NORTH ANDOVER — Al Perry, the former chairman of the North Andover School Committee, has admitted to insurance fraud and embezzlement stemming from charges that he stole thousands of dollars of clients' insurance premiums, leaving them without coverage while he used the money for personal business.
He was placed on two years of probation and ordered to repay his victims in a ruling issued earlier this summer in Lawrence District Court.
Perry, 56, who owned the now-defunct Internet Insurance Agency, admitted to sufficient facts on six charges of insurance agent broker fraud, six charges of larceny over $250, six charges of embezzlement by broker, one count of forgery by check, and one count of uttering a false document, according to records in Lawrence District Court and the Essex County district attorney's office.
The charges were continued without a finding until July 13, 2011, according to a spokeswoman for the Essex County district attorney's office.
He was ordered by Judge Thomas Brennan to pay $22,361 in restitution to the victims, half of which he has already paid, according to court documents.
In addition, he has been placed on two years of probation and told to continue to attend counseling.
Perry could not be reached for comment.
His attorney, Thomas Torrisi, said the judge took a number of matters into consideration before issuing his finding, which isn't the same as a guilty plea and will not give his client a criminal record.
"The judge heard the facts about his history and background and contribution to the town and youth of North Andover and took those under consideration," Torrisi said. "A lot of factors were presented to the court. Everyone felt this was fair."
The charges came from a police investigation of Internet Insurance Agency, based on complaints from six customers who said they were cheated out of their money.
The criminal case against Perry developed after customers discovered they weren't covered for workers' compensation and other insurance even though they had paid premiums for that coverage, according to North Andover detectives.
According to court records, Perry used the money to pay personal gas, telephone and credit card bills.
Perry's sons, Marc and Darryl Perry, also filed charges against Al Perry. They now run their own company, Perry Insurance, on Chickering Road.
Neither Marc nor Darryl Perry returned phone calls from The Eagle-Tribune. Torrisi said those larceny charges were dismissed.
According to court records, Perry has made payments to the following victims:
Geriatric Assistance of Andover, he has paid $4,000. He still owes $3,739.
To Highwood Village Condos of Bedford, N.H., he has paid $2,150. He still owes $2,129.
To Ronald Perry, his cousin, of Sudbury, he has paid $3,200, but still owes $3,266.
He still owes three other clients around $2,500.
Torrisi said Perry will continue to receive counseling as a result of a condition that started with a physical ailment and evolved into a serious health problem.
"The events that precipitated this were medical in nature," he said. "As a result of those, he was getting counseling to resolve and deal with those issues."
He would not elaborate.
"He's doing well physically, and he's recovering," Torrisi said. "He's in the process of getting his professional life back in order."
He no longer works with his sons, and no longer lives at his house at 548 S. Bradford St.
According to the Registry of Deeds Web site, the bank had begun foreclosure proceedings against Perry and his wife, Lynda, late last year, for the South Bradford Street property.
