Insurance scam - staged auto accident

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My father was nearly killed today by someone who swerved in front of him and came to a stop. They were trying to stage an accident to collect insurance. My father slammed on the breaks, leaving only two little scratches on the rear of the offender's car. However, a TRUCK was behind my dad, and the entire back end of the car was smashed in. A truck! At first the truck driver was mad at my dad, until he realized it was a scam. My father is lucky to be alive, but he is badly shaken. I have never seen him so unlike himself. He says he just has a pain in his back. The cops arrested the guy who started it, but they barely talked to my dad. I am just so mad. He could have been killed. And his car is crushed. Has anyone heard of this sort of thing? Will this fucker go to jail?

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:34 (twenty-two years ago)

And amateurist, if you're out there, I totally know how you felt that day. I am soooo mad!!

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Jesus. I hope they get what they deserve.

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy shit, that's awful. AdamL OTM.

― Layna Andersen (Layna Andersen), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I actually CAN'T believe people do that. Pleased to hear that your father is okay, too.

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

"swoop and squat"

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Glad to hear your dad's okay. Hopefully if they arrested him, they'll have ample evidence (or at least get some) to put the dude in jail. I imagine your dad will testify.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 14 June 2004 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd always heard about this related to the Russian mafia, i.e. a way for recent arrivals to the US to collect a little seed money to start their ventures... but that's just anecdotal.

― andy, Monday, 14 June 2004 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Dean, thanks for the info, and thanks everyone else, too. I just took my dad to pick up a rental. The story is even weirder than I'd thought. I read some of the articles Dean linked to and freaked out. It turns out that this guy was probably acting alone. He'd been weaving in and out of lanes, looking for someone to rear-end him. My dad noticed this well ahead of time, and slowed down. The guy stopped, and my dad was able to break without hitting him. Then the guy started backing up all of a sudden, and then the truck came over a hill and rear-ended my dad. So my dad didn't even hit the perpetrator, but he backed up to make it look like a rear-end collision. Then he called the cops and tried to blame my dad. The cop said, 'those scratches on your car are old'. And he got arrested. The weird thing is, he had a nice convertible and my dad has a ten-year-old Buick. He must have seen a show on tv or something and decided to try it, because he was obviously an idiot. The court date is next month.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 14 June 2004 22:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Sorry to hear about this Kerry. I hope justice is served.

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 14 June 2004 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I actually do carry a disposable camera in my car for such events, just in case. Someone suggested that to me.

― Gear! (Gear!), Monday, 14 June 2004 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

That's a good call, Gear. I was in a hit-and-run and you would think that typing the offender's license plate number into your cell phone would be enough. Nope. Not for the fine LAPD. A year later we get a call "Can you come down and ID him out of a lineup?" Yeah, a year later, I can totally remember the face of some skinny Mexican guy in Los Angeles.

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Monday, 14 June 2004 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

That is a good idea. I think my dad always keeps a camera around, because he uses it in his work (he assesses the damage & does repairs on steel industry equipment). I'll have to remember that for when I drive though. My dad didn't need a camera this time, though, because the idiot called the cops himself!!! The cops had obviously seen this type of thing before. What a moron. I'm furious, but I'm laughing at the same time.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Monday, 14 June 2004 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Not sure where you are Kerry, but I witnessed something similar to this right near OfficeOps in Brooklyn a few months ago, and the cop who was taking statements from bystanders said that this kind of insurance fraud happens in New York ALL the time.

― rasheed wallace (rasheed wallace), Monday, 14 June 2004 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

this kind of insurance fraud happens in New York ALL the time

there's a Law & Order episode about it, actually.

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 14 June 2004 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Law & Order (tv show) >>>>>> Law & Order (social constructs)

― deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Monday, 14 June 2004 23:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I was involved in an insurance scam accident in 1998 that managed to shut down the east bound 101 in Canoga Park for a little bit.

A Russian woman parked her car in the fast lane of the 101 around one of the blind curves (around White Oak) and didn't have enough time to slow down, so I hit the back of her car around 20-25mph or so. She was driving a old beat up Toyota, spoke little to no English, but somehow manged to convey that it wasn't her car but a friends and that it just "broke down". I threw the whole mess at my insurance company and after a couple weeks of trying to go after Big Bucks she totally disappeared.

This article appeared in the LA Weekly around the same time, and I always wondered if she and her pals were getting some heat from the cops.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 14 June 2004 23:39 (twenty-two years ago)

My wife is a field claims rep for an insurance company -- she has (removable) magnetic signs with the company logo for the car doors, but refuses to put them on the car as it's just an advertisement that the vehicle/driver is heavily insured, which would make the car an obvious target for swoop/squat.

Someone in the insurance industry whose numbers I trust told me that 30% of all insurance claims submitted in Brooklyn are fraudulent in some way. . .

― Jeff Wright (JeffW1858), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Re: the Brooklyn number -- that's auto insurance only

― Jeff Wright (JeffW1858), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 01:47 (twenty-two years ago)

TS: The Mafia, the Yakuza, or the Russian Mob

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 02:19 (twenty-two years ago)

(seriously, i am glad that yer dad is OK. i hope he [and the insurance cos. involved] give 'em hell.)

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 02:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Quite the civilized world we're living in. I don't know what to add to the above statements, but I sure wish I was the judge on a case or two like this.

― jim wentworth (wench), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 02:36 (twenty-two years ago)

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