South Carolina Ringleader Sentenced to 8 Years for Staged Accidents

A man that South Carolina authorities have called a ringleader of an insurance fraud ring, who once recruited accomplices while he was in prison, has pleaded guilty to staging accidents and defrauding insurers of more than half a million dollars.

Tyburious M. Heyward, who had previously served time for similar offenses, this week admitted guilt on three counts of presenting false claims and two counts of obtaining signatures or property by false pretenses, the South Carolina Department of Insurance said in a bulletin.

Heyward is one of dozens of people arrested in connection with the accident-staging ring in the last two years, according to DOI and local news reports. The DOI said Heyward recruited people to act as drivers and passengers in auto collisions, and to seek medical treatment for faked injuries. He also provided false medical, identity and lost wage documents during the claims process.

The staged accidents took place in several parts of the state, including Charleston and Columbia, and Sumter County, DOI noted. No innocent drivers or passengers were seriously injured.

Heyward had been imprisoned for similar crimes and, while incarcerated, he used a contraband cellphone to recruit people to stage accidents. He also impersonated participants involved in the claims. After his release in 2021, he took a more active role in the accident scheme, authorities said.

After his guilty plea this week, Heyward was sentenced to eight more years in prison, plus another 10 years of probation if he repays $436,000. Criminal cases against more than 30 co-defendants are still pending in state courts.

South Carolina’s director of insurance, Michael Wise, said in a statement that some estimates show that insurance fraud drives up average annual premiums by as much as $1,184.