{"id":7580,"date":"2026-08-28T05:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7580"},"modified":"2026-08-28T05:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:07:46","slug":"bozos-who-staged-nyc-car-crashes-for-insurance-fraud-scheme-heading-to-prison-thanks-to-viral-video-da","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7580","title":{"rendered":"Bozos who staged NYC car crashes for insurance fraud scheme heading to prison thanks to viral video: DA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

These fraudsters crashed and burned.<\/p>\n

A crew of bozos targeted unsuspecting drivers in a series of staged crashes on busy Big Apple highways \u2014 scoring more than $80,000 in insurance payouts before a viral video brought the fraud ring down.<\/p>\n

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Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, will respectively serve at least one year and two years in prison after pleading guilty to insurance fraud charges, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Katz credited the TikTok clip \u2014 of a Honda Civic brazenly backing into another vehicle on the Belt Parkway after a near-miss collision \u2014 shown to her by her 15-year-old son with jumpstarting the investigation that uncovered three crashes staged by Huiracocha and Murillo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis original video, which happened to have been the third incident, not the first, was really key in us identifying, investigating and making sure we had the right people,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked backwards from that viral video.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dunderheads, both of Brooklyn, hatched a plan in which Murillo was behind the wheel and suddenly stepped on the brakes \u2014 causing vehicles behind him to rear-end his ride, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Huiracocha would trail behind in a separate vehicle, communicating with Murillo on when and how to stage the collisions, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

After each crash, Murillo would climb into a different seat \u2014 as passengers involved in the scheme covered the rear window with plastic bags to hide him, officials said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d then slip into a getaway vehicle as his fellow fraudsters pretended to be injured, with dashcam footage even showing the dolts holding the side of their heads in pretend agony, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The calculated crashes began Aug. 24, 2024, when Murillo, driving a Honda Civic, merged in front of a 47-year-old woman on the Belt Parkway, the DA\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Dashcam video from the woman\u2019s car shows the Honda braking out of the blue, and four men getting out, including Murillo.<\/p>\n

The setup yielded $79,000 in personal injury payouts from an insurance company, according to background from a law-enforcement source.<\/p>\n

Murillo pulled a similar move on Oct. 3, 2024, causing a tractor trailer truck to crash into the back of a Nissan SUV he drove, officials said.<\/p>\n

But the truck\u2019s driver appeared savvy to the scheme, video from after the crash shows. He brushed off a woman\u2019s claims to be the SUV\u2019s driver and called out the apparent chicanery.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think I\u2019m stupid?\u201d he asked in Spanish at one point during the cash grab, which netted $5,000 in insurance payouts, according to the source.<\/p>\n

The video from the third crash, which went viral online, showed another Honda Civic driven by Murillo cutting off a 31-year-old woman\u2019s car along the Belt Parkway, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Read more Jerry Sandusky accuser to recant testimony against convicted child sex abuser and ex-Penn State football coach<\/a><\/p>\n

The woman managed to avoid rear-ending the Honda \u2014 but, in a shocking maneuver, Murillo threw his car into reverse and backed into her vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my, God, what is he doing?\u201d the woman exclaimed after the deliberate crash.<\/p>\n

The Honda\u2019s three passengers then briefly threw a black plastic bag over the rear window to shield Murillo from view, the video shows.<\/p>\n

The trio can be seen staggering out of the car, half-heartedly holding their heads as if they\u2019re injured and pointing their phones at the woman\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

As they mill around the woman\u2019s car, Murillo can be seen slinking from the Honda and into a red Kia SUV that serendipitously pulled ahead of it, video shows and prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The crash led to an insurance claim for an unreleased amount, prosecutors said. The claim was ready to be paid out before it was withdrawn when the video went viral, the source revealed.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors pursued a slew of charges \u2014 including insurance fraud, staging a motor vehicle crash and reckless endangerment \u2014 against Huiracocha and Murillo in 2025.<\/p>\n

Two other fraudsters in the scheme \u2014 Maikel Martinez and Ivon Matus-Martinez \u2014 pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month.<\/p>\n

Before the last caper, Huiracocha met with his fellow fraudsters inside an East New York medical clinic, giving them instructions on how to stage the crash, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The passengers were told to send photos of the wrecked car to a woman, as well as to go to a different clinic in Glendale afterward, the prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Huiracocha promised them each thousands of dollars for helping with the crash racket, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Katz highlighted the sentences for Huiracocha and Murillo during a news conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who pushed for car insurance reforms during state budget negotiations in the spring.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

New Yorkers pay more than $4,000 a year in car insurance, roughly $1,500 more than the national average, according to Hochul\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Cracking down on fraudulent claims was a big component of Hochul\u2019s reform push. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fraudsters have been praying on a flawed system for a long time,\u201d she said. \u201cOver the past five years, the state of New York has seen a tripling, a three-digit increase, in fraud-related staged crashes. In 2023, we had 1,700 staged crashes, the second highest in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul said her promised lower car insurance costs won\u2019t happen overnight, but should come to New Yorkers soon.<\/p>\n

Read more Newark-bound United Airlines flight makes \u2018terrifying\u2019 emergency landing in Las Vegas<\/a><\/p>\n

She anecdotally said one of her staffer\u2019s premiums went down \u201ca hundred bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCoincidence? I don\u2019t think so,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Brooklyn bozos scored at least $82,000 in insurance payouts by staging car crashes on busy Big Apple highways — in a dunderheaded scheme that was foiled by a viral video, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nBozos who staged NYC car crashes for insurance fraud scheme heading to prison thanks to viral video: DA - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7580\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bozos who staged NYC car crashes for insurance fraud scheme heading to prison thanks to viral video: DA - 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