Queens man among 16 arrested in auto insurance crackdown
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Governor Kathy Hochul and Queens Assemblymember David Weprin announced 16 individuals were arrested for various auto insurance fraud schemes on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. Photo by Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
By Noah Powelson
Sixteen people, including one man from Queens, were arrested as part of a statewide investigation into staged car accidents that the governor said resulted in more than half a million dollars in fraudulent insurance claims.
State police and the Department of Financial Services carried out a joint investigation that resulted in the arrests of 16 individuals from eight counties who allegedly faked car accidents to file bogus insurance claims. The alleged fraudsters were not working together, but Governor Kathy Hochul said they were each symptoms of a growing problem that was driving up insurance rates for New Yorkers.
The one Queens man arrested in the crackdown was 25-year-old Derek Webster, who allegedly filed a false police report claiming that he was struck by an Amazon truck. Police say video evidence of the accident clearly shows Webster staged the accident, after which he collected more than $18,000 from an insurance company.
In all, the 16 individuals allegedly attempted to take in over $500,000 in fraudulent claims across more than a dozen cases in New York City and Suffolk, Onondaga, Monroe and Erie Counties. Seven of those arrested came from the Bronx.
Hochul said the arrests were made possible by auto insurance reforms included in the 2027 budget, which made it easier for prosecutors to seek criminal penalties against those who stage accidents – whether they were behind the wheel or assisting in other ways.
“New York has a broken system,” Hochul said. “Broken for decades, rife with frivolous lawsuits and legal loopholes, and also making it an easy target for criminals and corrupt doctors and organized fraud crime rings that stage crashes and orchestrate brazen insurance frauds.”
Hochul said that the 16 people arrested were just a small portion of a much larger insurance fraud industry, which can include nefarious lawyers and medical professionals signing off on fraudulent filings.
According to the governor’s office, insurance carriers reported 43,811 incidents of suspected motor vehicle insurance fraud to DFS in 2025, an 80 percent increase since 2020.
“These first 16 are just the beginning,” Hochul said. “To anyone who thinks they can get away with a crash, think again. We’re onto you.”
Queens Assemblymember David Weprin, who also chairs the Assembly’s Committee on Insurance, praised Hochul’s efforts to combat fraud.
“I am deeply committed to ensuring fair, affordable rates for all insurance policyholders,” Weprin said. “Bringing auto insurance fraudsters to justice is a critical step to boost safety on our streets and improve affordability for honest New Yorkers.”
The arrests came just two months after Hochul and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that the ringleaders of an auto insurance fraud scheme that operated on the Belt Parkway were heading to prison.
Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo were sentenced in August after a staged car crash they orchestrated went viral on social media and prompted the DA’s office to investigate. Katz said police not only discovered other fake crashes the defendants had arranged, but also uncovered an entire “ecosystem of profit” run by bad actors pushing faulty insurance claims through the courts.
“There is nothing accidental about insurance fraud,” Katz said on Tuesday. “The governor has made extremely helpful changes to state law to help prosecutors investigate and arrest those who organize and arrange these dangerous and fraudulent acts.”
