A recently introduced Senate bill would make staged crashes with commercial motor vehicles a federal crime.
Previously introduced in the House in May 2025, the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act would address schemes involving vehicles intentionally getting into wrecks with tractor-trailers in an attempt to collect damages.
Several trucking groups, including OOIDA, are supporting this effort.
“These are calculated, premeditated assaults that endanger lives, destroy livelihoods and compromise highway safety,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh said. “To add insult to injury, criminals abuse the legal system for profit through false accusations and lawsuits, which contribute to skyrocketing insurance premiums for small trucking businesses.”
Two New Yorkers who attempted to profit from three staged crashes between August 2024 and October 2024 have been sentenced to prison.
According to a criminal investigation and court records, Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., conspired to stage crashes on New York City highways as part of an insurance fraud scheme.
Huiracocha and Murillo also recruited other individuals to participate in the staged crashes, offering them promises of cash payouts.
In each instance, Huiracocha drove in a separate vehicle and trailed Murillo. After each crash, Murillo exited his vehicle through the passenger side, while individuals in the back seat blocked the window. Murillo fled the scene in a getaway car and the other passengers remained on the scene, claiming to be injured. Huiracocha then instructed those individuals to visit specific medical clinics.
Of the three staged crashes, a scheme on Oct. 3, 2024, targeted a 44-year-old truck driver from New Jersey on the Nassau Expressway.
“Staged auto collisions not only terrify the drivers who are targeted, they put other motorists at risk and ultimately lead to increased insurance costs for all New Yorkers,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Huiracocha pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and conspiracy and was sentenced to one to three years in prison on the fraud charge and one year in jail for conspiracy, to run concurrently.
Murillo pleaded guilty to staging a motor vehicle accident, insurance fraud and conspiracy. Murillo received a two-year prison sentence on the staging and insurance fraud charges and one year of incarceration for conspiracy, to be served concurrently.
“Staging auto collisions on our roadways puts countless drivers at serious risk and exploits insurance coverage meant to protect people when they truly need it,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo only cared about the thousands of dollars they stood to make from this dangerous and illegal insurance fraud scheme.”
Defendants Maikel Martinez and Ivon Matus-Martinez, participants in the staged crashes, have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. LL