Viral Insurance Fraud Attempt Lands One Suspect In Police Custody
The other three people in the Honda Civic are still being sought by police
The famously patient New York City public has been clamoring for an update on the brazen attempted insurance fraud that went viral in October. Now, the police have actually charged one of the participants, but the actual driver and two other suspects remain at large.
@ashpianatasha4 Insurance fraud attempt in Queens, NY 10-16-2024 PART 1 I was driving in the left lane of the Belt Parkway going East bound towards the Southern State Parkway. The silver Honda (LBB 8917) was in the middle lane, and they cut me off and slammed on the brakes coming to a full stop hoping I would hit them. I did not hit their car and because of that they reversed into my car for collision and acted as if they were injured while coming out of their vehicle. I believe the intention was to say I hit their car for insurance fraud purposes. They had a tarp covering the rear windshield which fell off once they hit my car. You can see the driver is a male wearing a hat and you can see him switching to the passenger seat as well as the movement of the car before anyone gets out. The first three passengers exit the car pretending to be hurt, while the fourth passenger who was driving slips out through the passenger seat and gets into a second vehicle. That second vehicle was a red KIA SUV (KJH 3340) which was following me from behind and keeping distance so they wouldn't slam into me. The red KIA drove around and picked up the driver to get away. The remaining three people's demeanor changed once one of them noticed the dashcam. They only came out of the car with their phones ready to record the damage to both cars. They were quick to ask for my insurance and quickly left after the exchange. I called the police at the time of the incident and reported it as an accident, and the police told me they no longer go to an accident if no one is injured and they are willing to exchange information. I did not realize at the time that the driver switched and left in another car or that it was a set-up as I was driving by myself, and everything happened so fast. #queensny #car #caraccident #exposed #newyork #brooklynny @nbcnews @abcnews @nypd @geico @allstate @pix11ny
Crash victim Asphia Natasha caught the entire incident on her dash cam and posted the footage on TikTok. The crash happened relatively quickly and would be deemed intentional by anyone who has ever driven a car; a Honda Civic cut off Natasha and immediately slammed on the brakes. Natasha slowed to avoid the planned collision so the Civic's driver reversed into her car. There was also a second vehicle involved in the staged wreck, a red Kia Sportage.
The passenger was arrested in New York when he arrived back on a flight from Ecuador, WNBC reports. Instead of getting picked up by his friend in their Civic, he got to take a ride in a police cruiser. He's now facing charges of staging a motor vehicle accident, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and insurance fraud. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz told WNBC.
The defendant and others allegedly staged a crash on a busy highway and rammed an unsuspecting driver with their vehicle after they forcibly stopped her in the left lane of the Belt Parkway. Countless lives were jeopardized due to this incredibly reckless conduct.
@ashpianatasha4 Insurance fraud attempt in Queens, NY 10-16-2024 ARREST UPDATE 10/08/2024 #queensny #brooklynny #caraccident #exposed #newyork #pix11news #eyewitness @Nextbase @nbcnews @ABC News @New York City Police Dept. @GEICO
Natasha posted an update on TikTok thanking everyone for their support. After her post, people began spotting the Civic from the crash around the city. An unidentified vigilante even vandalized the car. There's even an online hunt to find the red Kia Sportage from the crash.
It's scenarios like these that make a dash cam such a wise investment, if not for your own safety in such crooked crash attempts, than to capture other absolutely bonkers events on the road, like another car plunging 200 feet off a cliff.