NY makes it a crime to stage a car crash for insurance fraud

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state has a new law making it a felony to intentionally cause a car crash in order to collect an insurance payout.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed the legislation Thursday.

While insurance fraud and reckless endangerment are already illegal, supporters say the new law will strengthen criminal penalties and give authorities new tools to punish dangerous fraudsters.

So-called “crash-for-cash” schemes involve drivers who purposefully crash into other vehicles. Culprits then try to profit from insurance payouts for unnecessary medical care.

The new law makes it a separate felony to seriously injure another person in a staged crash.

The bill was dubbed “Alice’s Law” for Alice Ross, a grandmother killed in Queens in 2003 when a driver looking to commit insurance fraud intentionally hit her vehicle.