Two Brooklyn men have been sentenced to prison for staging three crashes on New York City highways as part of an insurance fraud scheme, including one collision involving a 47-year-old Long Island woman, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Aug. 27 that Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, were sentenced for their roles in the scheme, which prosecutors said operated between Aug. 24 and Oct. 16, 2024.
Huiracocha recruited people to participate in staged crashes by promising them cash payouts, while Murillo drove the vehicles used in the collisions, prosecutors said.
Huiracocha pleaded guilty May 27 to third-degree insurance fraud and fifth-degree conspiracy. Queens Supreme Court Justice Jerry Iannece sentenced him Aug. 24 to one to three years in prison on the insurance fraud charge and one year in jail on the conspiracy charge, with the sentences running concurrently.
Murillo pleaded guilty to second-degree staging of a motor vehicle accident, fourth-degree insurance fraud and fifth-degree conspiracy. He was sentenced Aug. 3 to two years in prison on the first two charges and one year on the conspiracy charge, also to run concurrently.
According to prosecutors, Murillo would drive in front of targeted motorists and suddenly brake, causing the vehicle behind him to rear-end his car. In one crash, when the driver behind him stopped in time, prosecutors said Murillo reversed into that vehicle instead.
Huiracocha allegedly followed in a separate vehicle and remained in communication with Murillo, directing him when and how to stage the crashes.
After each collision, Murillo moved into the front passenger seat and exited from that side while passengers in the back seat obscured the rear window with a tarp or plastic bag, prosecutors said. Murillo then left in another vehicle while the remaining occupants claimed to be injured and were directed to specific medical clinics.
The first staged crash occurred at about 8 a.m. Aug. 24, 2024, on the westbound Belt Parkway near the Erskine Street exit.
Prosecutors said a 47-year-old Long Island woman was driving when a Honda Civic operated by Murillo merged directly in front of her and stopped, forcing her vehicle to collide with the Honda.
Dashcam footage from the woman’s vehicle captured Murillo leaving the Honda and entering a red Kia that had stopped in front of it, according to the district attorney.
A second crash occurred around noon Oct. 3 on the Nassau Expressway near Cross Bay Boulevard in Lindenwood. A 44-year-old New Jersey man was driving a tractor-trailer when prosecutors said Murillo cut a Nissan Xterra directly in front of the truck, leaving the driver unable to avoid a collision.
Murillo then left in another vehicle, while a woman at the scene claimed she had been driving the Nissan, prosecutors said. Huiracocha later arrived and spoke to the truck driver.
The third crash occurred around noon Oct. 16 on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale near the Nassau County border.
A 31-year-old Queens woman was driving north when prosecutors said Murillo cut a Honda Civic in front of her and stopped abruptly. The woman was able to brake before hitting the Honda, but Murillo then reversed into her vehicle.
Dashcam footage captured the collision and Murillo leaving in a Kia that had been following the woman’s vehicle, prosecutors said. Video of an October 2024 crash later went viral on social media.
“Staged auto collisions not only terrify the drivers who are targeted, they put other motorists at risk,” Katz said, adding that insurance fraud can also contribute to higher costs for drivers.
Two other participants in the crashes, Maikel Martinez and Ivon Matus-Martinez, have also pleaded guilty and are expected to be sentenced next month.
Authorities said anyone who believes they may have been a victim of insurance fraud can contact the New York State Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888-372-8369 or file a report through the state Department of Financial Services.
