Two Brooklyn men have been charged with orchestrating a brazen “cash-for-crash” insurance scam by purposefully staging three collisions, including one that went viral last October after a victim’s dashcam filmed the odd scenario on the Belt Parkway, according to authorities.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, have been charged with fabricating a motor vehicle collision, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and multiple counts of insurance fraud.
If convicted of the top charge, each could face five to fifteen years in prison.
Prosecutors say Huiracocha recruited participants with promises of thousands of dollars in cash, then led Murillo to drive the accident cars in a series of deadly crashes to collect insurance claims.
The victims’ vehicles were selected in real time, with drivers speaking via headphones.
In an Oct. 16 incident that rapidly went viral online, motorist Asphia Natasha’s dashcam filmed the moment a silver Honda Civic cut her off and then reversed into her vehicle on Rosedale’s Belt Parkway, near the Nassau County border.
The video captured someone in the Honda holding a sheet or garbage bag over the back window while Murillo reportedly switched seats with a passenger. Murillo was then seen stepping into a red Kia that sped away from the scene, according to police.
Allstate later received a claim for damage to the Honda.
Katz claimed the couple pulled identical acts on Oct. 3, involving a blue Nissan Xterra and a tractor-trailer on the Nassau Expressway, and on Aug. 24, when a silver Honda collided with another car near the Erskine Street exit on the Belt Parkway.
Prosecutors said the incidents resulted in personal injury claims totaling more than $82,000.
A previous arrest in the viral Oct. 16 incident occurred in November, when New York City authorities charged Maikel Martinez, another alleged participant in the Belt Parkway crash. Prosecutors stated his case is still pending.
In a statement issued late last month, Katz hailed Natasha for providing “shocking dashcam video” that helped unravel the plan.
“The prevalence of staged auto crimes has outraged New Yorkers,” Katz told me. “We are grateful for the long-term investigation with our partners at the NYPD and the state Department of Financial Services that led to these charges.”
Murillo is due back in court on September 4 and Huiracocha on September 9.
Anyone who feels they have been a victim of insurance fraud should contact the state Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888.372.8369 or submit a report at dfs.ny.gov/consumers.