Ten individuals have been charged in New York with participatingin and coordinating a series of staged motor vehicle accidents, aswell as falsifying their involvement in other vehicular incidents,to fraudulently collect insurance payouts. The defendants werecharged in multiple indictments in N.Y. State Supreme Court withinsurance fraud in the third and fourth degrees and falsifyingbusiness records in the first degree.

According to the indictment and statements made on the record incourt, the defendants were charged with orchestrating andparticipating in a series of staged accidents and vehicularcollisions involving “jump-ins,” in which the defendants claimed tobe inside affected vehicles in order to fraudulently obtain medicalbenefits and insurance payouts.

In New York State, a person injured in a motor vehicle accidentis automatically covered by the Comprehensive Motor VehicleInsurance Reparations Act, commonly known as the No-Fault Law.No-Fault insurance carriers are required to provide up to $50,000in individual reimbursements for a wide range of medical and healthservices for injuries incurred as a result of car accidents. Inaddition to medical coverage, victims of motor vehicle accidentsalso may be eligible to recover money from an insurance carrier forbodily injury lawsuits stemming from incurred injuries.

In this case, many of the defendants were accused of agreeing toparticipate in staged accidents in exchange for upfront payments orthe promise of settlement funds from bodily injury lawsuitsstemming from the supposed accidents. Some defendants alsoallegedly filled out insurance forms with false information aboutpurported injuries sustained during the collisions, as well ascomplications such as head, back, shoulder, and knee pain, toreceive reimbursement from insurance carriers.

The alleged incidents included three separate staged accidentsand three separate jump-ins, all in New York City. As alleged:

• On August 19, 2011, Carmelo Pereira intentionally drove arented U-Haul truck into a livery cab at the corner of Broadway andWest 228th Street.
• On March 8, 2011, Brenda Nunez, Cindy Nunez, Claudia Nunez, andJeanette Nunez agreed to participate in a staged accident and actedas passengers in a livery cab that was intentionally struck by aU-Haul truck driven by a co-conspirator at the corner of 9th Avenueand West 207th Street.
• On August 19, 2010, George Pagan agreed to participate in astaged vehicular accident at the corner of West 228th Street andBroadway involving a U-Haul truck rented by a co-conspirator andintentionally driven into the livery cab in which Mr. Pagan wasriding as a passenger.
• On February 21, 2013, a car was involved in a motor vehicleaccident near the corner of Fulton Street and Williams Place. AaronTyler fraudulently claimed to have been inside a car involved inthe accident and fraudulently received medical treatment forinjuries allegedly incurred during the collision.
• On March 20, 2014, a parked car was struck by another vehiclenear the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 178th Street. LeroyMensah and Matthew Williams claimed that they were inside the carat the time of the collision and fraudulently obtained medicaltreatment for supposed injuries.
• On June 9, 2014, a parked car was struck and damaged near thecorner of Clarkson and Utica Avenues. Dillett Delancy fraudulentlyclaimed to have been inside the car at the time of the collisionand received medical treatment for injuries allegedly incurredduring the accident.

Prosecutors said that, in total, the defendants submittedapproximately $137,000 in fraudulent medical claims.