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Commonwealth v. Jerome12/17/2002
ident of November 2, 1993]." Subsequently, Arbella settled the bodily injury claim for $6,500. A claims representative in Arbella's special investigations unit was permitted to testify that, had he known the details of Dessin's prior claims, he would not have settled the case.
2. Discussion. A conviction of motor vehicle insurance fraud, G.L. c.266, 111B, "requires that (1)the defendant, in connection with a claim under a motor vehicle insurance policy issued by an insurer, (2)with the intent to injure, defraud, or deceive such insurer, (3)did knowingly present to it, or aid or abet in or procure the presentation to it, (4)a notice, statement, or proof of loss, (5)knowing that such notice, statement, or proof of loss contained a false or fraudulent statement or representation, (6)of any fact or thing material to such claim." Commonwealth v. Charles, 428 Mass. 672, 683 n.8 (1999). The defendant does not contest that his actions satisfied parts (1), (3) and(4) of this definition, given that he admits that he represented a client with respect to a motor vehicle accident claim, and that he knowingly submitted information to the insurer with respect to that claim. He denies that he knew that any portion of the submitted information was false, that any false information was material, and that he intended to defraud or otherwise injure the insurer.
We recognize that knowledge or intent often cannot be proved by direct evidence, but instead must be proved by inferences drawn from evidence of relevant circumstances. See Commonwealth v. Casale, 381 Mass. 167, 173 (1980). Such inferences need not be necessary or inevitable, only reasonable and possible. Corson v. Commonwealth, 428 Mass. 193, 197 (1998). However, the result may not be a product of conjecture or speculation, or the piling of inference upon inference. Commonwealth v. Mandile, 403 Mass. 93, 94 (1988). In deciding whether the evidence is sufficient to support a finding of guilt in this circumstantial case, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have been satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt with regard to each element of the alleged offense. Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 677-678 (1979). In doing so, we focus on whether the evidence warrants the findings necessary for a determination of guilt specifically with respect to the defendant's submissions to Arbella, the only submissions for which he was convicted.
The Commonwealth's case is based on the proposition that, with respect to the November 2, 1993, accident, the defendant submitted to Arbella documents containing material falsehoods; that he knew that such falsehoods were present in the documents; and that he submitted the documents with the fraudulent purpose of obtaining a settlement to which the insurer might not have agreed had the truth been revealed. In addition, according to the Commonwealth, the defendant furthered the deception by false statements of his own and by rejecting the insurer's request for information that would have revealed the falsehoods. The theory created a dual burden for the Commonwealth, i.e., to show that the statements in question were false and that the defendant knew they were false when he forwarded them to Arbella. The Commonwealth contends that it has satisfied the burden by a showing of four knowing misrepresentations on the defendant's part, the defendant knowing that certain statements were false by virtue of his past representation of the client in connection with similar accidents. We examine each of the four.
(i) The defendant submitted to the insurer a Somerville Hospital report of Dessin's emergency room treatment the day after the No
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