Fraud of the Week

January 6, 2020

Automobile Fraud – Louisiana

$37,500

Five people were indicted in October for conspiring to stage a phony crash with a tractor-trailer. The car drivers switched immediately after the crash because the crashing driver was better at crashing into trucks without getting hurt. The original driver then later said he witnessed the crash. Physicians were in on the scheme, performing unnecessary treatments and writing fictional reports. An attorney in on the case filed claims that he knew were untrue. The supposedly injured parties had asked for $1 million but each settled for $7,500. Investigations by the FBI and local police showed that the ringleader had a significant history of crashes having been a plaintiff five times in the past eight years, settling each time with motor carriers. He had also served a seven-year sentence for manslaughter.