Mass. man face charges over broken tooth fraud

[March 03, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- A Massachusetts man is accused of filing 21 fake injury claims for the same broken tooth, pocketing at least $36,000 in insurance payments.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office says the man injured a tooth at a restaurant in 2002 by biting into a piece of plastic in his salad. The eatery paid for his medical treatment.

Prosecutors say he then filed 21 false injury claims against other restaurants, using information from the legitimate incident.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of insurance fraud, larceny and attempted larceny.

The alleged scheme was discovered by an insurance investigator.

[Associated Press]

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