A luxury car owner is speaking out after becoming one of the victims of an alleged insurance fraud scam in which vehicles were intentionally damaged by an auto body shop owner.
Massachusetts authorities have filed charges against 42-year-old Adam Haddad of Shrewsbury, who has been accused of using sledgehammers and mallets to cause further damage to cars he was repairing.
Haddad owns Accurate Collision Inc. in Worcester and ADH Collision of Boston Inc. in Everett. Attorney General Maura Healey said Haddad had been indicted on 42 charges, including 18 counts of insurance fraud.
Howard Smith turned in his new Maserati to Haddad on March 2, 2016. He'd gotten into a fender bender the prior month, soon after buying the car.
"This was my dream car," Smith said. "And he completely ruined it."
Smith believes his Maserati was damaged with a sledgehammer. He says that in part because of the increase in estimates he received — going from $4,000 to $9,000 to $33,000.
"He told me that he started doing work on the car, which he had no authorization to do any work on my car," Smith said. "I didn't know him, but I trusted him. He has a body shop. Who would dream about this? Who would even imagine this happening to them? Not me."
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Smith says he can't believe the scheme allegedly went on for four years.
"I bought it from a Maserati dealership, certified, and he just completely ruined my car. And he took a piece of me with that," he said.
