Crashes Staged To Steal Insurance Money

Published: 2010-11-16 20:26:06
Author: WFTV | October 29, 2010

A staged crash in Orange County to steal insurance money was so involved, that state agents say the suspects even hired people to sit in a van while they crashed into it.

Each one of the people recruited to essentially be actors in the staged car crash was offered $1,000 to ride in back of one the two vehicles. The only thing they had to do after the crash was to say they were injured.It all started with a small rental car checked out of a Budget office on West Colonial Drive.

The idea, officers said, use it to stage a car accident.According to state investigators, organizers needed actors and offered to pay a handful of people $1,000 each to ride in the back of a white van.

They put others in the rental car, and then met behind a McDonald's on Orange Blossom Trail and slammed the white van into the car at a slow speed.

It's a crime Stephanie Jules has heard about."I heard they're after money lawsuits," Jules said.

Investigators say the organizers figured the more people packed in the van, the more potential claims. There were actually four people sitting in crates in the back of one vehicle and each one claimed injury.

They all filled out insurance claims, which cost the insurance companies tens of thousands of dollars.In all, ten people were involved and two have been arrested.

Investigators say the schemes are becoming more prevalent and usually sparked by Chiropractic and therapy clinics, which really make the money.

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