Two Brooklyn men are criminally charged with staging two car crashes on Queens highways and another one in East New York and then seeking insurance payouts for damages and purported injuries, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Jaime Huiracocha, 53, of Milford Street, and Victor Murillo, 34, of Bushwick Avenue, were arraigned Tuesday night in Queens Criminal Court on a criminal complaint charging them with staging a motor vehicle accident, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, insurance fraud, and other related crimes.
Huiracocha allegedly planned the collisions by luring participants with promises of cash payouts while Murillo drove the vehicles involved in the crashes.
“The prevalence of staged auto crimes has outraged New Yorkers,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The allegations against these two defendants speaks to the core of why my Frauds Bureau dutifully investigates and prosecutes scammers who orchestrate dangerous accidents for the sole purpose of extracting money from innocent drivers.”
According to the investigation and charges, on Oct. 16, 2024, Huiracocha met with a group of individuals inside a medical clinic in East New York, Brooklyn, and allegedly gave them instructions on how to stage a car crash. The participants were told to send photos of the crash scene to a woman. They were also directed to go to a different medical clinic in Glendale after the crash. In exchange, the individuals were allegedly promised thousands of dollars.
The participants then drove to a meeting location near the Belt Parkway. There were four vehicles present, including a silver Honda Civic and a Red Kia. Huiracocha allegedly told the participants what vehicles to occupy, according to the charges. The designated drivers had headphones to communicate with one another. Murillo was told to drive the silver Honda. The others in the Honda were given a black plastic bag/tarp and were instructed to cover the rear window after the collision so Murillo could switch seats with a passenger without being seen. All the vehicles entered the Belt Parkway and drove until the victim’s vehicle was identified. The choice was communicated via the headphones.
According to the investigation, at 11:11 a.m., Aphasia Natasha was driving northbound in the left lane of the Belt Parkway in Rosedale near the Nassau County border. Her vehicle was equipped with both a front and rear dashboard camera. At that time, the Honda Civic cut in front of Natasha’s vehicle and then came to a stop. The victim was forced to step on her brakes to avoid a collision. The Honda quickly backed into Natasha’s vehicle, damaging both her car and the Honda. The occupants of the Honda held up what appeared to be a plastic tarp in the rear window area of the car that partially obstructed the victim driver’s view inside the Honda. Then Murillo and another occupant of the Honda allegedly switched seats.
After the collision, four people exited the car, including a woman who got out of the driver’s side and a man who identified himself as Maikel Martinez and said the purported driver was his wife, according to the investigation. The footage surrounding the crash showed a red KIA Sport following Natasgaha’s car. After the crash, the Kia stopped in front of the Honda, and Murillo allegedly exited the Honda and entered the Kia, which drove away from the scene. The Allstate Insurance Company received a claim for damages to the Honda.
On Oct. 3, 2025, a group of individuals traveled in a blue Nissan Xterra to a location in East New York on the promise of getting paid. They then went to a second location, where Huiracocha allegedly provided directions on staging an accident. He then directed Murillo to drive the Xterra with the group onto the Nassau Expressway. At noon that day, Alexis Mendoza reported driving his tractor-trailer in the middle lane of the Nassau Expressway near Cross Bay Boulevard in Lindenwood. A Nissan Xterra, which was in the right lane, suddenly cut into the middle lane directly in front of his truck. He was unable to avoid hitting the Nissan. Murillo allegedly got out of the Xterra and entered another vehicle that had stopped in front of the Nissan. A woman claimed to Mendoza that she had been driving the Xterra. After the second car drove off, another car stopped at the scene, and Huiracocha got out and spoke to the truck driver. An adjustor for the Allstate Insurance Company received personal injury claims from occupants of the Xterra totaling more than $3,000.
On Aug. 24, 2024, at approximately 8 a.m., Alyssa Attanasio was driving westbound on the Belt Parkway near the Erskine Street exit in Brooklyn, within 500 yards of the Queens County line, according to the criminal complaint. A silver Honda Civic merged into the lane directly in front of her, and she collided with the car. She saw what appeared to be a black garbage bag covering the rear window of the Honda. Four men emerged from the Honda, and one of them matched the description of Murillo.
Dashcam footage from the victim’s car allegedly captured Murillo exiting the Honda and entering a red Kia that had stopped directly in front of it after the crash. An adjustor for the Allstate Insurance Company received personal injury claims from occupants of the Honda totaling more than $79,000. Defendant Maikel Martinez, 28, of 14th Avenue in Dyker Heights, was apprehended by law enforcement last November at JFK Airport after arriving back in Queens on a flight from Ecuador for his role in the first staged collision in Rosedale, and his case is pending, according to the DA’s office.
“We are grateful that the initial victim came forward with shocking dashcam video of one of these collisions,” Katz said. “After a long-term investigation with our partners at the NYPD and New York State Department of Financial Services, we identified two additional defendants who are now charged in this wide-ranging scheme.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Glenda Hernandez granted them supervised release with passport surrender and ordered Huiracocha to return to court on Sept. 9 and Murillo on Sept. 4. If convicted on the top count, they each face five to 15 years in prison.
“Insurance fraud is a costly and pervasive drain on the state’s economy and raises costs for New Yorkers,” NYS Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris said. “I am proud of our collaboration with the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney to hold these criminals accountable for committing fraud and causing harm to innocent New Yorkers. DFS will continue to dedicate time and resources to combat financial fraud in New York in partnership with law enforcement and prosecutors.”
