Generic car crash image. (AP Photo/Dfamian Dovarganes)
Reporting Rich Lamb
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Trying to make a buck off your car insurance by faking a crash could now cost you.
Thousands of no-fault car accidents are faked in New York each year to rip off insurance companies.
Impending Albany legislation would finally give prosecutors a specific statute to try to nail the criminals who are staging them.
WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb reports: Legislation Would Give Prosecutors A Weapon Against No-Fault Car Accidents
“Those who engage in insurance fraud are actually hitting all of us in our pocketbook,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “I would characterize it as a fraud tax that is being imposed.”
The legislation would make it a class C felony to stage an accident. If convicted, the punishment for a class C felony is up to 15 years in prison.
Brown says $200 million in fraud per year is driving up the cost of everyone’s driving in New York.
What do you think? Sound off below in our comments section.
