scam by recruiting primarily Hispanic investors from the Miami area. Allegedly, Perez told investors that their money would be used to finance his jewelry stores, Lucky Star Diamonds Inc. and Luis Felipe Jewelry Design Corp., as well as pawn shops in New York City.

According to the SEC, Perez was able to grow his scam primarily by word of mouth, especially in the Hispanic community. The complaint says that Perez enticed investors by offering "no-risk" loan agreements with annual returns ranging from 18 to 120 percent. The SEC claims that Perez falsely told investors that their loans were secured by diamonds that had specifically been set aside for them in New York City pawn shops, which he financed. Perez apparently even duped clients by providing them access to safety deposit boxes that contained, unknown by investors, fake diamonds. The SEC further claims that Perez misled investors by telling them they were added as beneficiaries to his life insurance policy, which had lapsed at the time.

Continue reading "Luis Felipe Perez Diamond Investment Fraud Busted" »

June 1, 2010 - Sonia Mouco, 36, from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, suffered serious personal injuries when her Volkswagen Jetta was side-swiped by a Honda Civic, which was apparently racing a Honda Accord along Route 18 South in New Bedford. Xaviel Quinones, 18, of New Bedford, was operating the Accord while traveling with two 2 year old boys in the back seat. Brittany Oliveira, 18, also from New Bedford, was riding as a passenger in one of the racing cars and was ejected from that vehicle. Carlos Rodrigues Jr.'s Acura, which was traveling northbound on Route 18, was struck with flying debris from the accident. The accident occurred on Sunday near the Purchase Street exit.

According to the Massachusetts State Police, the Civic, driven by an unidentified 17 year old, hit the right side of Mouco's car and then collided with the Accord. The impact of the crash was so great that the engine from one of the racing cars flew out of the vehicle. The debris that hit Rodirigues Jr.'s car scratched its body and caused one window to break and another to crack. Mouco said she could hear the children screaming in the Accord, but was unable to get out of her own car to rescue them.

Both of the toddlers were taken from the scene by medical helicopter. One was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the other was transported to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence. Oliveira was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was listed in fair condition as of Monday. Mouco suffered injuries in the crash and is recuperating at her parent's home. Apparently, none of the injuries suffered in the collision were life threatening.

State police issued several citations to the operators of the Civic and Accord for violations including speeding and racing. This accident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police.

Continue reading "New Bedford, Massachusetts Racing Accident Injures Two Toddlers" »

May 22, 2010 - Edward Allen and David Olson operated their real estate company, A & O Investments, LLC, as a Ponzi scheme according to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SEC's complaint filed in an Ohio federal court claims that from September 2005 to December 2008 Allen and Olson raised about $14.8 million from at least 100 investors.

Apparently, A & O Investments enticed buyers by offering promissory notes with annual interest rates of 20%. Allegedly, Allen and Olson claimed that the money raised from the notes would be used to purchase and rehabilitate real estate, primarily in Florida. The complaint further alleges that A & O would profit from sales of the refurbished real estate and Allen and Olson represented to clients that they had been making successful transactions.

The SEC alleges that Allen and Olson recruited investors by sending mass mailings and word of mouth. Also, Allen and Olson apparently solicited customer of their former employer World Group Securities, Inc., a Georgia based securities broker-dealer.

Continue reading "Edward Allen, David Olson, and A & O Investments Scam Halted" »

May 16, 2010 - Keith Yorke, 55, from Sandwich, Massachusetts has died as a result of serious personal injuries sustained when he was struck by a 1997 Ford Escort, driven by Nicole Giles, 18, from Mashpee. The accident occurred at around 5:17 a.m. while Yorke was walking his dog along Asa Meiggs Road.

Yorke was transported by ambulance to Forestdale School and was then taken by a medical helicopter to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Giles was not injured in the crash. According to the Sandwich Police Department, Giles called police from the scene to notify them of the accident.

The crash is still under investigation by the Sandwich Police and no charges have been filed.

Source: Cape Cod Times

Continue reading "Sandwich, Massachusetts Pedestrian Hit by Car" »

May 10, 2010 - Victims of the Millennium Bank Ponzi scheme have survived a motion to dismiss filed by Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank in their class action lawsuit. The complaint alleges that the bank aided and abetted the perpetrators of a $200 million Ponzi scheme which operated out of offices located in Napa, California. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen refused to dismiss four out of five of the counts, which will now proceed into a discovery phase requiring JPMorgan to produce documents and answer questions about its banking activities.

JPMorgan is the successor of failed Washington Mutual Bank ("WAMU"), which had branches in Napa, where Millennium's mastermind, William Wise and his associates, carried out their banking activities. Wise lured over 250 investors by offering certificates of deposit (CDs) with unrealistically high interest rates. Millennium Investors were instructed to mail checks to Napa, which were presented for deposit at the WAMU branches. Millions were commingled and then either transferred offshore or used by Wise and his cohorts for personal expenses, including payments for a private jet, an extensive wine collection, and to support Wise and his family's extravagant lifestyle.

The complaint alleges that WAMU continued to conduct business with Millennium even though it knew that investor monies were being siphoned away. Judge Chen determined that the allegations in the Complaint, if proved, would state a cause of action. Specifically, he permitted the claims of aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of California Business Code to proceed. However, he found no evidence to support the claim that there was a conspiracy to commit fraud.