LAWRENCE — It's impossible to be in more than one place at a time.
But investigators of the city's auto insurance fraud task force say Ernies Baez tried to pull it off as a driver in one car and a passenger in another — in a staged two-car crash in Lawrence back in an August 2003.
"It's just amazing because he almost got away with it, too," Lawrence police Chief John Romero said.
"For four years, this fraud went unprosecuted. With the more than 300 people we've charged, we pretty much thought we'd seen it all," he said. "But this one really turned out to be unbelievable. It shows you what people would go to to rip off the system."
Baez, 30, formerly of 7 Lowell Terrace, Lawrence, claimed to be driving a 1997 Dodge Stratus on Methuen Street when a 2001 Dodge Caravan headed up Mill Street, blew through a stop sign and struck the Stratus in the rear.
One of the passengers in the other car was Jairo Reyes, 29, of Lowell — who Lawrence Detective Ryan Guthrie of the task force only recently determined was Baez.
Task force investigators say Baez received treatment at ProHealth Rehabilitation Center in Lawrence, and was also treated under his alias name of Jairo Reyes at SportsMed Rehabilitation in Lawrence.
"This guy wanted to cash in on both ends," Romero said of Baez, who is currently serving a prison sentence in New York on drug-related charges. But he's currently under investigation in the Lawrence and Lowell auto insurance fraud task forces for several bogus car crashes.
"How do you expect not to get caught on something like that? It's just unbelievable. But these people thought they had a free ride and they were in fact milking the system for millions of dollars at the expense of the residents of this city and the rest of the state," Romero said.
Romero calls the case involving Baez one of the most unique among dozens investigated by the task force since the fall of 2003. A number of those arrested have been involved in multiple accidents. Some — like Baez — have participated in phony crashes under more than one name.
"But we've never had an individual appear in the same accident in both cars under two different names. This just takes the cake. This is the biggest, most brazen attempt of fraud I've ever seen in phony accidents," said Romero, who assembled the task force weeks after a 65-year-old great-grandmother from Lawrence was killed in a staged crash that police say she helped plan.
Had Altagracia Arias survived the Hollywood-style crash that went awry, she would have been treated at the now-defunct ProHealth Rehabilitation Center on Essex Street — the same place Baez got treated.
Romero said the task force — which includes a handful of Lawrence detectives and investigators of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts — is probing a possible connection between Baez and the fatal crash. Investigators have never determined the identity of the runner who set up the scam. But investigators now believe Baez was involved.
Guthrie determined that Baez and Reyes were the same person after developing information in talks with the Lowell police, the fraud bureau, state police and DEA officials in New York. Guthrie noticed that an arrest report from New York listed Reyes as one the aliases Baez used. New York authorities sent a photo of Reyes that seemed to match Baez. Then, the detective learned that Baez had obtained a driver's license under the name of Reyes.
"After seeing the two driver license photos, we felt sure Ernies Baez and Jairo Reyes were the same guy. Detective Guthrie asked the state police to do a facial recognition, and they confirmed the two pictures were one of the same person," Romero said.
Romero acknowledged that even with a solid case against Baez, it may be several years before he returns to Lawrence to face criminal charges filed by the task force, which include auto insurance fraud, conspiracy, attempt to commit a crime, larceny over $250 and possession of false motor vehicle documents.
The chief calls the 2003 crash "the classic paper accident," citing Baez's "double fraud role" as the best evidence the crash never occurred. Hanover Insurance Co. initially referred the claim to the fraud bureau after suspecting fraud. Hanover paid the damage claims for both cars and several injury claims.
Also charged were:
n Eric Machuca, 34, of 118 Bennington St., Lawrence. He owned the Dodge Stratus drive by Baez, but was out of town at the time of the crash. He was arrested at home and charged with auto insurance fraud, larceny over $250 and conspiracy. He was also charged with possession of cocaine, which police said they found on him at the time of his arrest.
n Francisco Rivera, 30, of 27 Victor St., Haverhill. Listed as passenger in the Dodge Stratus. He turned himself in to police and was charged with auto insurance fraud, larceny over $250 and conspiracy.
n Alexander Ramirez, 31, of 14 Beacon St., Lawrence. Listed as a passenger in the Dodge Stratus. He turned himself in and was charged with auto insurance fraud, larceny over $250 and conspiracy. He gave police a statement admitting that the accident was staged.
n Zoraida Mejia, 29, of 505 Lowell St., Lawrence. She owned the Dodge Caravan. She was arrested at work and charged with auto insurance fraud, larceny over $250 and conspiracy.
n Manuel Sanchez, 46, of 313 High St., Lawrence. A friend of Mejia, he was listed as the driver of the Caravan. He is still being sought by police on charges of auto insurance fraud, conspiracy and attempt to commit a crime.
n Wilfredo Ortiz, 37, of 322 Walnut St., Lawrence. He was a passenger in the Caravan. He is still being sought on an arrest warrant charging him with auto insurance fraud, conspiracy and attempt to commit a crime. He is also wanted for drug trafficking.
