Meet The Board

Joe Stephenson
President
Joe Stephenson is the Director of SIU for a national specialty insurance carrier. He has been in the insurance industry for 10 years, after retiring as a police officer from the State of Maine. He has been the President of NEIASIU since 2014 and previously sat on the Board of Directors. He is a certified insurance fraud investigator (CIFI), accident reconstructionist, and lectures to various groups regarding Internet and Social Media Investigations.

Matt Griffin
Vice President
Matt Griffin is a SIU Regional Manager for Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates (a subsidiary of MetLife Insurance Company). Mr. Griffin joined Metropolitan in 1994 as an investigator within the Special Investigation Unit (SIU). Before joining Metropolitan, he was an SIU Investigator with the Aetna Property & Casualty Insurance Company, and a Senior Trooper with the Vermont State Police.

Sue MacKay
Secretary
Sue MacKay, FCLS, CIFI, CPIW is a senior special investigator with Hanover Insurance. She has been in the insurance industry for 37 years, starting her career with Middlesex Insurance but spending the last 30 years with Hanover. Sue is a Life Member of NEIAISU, past President of NEAIFI and the past President of the Massachusetts Chapter of IAAI. She has also sat on a number of Boards, including that of IAMI.

Steve LaVasseur
Treasurer
Steve LaVasseur is a Special Investigator with National General Insurance Company. He has been employed in the insurance industry for 25 years. The first half of Steve’s insurance career was in various claim capacities. He then transitioned to SIU in 2003. Steve is a certified insurance fraud investigator (CIFI) and also Fraud Claims Law Associate (FCLA). Steve served on the Board of Directors prior to being elected to Treasurer.

John Gasiorek
John M. Gasiorek became a Special Agent with the National Insurance Crime Bureau in September 2005 and was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in May of 2009. John supervises six additional Special Agents overseeing all NICB investigations in New England. John is also assigned investigative responsibilities in Connecticut, specializing in property and casualty insurance fraud with a specific emphasis on multi-claim, multi-carrier, ring activity perpetrated by unscrupulous medical providers and attorneys. John organized and heads the Mini-Medical Fraud Task Force in CT where he assist in the coordination of criminal investigations with federal, state and local police agencies.
Director (2016)

Brendhan Harris
Brendhan Harris is a Senior Investigator for the NH Insurance Department Fraud Unit conducting criminal investigations on all insurance fraud related matters. Prior to his work for the State of NH he spent 9 years working as an SIU Investigator for a variety of major property & casualty companies, as well as an Investigator for a healthcare company with a focus on Medicaid Fraud. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator (CIFI), a retired Master Police Officer from the Virginia Beach Police Department and previously served in the United State Army.
Director (2016)

John Nestor
John Nestor is a Major Case Consultant with Nationwide Insurance. He obtained a Master of Public Administration Degree in May 2000 from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and a Bachelor of Science Degree in February 1995 from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y. He was employed with the New York City Police Department from January 1981 to January 2001, and has held the ranks of Police Officer, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, & Detective Sergeant. John came to Nationwide SIU in January 2001 upon retiring from the NYPD, and has worked in the New York and New England regions.
Director (2016)

Jacques Parenteau
Jack Parenteau, Partner, Parenteau & O’Hara, P.C. Police officer, Bodily injury claim rep., SIU Investigator, Auto Theft Unit Supervisor, SIU Manager and Lawyer licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Jack has handled and litigated SIU cases for 25 years. He has handled SIU cases from inception through appellate decisions. Jack has developed strategy for handling medical fraud cases locally and as national coordinating counsel. He continues to handle SIU cases throughout New England and is a frequent lecturer on fraud related issues.
Legal Counsel

Lou Larose
Lou Larose has been a Director with New England IASIU since 2014.
Director (2016)

Robert Smith
Robert Smith has been a Director with New England IASIU since 2015.
Director (2016)

John LeBlanc
John Leblanc has been on the Board of Directors of the New England Chapter of IASIU since 2014. He began his career in insurance in 2008 as an intern in the SIU analyst unit with Metlife Auto & Home. Following this he went to work as a police officer at Babson College before returning to Metlife in 2010 as a special investigator.
Director (2017)

Suzette Cavanaugh
Suzette Cavanaugh is currently employed as a Senior Investigator with Pilgrim Insurance Company. After receiving her BA degree from Suffolk University she embarked on her career by joining the Massachusetts Attorney General's Public Protection Bureau as an investigator before moving into the Insurance industry. She is a Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator (CIFI), is a founding member of the New England Chapter of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (NEIASIU), is currently the Secretary for the New England Association of Insurance Fraud Investigators (NEAIFI), and is a member of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI).
Director (2017)

Laura Kessler
Laura Kessler is Vice-President/General Counsel to the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. She serves as chief legal officer. Formerly, Laura served as counsel to the Special Investigation Unit of Arbella Mutual Insurance Company and enforcement counsel to the Massachusetts Securities Division. A graduate of Villanova University, Laura Kessler received a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1985. She is a member of the Massachusetts and American Bar Associations, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and NEAIFI.
Director (2017)

James Byrne
James Byrne is the Manager of the Special Investigations Unit of Electric Insurance Company. He has spent more than 25 years in the field and has investigated all lines of property-casualty claims. He has been qualified as an auto theft expert in court and has been a guest lecturer in training seminars for the Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers of Massachusetts, IASIU, IFM, New York/New Jersey Anti-Car Theft Committee, and the NJSIA. Mr. Byrne is a current member NEAIFI, NJSIA, and has held past membership on the AISG Management Committee on Insurance Fraud, New York/New Jersey Anti-Car Theft Committee, the National Association of Police Chiefs and the Western States Auto Theft Investigators Association (WSATI).
Director (2017)

Audrey Parr
Audrey C. Parr, Esq, is the founder of Parr Law, P.C., where she advocates for insurers and policyholders in all types of first and third-party insurance defense matters, including pre-trial investigation, coverage matters, litigation, and appellate work. Since 1991, Attorney Parr has specialized in suspected fraudulent injury and property damage claims, relating to automobile, PIP, homeowners, medical provider, and commercial liability coverage on behalf of both personal and commercial carriers. Before her private litigation focus, Attorney Parr served the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts, where she spent 12 years successfully prosecuting hundreds of District and Superior Court jury trials involving major felonies including homicide, child abuse, arson, and insurance fraud.
Legal Counsel