Two Brooklyn men have been charged with staging three automobile accidents and then seeking insurance payouts from Allstate Insurance Co. for damages and purported injuries.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo have been charged with staging a motor vehicle accident, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, insurance fraud and other crimes. Huiracocha allegedly planned the collisions by luring participants with promises of cash payouts while Murillo allegedly drove the vehicles involved in the crashes.
Judge Glenda Hernandez ordered Huiracocha to return to court on September 9 and Murillo on September 4. If convicted of the top count, they each face five to 15 years in prison.
Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The incidents cited by prosecutors occurred in August and October last year.
On August 24, Alyssa Attanasio was driving westbound on the Belt Parkway near the Erskine Street exit when a silver Honda Civic merged into the lane directly in front of her and she collided with the car.
On October 3, Alexis Mendoza reported driving his tractor trailer in the middle lane of the Nassau Expressway near Cross Bay Boulevard in Lindenwood. A Nissan Xterra, which was in the right lane, suddenly cut into the middle lane directly in front of his truck. He was unable to avoid hitting the Nissan
On October 16, Asphia Natasha was driving north in the left lane of the Belt Parkway in Rosedale near the Nassau County border. Her vehicle was equipped with both a front and rear dashboard camera. At that time, the Honda Civic cut in front of Natasha’s vehicle and then came to a stop. Natasha was forced to step on her brakes to avoid a collision at which point the Honda quickly backed into her vehicle, damaging both her car and the Honda.
According to the investigation and charges, Huiracocha helped orchestrate the accidents. Murillo drove the cars and then after a black tarp was placed over the back windshield to hide his activity, he would exit the vehicle and enter another that would drive way, while another person would take his place in the driver’s seat and proceed to speak with the victim of the staged crash.
According to prosecutors, Allstate Insurance received claims for $3,000, $79,000 and another unspecified amount.
The investigation was conducted by the New York Police Department’s Fraudulent Collision Investigation Squad with the NYPD Criminal Enterprise Division and the New York Department of Financial Services.
Topics Auto New York Personal Auto Numbers
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