North Andover Auto School Assets Frozen By Judge

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — A judge prohibited Michael Larocque, the owner of a North Andover auto school charged in Sept. with methamphetamine trafficking, from selling his assets April 1.

Attorney General Maura Healey sued Larocque and North Andover Auto School in late March for violating the Consumer Protection Act. Healey said that more than 1,500 students prepaid for driving lessons and were unable to get refunds after the school's RMV licenses were revoked following Larocque's arrest.

Students prepaid between $550 and $750 and are owed more than $1 million, Healey said.

“The closure of this business left hundreds of student drivers stranded with no way to complete their courses or obtain refunds for services they already paid for,” Healey said. “We’ve moved quickly to preserve the defendants’ assets so they can be used for consumer restitution and are seeking more than $1 million in full refunds for impacted consumers.”

As first reported by the Andover Townsman, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Karp determined that there was a "reasonable likelihood" that Healey would win the case and froze $1 million in real estate and other assets owned by Laroque, North Andover Auto School and any other businesses he controls.

Healey requested the injunction to preserve the assets to pay for the losses suffered by the auto school students who prepaid.

Larocque owns MV Auto School in Haverhill, North Andover Auto School and also operated driver's ed programs at North Andover High School and Greater Lawrence Technical School in Andover.

Healey's office is seeking restitution to the students who prepaid as well as civil penalties against Larocque and his businesses.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.