20 Indicted in Washington for Staging Crashes to Defraud Auto Insurers
Twenty people have been indicted by a grand jury in Spokane, Wash., for allegedly staging vehicle crashes to defraud insurance companies.
Defendants are accused of deliberately staging a series of automobile, boating, pedestrian/vehicle and other accidents in Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California between 2013 and 2018.
The Spokesman-Review reported that most of the crashes were two-vehicle collisions on remote roads at night where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the intentionally crashed vehicles.
Court documents say the defendants staged 33 crashes, collecting payment for property damage, wage loss, and bodily injury.
The documents say in some cases conspirators would urinate in a bottle, which they would pour on their clothing to make it appear they lost consciousness.