Staged Crashes are Big Business in NY. Hochul Wants to Crack Down.

www.yahoo.com, Grace Jiang, January 23, 2026

ALBANY - The silver Honda seems to appear out of nowhere.

In a TikTok video that went viral in October 2024, the car suddenly swerves in front of another vehicle on a New York highway, then slams on its brakes. The driver behind manages to stop in time - but then the Honda does something unexpected: It reverses straight into the other car.

Four people jump out, inspect the damage and begin filming the license plate with their phones. All in one swift motion, like a rehearsed routine. According to law enforcement, that's exactly what it was.

Nine months after the collision, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz charged two men - Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo - with staging that crash and two others, then filing insurance claims for fake injuries. Court records show Huiracocha was listed as a plaintiff in two personal injury lawsuits connected to motor vehicle accidents.

The incident was one of thousands of staged car crashes that prosecutors say have turned New York's roads into a profitable and dangerous criminal enterprise. Now, Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing to spend $2 million to help the State Police crackdown on what she calls a "system riddled with bad actors and fraud." Continue article