The owner of a now-closed driving school with offices in Haverhill, North Andover and Andover school is banned from again owning such a business and must pay $300,000 to settle refund complaints with the Massachusetts attorney general.
North Andover Auto School and owner Michael J. Larocque entered into a settlement related to the abrupt closing of his business following his October 2020 arrest on trafficking in the drug methamphetamine, as WHAV previously reported.
The payment will be used to refund impacted consumers and for initiatives that promote consumer protection. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office said some students may have already received refunds through the driving school’s state-required surety bond. The settlement permanently bars Larocque from both operating any driving school and providing any form of driver’s education in the Commonwealth.
The attorney general’s March 2021 lawsuit alleged Larocque and the school failed to provide refunds to nearly 1,500 students who had prepaid for driving school services before the sudden closure. Larocque’s arrest resulted in the school’s license to operate driving schools being revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.