Simon Abou Raad, Mark C. LaFrance, David P. Gaw, Extortion and Mail Fraud, Massachusetts 2013

Massachusetts Officials Charged with Extortion and Mail Fraud

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 11, 2013 - In a shocking case of corruption, Simon Abou Raad, 50, of Tyngsboro, Mark C. LaFrance, 51, of Braintree, and David P. Gaw, 70, of Wakefield, have been charged with conspiracy to extort money under color of official right in exchange for an official license to conduct Massachusetts motor vehicle safety inspections and with participating in a scheme to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

According to the indictment, LaFrance, project manager for vehicle safety and compliance services at the RMV, had oversight responsibilities for the entire motor vehicle inspection program within Massachusetts. Abou Raad owned service stations in Tewksbury and Tyngsboro. Gaw was a senior inspector working out of Lawrence whose duties included inspecting service stations applying for licenses.

The indictment alleges that LaFrance, Abou Raad and Gaw operated a black market for motor vehicle safety inspection licenses through the use of LaFrance's and Gaw's official positions. LaFrance provided Abou Raad with a list of vehicle inspection stations that had a low volume of inspections and/or were planning to surrender their license and sell the inspection equipment. Abou Raad then contacted the service station owner and offered to buy the inspection license and equipment for prices usually in the range of $5,000 to $6,000.

Abou Raad then sold such licenses and equipment to service station owners desirous of acquiring a license, often identified by Gaw, for prices between $50,000 to $75,000. Abou Raad arranged the transaction to appear as if the service station owners selling and buying the license were merging as a new business entity or with a change in ownership. He submitted forged documentation to the RMV, ostensibly on the part of the seller, falsely representing that there had been a bona fide merger.

The indictment states that through this illegal scheme, Abou Raad sold at least 10 inspection licenses and/or machines for approximately $657,000. During the investigation, which involved the interception of electronic communications, Gaw and Abou Raad are alleged to have discussed service station owners who were likely to sell their inspection machine and license.

The maximum sentence under the extortion and mail fraud statutes is 20 years. LaFrance was indicted by a federal grand jury, while Abou Raad and Gaw were charged by Information, having previously been arrested on March 11, 2013.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/registry-motor-vehicle-officials-and-service-station-owner-charged-extortion-and-fraud