Mouthful of claims linked to one tooth
Restaurants were cheated, AG says
In 2002, prosecutors say, Tod Schaffer started carrying pebbles or fragments of plastic into Boston restaurants. And, according to prosecutors, there inevitably came a claim: That small, hard thing had been in his food and chipped his tooth.
Prosecutors say he repeated the ruse at nearly two dozen restaurants around the city - Legal Sea Foods, The
Schaffer, 42, of Brookline, was arrested in 2006 after an investigator at Great American Insurance Co., which insured five of the restaurants Schaffer is accused of defrauding, noticed a trend. The investigator came across five claims for the same broken top front tooth. The investigator also noticed that, while the name of the claimant on each form was different, the cellphone numbers were identical. The investigation expanded to include 14 insurance companies, 10 restaurants, and several hospitals and banks.
Schaffer was arraigned yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court, where he appeared jittery and repeatedly slid his hands in and out of the pockets of his khaki pants and adjusted the zipper of his black hooded sweater. After Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson asked him to enter a plea, Schaffer shook his head from side to side and emphatically said "not guilty."
Schaffer was charged with 19 counts of insurance fraud and ten counts of larceny over $250. Each of the 29 counts carries a maximum five-year prison term. He was also charged with attempted larceny over $250, each count carrying up to 30 months in jail. He was released on personal recognizance and ordered to return for a May 11 pretrial conference.
As Schaffer left the courtroom, he donned dark sunglasses and pulled the hood of his sweater over his head. He declined to comment. His lawyer, Robert Allen Jr., also declined to comment on the case, saying he had yet to study it in detail. "I've known him personally for a long time, and he is a good man," Allen said. "Ultimately, once we've had a chance to review it, I'll make a statement."
The insurance company that discovered the possible fraud contacted the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau, which contacted the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Harry Pierre, a spokesman for the office, said yesterday that insurance fraud involving teeth is somewhat unusual.
In October 2002, according to prosecutors, Schaffer legitimately injured a tooth after biting down on a piece of plastic in his salad. He received treatment from his dentist and was given an estimate for repairing his tooth, which he submitted to the restaurant where the injury occurred. Schaffer received payment a week later, but, according to prosecutors, he never fixed the tooth and instead used the estimate to carry out his fraud. As he filed his claims, authorities say, he alternated names, using aliases including Damien Bello, Edwin Landaker, and Adam Semegran. They say he also kept switching from rock to plastic as the object he bit down on.
Among the establishments listed as receiving claims were Legal Sea Foods, The Cheesecake Factory, Chili's, and the Armani Cafe in Boston. Prosecutors say Schaffer filed 21 false dental injury reports seeking compensation. Ten claims were paid.
