QUEENS — TWO BROOKLYN MEN WERE SENTENCED on Thursday after pleading guilty to charges of staging vehicle crashes and seeking fraudulent insurance payouts, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a joint announcement on Thursday.
Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, pleaded guilty to having staged a series of collisions which investigators said occurred from Aug. 24 to Oct. 16, 2024. The pair recruited individuals to participate in three separate car crashes and enticed them with promises of cash payouts of thousands of dollars.
The defendants suddenly and deliberately stepped on the brakes of the car he was driving, causing the driver of the vehicle behind him to rear end the car he was operating. When one alert driver braked in time to avoid the collision, Murillo intentionally reversed and crashed into the car.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Jerry Iannece sentenced Huiracocha and Murillo to two years in prison on the charges of staging a motor vehicle accident in the multiple years of incarceration on the charges. The sentences will be served concurrently.
People believing they may have been a victim of insurance fraud are urged to call the Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888-372-8369 or visit dfs.ny.gov/consumers to file an online report.
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