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One of their victims lives on Long Island
Two Brooklyn men who staged a series of dangerous highway crashes — including one that went viral after a victim’s dashcam captured the bizarre scene on the Belt Parkway — are headed off to prison, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
After pleading guilty in May to third-degree insurance fraud and fifth-degree conspiracy, 53-year-old Jaime Huiracocha was sentenced on Monday to one to three years in prison.
Victor Murillo, 34, had pleaded guilty to second-degree staging a motor vehicle accident, fourth-degree insurance fraud, and fifth-degree conspiracy. Justice Iannece sentenced him on Aug. 3 to two years behind bars.
The viral crash
The case broke open after a driver’s dashcam captured a staged wreck on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale, near the Nassau County border, that quickly spread online. Prosecutors say Murillo cut off a 31-year-old Queens woman driving north in the left lane on Oct. 16, 2024, then abruptly reversed into her car after she had successfully hit the brakes to avoid him.
Video from the incident showed someone inside Murillo’s Honda Civic holding a tarp or garbage bag over the rear window as Murillo climbed into the front passenger seat and switched places, then hopped out of the Civic and into a waiting red Kia Sportage that sped off.
Katz credited the driver who came forward with the footage for helping unravel the scheme, along with an investigation by her office’s Financial Frauds Bureau, the NYPD and the state Department of Financial Services.
Three-crash pattern
The DA’s office said Huiracocha and Murillo ran the same playbook on two other occasions between August and October 2024, recruiting participants with promises of cash payouts.
- Aug. 24, 2024: Murillo cut off a 47-year-old Long Island woman driving westbound on the Belt Parkway near the Erskine Street exit, then stopped short, forcing a collision.
- Oct. 3, 2024: Murillo cut a Nissan Xterra into the middle lane of the Nassau Expressway near Cross Bay Boulevard directly in front of a tractor-trailer, which couldn’t avoid hitting it. A woman falsely claimed to the truck driver she’d been behind the wheel.
In each case, prosecutors said, Murillo fled in a getaway car after the crash while other passengers pretended to be injured and were directed to specific medical clinics by Huiracocha, who trailed the crashes in a separate vehicle and coordinated the timing by phone.
Two other participants in the scheme, Maikel Martinez and Ivon Matus-Martinez, have also pleaded guilty and are expected to be sentenced next month, Katz said.
Officials react
“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,” Katz said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the sentencing sends “a message to would-be-fraudsters everywhere,” pointing to a package of state insurance fraud reforms she’s championed.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Huiracocha and Murillo “drove themselves straight into the hands of justice.”
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