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Two Brooklyn men have been charged with orchestrating a brazen “cash-for-crash” insurance scam — deliberately staging three wrecks, including one that went viral last fall after a victim’s dashcam captured the bizarre scene on the Belt Parkway, prosecutors said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, have been arraigned on charges that include staging a motor vehicle accident, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and multiple counts of insurance fraud.
If convicted on the top charge, each faces five to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Huiracocha recruited participants with promises of paying them thousands in cash, then directed Murillo to drive the crash cars in a series of dangerous collisions aimed at collecting payouts from insurers.
Victims’ vehicles were selected in real time, with drivers communicating through headphones.
Crash near Valley Stream went viral
In an Oct.16 crash that quickly went viral online, driver Asphia Natasha’s dashcam captured the moment a silver Honda Civic cut her off and then reversed into her vehicle on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale, on the border with Nassau County.
The footage showed someone in the Honda holding a tarp or garbage bag over the rear window while Murillo allegedly switched seats with a passenger. Moments later, Murillo was seen climbing into a red Kia that sped from the scene, authorities said.
Allstate later received an insurance claim for damage to the Honda.
Katz said the duo pulled similar stunts on Oct. 3, involving a blue Nissan Xterra and a tractor-trailer on the Nassau Expressway, and on Aug. 24, when a silver Honda collided with another driver near the Erskine Street exit on the Belt Parkway.
The incidents generated personal injury claims of more than $82,000 combined, according to prosecutors.
An earlier arrest in the Oct. 16 wreck that went viral came in November, when New York City authorities charged Maikel Martinez, another alleged participant in the Belt Parkway crash. His case remains pending, prosecutors said.
Katz in his statement late last month credited Natasha for coming forward with “shocking dashcam video” that helped unravel the scheme.
“The prevalence of staged auto crimes has outraged New Yorkers,” Katz said. “We are grateful for the long-term investigation with our partners at the NYPD and the state Department of Financial Services that led to these charges.”
Murillo is due back in court Sept. 4; Huiracocha on Sept. 9.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of insurance fraud is urged to call the state Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888.372.8369 or file a report at dfs.ny.gov/consumers.
Top photo: YouTube video still.
