Viral Dashcam Video Unravels NYC Staged-Crash Scheme, Sending Two Men to Prison

Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo will head to prison for running a car crash insurance fraud ring.

A dashcam video that spread widely online has helped bring down a staged-crash operation that prosecutors say deliberately targeted unsuspecting motorists on New York City highways. Two Brooklyn men have now been sentenced to prison after admitting their roles in a scheme involving three collisions and insurance claims tied to supposed injuries and vehicle damage.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Aug. 27 that Jaime Huiracocha, 53, and Victor Murillo, 34, had been sentenced after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the operation. Huiracocha received one to three years in prison for third-degree insurance fraud, with a concurrent one-year sentence for conspiracy. Murillo was sentenced to two years in prison for staging a motor vehicle accident and fourth-degree insurance fraud, with a concurrent one-year term for conspiracy.

What ultimately helped investigators connect the wider scheme was footage from an October 2024 encounter on the Belt Parkway — a collision that did not unfold as its organizers apparently expected.

Three crashes, one coordinated method

All three crashes took place in Queens.

According to prosecutors, the scheme operated between Aug. 24 and Oct. 16, 2024.

Murillo served as the designated driver in each of the three staged collisions, while Huiracocha followed separately and communicated with him about when and how the crashes should occur. Prosecutors said participants were recruited with promises of cash payments.

The basic tactic involved Murillo moving in front of another vehicle and braking abruptly so the driver behind would collide with him.

Afterward, Murillo would move into the passenger seat. People sitting in the back would temporarily obscure the rear window with a tarp or plastic bag, helping conceal the seat change. Murillo would then leave in another vehicle, while the remaining occupants acted as though they had been injured.

Prosecutors said Huiracocha also directed participants to visit particular medical clinics following the collisions.

First Belt Parkway crash generated more than $79,000 in claims

A still image from the third video of Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo’s staged crashes.

The first identified incident occurred at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2024.

A 47-year-old Long Island woman was traveling west on the Belt Parkway near the Erskine Street exit when a silver Honda Civic driven by Murillo merged directly in front of her and stopped.

The woman collided with the Honda.

Her dashcam captured Murillo leaving the Honda after the crash and getting into a red Kia that had stopped ahead of it, according to prosecutors. Insurance records later showed personal-injury claims from occupants of the Honda totaling more than $79,000.

Tractor-trailer driver becomes another target

A second collision followed on Oct. 3, 2024, on the Nassau Expressway near Cross Bay Boulevard in Lindenwood.

A 44-year-old New Jersey man was driving a tractor-trailer when a Nissan Xterra driven by Murillo suddenly moved into his lane. The truck driver could not stop in time and struck the Nissan.

Murillo then left the Nissan and entered another vehicle waiting nearby, prosecutors said. A woman subsequently claimed to the truck driver that she had been behind the wheel of the Nissan.

Huiracocha later arrived in another vehicle and spoke with the truck driver. Insurance claims exceeding $3,000 were submitted by occupants of the Nissan, according to the original charging documents.

But it was the third incident that would become the crucial break in the case.

Driver avoids the crash — then the Honda reverses into her

Queens DA Melinda Katz said a viral video led to an investigation that busted the ring.Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post

On Oct. 16, 2024, a 31-year-old woman was driving north on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale, close to the Nassau County border.

A Honda Civic driven by Murillo cut in front of her and stopped abruptly.

This time, however, the intended target managed to brake before hitting the Honda.

What happened next was captured by her dashcams: the Honda suddenly reversed and struck her vehicle instead.

The footage also captured activity immediately after the collision.

Passengers inside the Honda used a black covering around the rear window while Murillo moved to the passenger side. A red Kia that had been traveling nearby stopped ahead of the Honda, and Murillo subsequently left the Honda and got into the Kia before it drove away.

The victim’s video spread widely online, turning what initially appeared to be an isolated suspicious crash into a much larger investigation.

Investigators worked backward from the footage

Gov. Kathy Hochul used the case to highlight her efforts to lower car insurance costs in New York.Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post

Katz said the viral recording became instrumental in identifying the people involved and connecting the October collision to earlier incidents.

Her office, working with the NYPD and the New York State Department of Financial Services, traced the evidence backward and ultimately linked Huiracocha and Murillo to all three staged crashes.

Investigators also uncovered details about preparations for the final collision.

According to prosecutors, Huiracocha met participants at a medical clinic in East New York before the Oct. 16 crash and instructed them on how the scheme would work. Participants were promised thousands of dollars and told where to go for medical treatment afterward. They were also instructed to send photographs of the damaged vehicle to another person.

Four vehicles were involved in the setup, including the Honda and red Kia, and designated drivers were able to communicate during the operation.

Other participants plead guilty

The investigation did not end with Huiracocha and Murillo.

Two other participants, Maikel Martinez and Ivon Matus-Martinez, have also pleaded guilty and are expected to be sentenced next month, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Martinez had initially been charged in November 2024 in connection with the viral Belt Parkway collision. At the time, prosecutors stressed that the investigation remained ongoing.

That investigation eventually exposed the earlier crashes and the larger operation behind them.

Officials say staged crashes affect every driver

Katz said deliberately engineered collisions do more than victimize the motorists selected as targets: they create risks for everyone sharing busy highways and contribute to higher insurance costs.

Gov. Kathy Hochul joined Katz in announcing the sentences, pointing to the case as an example of the insurance fraud New York has been trying to combat.

State officials have argued that fraudulent claims contribute to New York’s unusually high auto-insurance costs. The case also comes as the state implements reforms aimed at making staged-crash investigations and prosecutions more effective.

For Huiracocha and Murillo, the footage from the final Belt Parkway collision proved especially consequential. A driver who managed to avoid the intended rear-end crash had cameras recording what happened next — and those images ultimately helped investigators reconstruct a scheme extending far beyond that single encounter.