16 arrested as State Police and regulators target staged car crashes, with seven cases in the Bronx

State investigators have arrested 16 people accused of staging car crashes or filing bogus auto insurance claims, uncovering nearly $500,000 in attempted fraudulent claims, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced Tuesday, according to the Bronx Times and the Times Union. The 16 people face 31 charges, 29 of them felonies, in more than a dozen cases, the governor's office said.

The cases come from a joint task force of the New York State Police and the state Department of Financial Services (DFS). Most of the alleged fraud happened in New York City, and seven of the 16 arrests were in the Bronx. Other cases were in Suffolk, Onondaga, Monroe and Erie counties. Those arrested are charged, not convicted.

What investigators say happened

• Brooklyn: On Dec. 2, 2025, a 28-year-old driver allegedly cut in front of another car at an intersection on purpose, then claimed the other driver had run a stop sign and collected more than $16,000 in medical insurance claims, the governor's office said. Video shows the suspect's car turning into the other vehicle, according to investigators, and the Times Union reported that the other driver had stopped at the intersection. He is charged with third-degree insurance fraud, a class D felony, plus first-degree falsifying business records, second-degree staging a motor vehicle accident and third-degree criminal mischief, all class E felonies.
• The Bronx: In a March 18 case, several people allegedly staged a crash and then got medical treatment that produced more than $70,000 in fraudulent medical costs, the governor's office said. Two suspects were charged with second-degree insurance fraud, a class C felony, attempted second-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying business records. Investigators also say groups deliberately sideswiped a tractor-trailer on the Cross Bronx Expressway, Bloomberg Law reported.
• Syracuse: A 40-year-old woman allegedly filed a claim of about $4,000 saying her car had hit a deer, when the damage had happened earlier, while the car was uninsured, according to the Times Union.

Where the arrests were

By county, according to the governor's office: Bronx 7, Kings (Brooklyn) 2, Suffolk 2, and one each in Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Erie, Monroe and Onondaga. Investigations are continuing and more enforcement actions are expected, the office said. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, Bronx DA Darcel Clark and Queens DA Melinda Katz all backed the effort; Clark said her office will "work diligently to prosecute these cases."

Think you were targeted? The state asks anyone who believes they may be a victim of insurance fraud to call the DFS Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888-372-8369 or file a report at dfs.ny.gov/consumers.

Why the state is pushing this

New York drivers pay some of the highest auto insurance costs in the country, with average annual premiums above $4,000, and staged accidents can add up to $300 to premiums, the Bronx Times reported, citing state figures. Insurers reported 43,811 incidents of suspected motor vehicle insurance fraud to DFS in 2025, an 80% increase since 2020, and the state logged 1,729 reports of suspected staged accidents in 2023. Hochul called fraud "not a victimless crime" that raises costs for everyone else.

Hochul made auto insurance a centerpiece of her affordability agenda this year, and the fight helped delay the state budget, the Times Union reported. The final budget:

• expands the law to cover anyone who hires, encourages or orchestrates a staged crash, so prosecutors can charge organizers and not only the people in the cars;
• caps personal injury compensation at $100,000 when the injured person was uninsured, driving under the influence or committing a felony at the time;
• bars insurers from using employment, education, home ownership or ZIP code to set auto rates;
• requires insurers to get DFS approval before raising rates and to explain how the new laws will lower premiums.

One proposal did not survive: lowering the threshold for a first-degree insurance fraud charge from $1 million to $50,000, the Times Union noted. The arrests follow a partnership Hochul announced in April between the State Police, DFS, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Division of Criminal Justice Services to coordinate fraud investigations, the Bronx Times reported.