Press Release  AG's Office Reaches Settlement With Merrimack Valley Driving School That Failed To Refund Students After Sudden Closure

Boston — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has entered into a settlement, via a Consent Judgment, with North Andover Auto School, LLC (NAAS) and its owner, Michael J. Larocque. The settlement resolves the AGO’s lawsuit against the defendants for allegedly violating the state Consumer Protection Act by failing to refund consumers after NAAS’s abrupt October 2020 closure, which followed after Larocque was arrested for trafficking methamphetamine. 

As part of the settlement, NAAS and Larocque will jointly make a $300,000 payment to the Commonwealth. The monetary payments will be used to refund impacted consumers and for initiatives that promote consumer protection. Some students may have already received refunds through the driving school’s state-required surety bond. Additionally, the settlement permanently bars Larocque from both operating any driving school and providing any form of driver’s education in the Commonwealth.  

The AGO’s March 2021 lawsuit alleged that the defendants failed to provide refunds to nearly 1,500 students who had prepaid for driving school services before NAAS’s sudden closure. The defendants operated driver’s education schools at four locations throughout North Andover, Andover, and Haverhill, until Larocque’s arrest. The arrest resulted in the defendants’ license to operate driving schools being revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.  

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Colin Harnsgate and Daniel Bahls with assistance from Paralegal Noam Miller, all of the AGO’s Consumer Protection Division. The matter was previously handled by Assistant Attorney General Ann Lynch and Investigators Edward Cherubin and Melissa Casella.   

Consumers who believe they have been subjected to an unfair or deceptive business practice may file a consumer complaint with the AGO or call (617) 727-8400.  

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