Maikel Martinez, Jaime Huiracocha and Victor Murillo Charged After Dashcam Exposes Staged Crash Ring on NYC Belt Parkway

A carefully coordinated insurance fraud ring operating on New York City highways has been cracked open after dashcam footage from a victim’s vehicle captured one of the staged collisions in startling detail.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced charges against Jaime Huiracocha, 53, of Brooklyn, and Victor Murillo, 34, also of Brooklyn, for allegedly orchestrating three separate car crashes on city highways with the intent of collecting fraudulent insurance payouts.

A third defendant, Maikel Martinez, was charged separately in November and his case remains pending.

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The scheme, investigators say, was anything but improvised. Huiracocha allegedly recruited participants at a medical clinic in East New York on October 16, 2024, briefing them on how to carry out the crash, which vehicles to occupy, and where to go for treatment afterward. Participants were directed to photograph the crash scene and report to a second clinic in Glendale.

In exchange, they were reportedly promised thousands of dollars in cash. The designated drivers communicated through headphones during the operation, and the getaway vehicles were positioned in advance.

On that October morning, victim Asphia Natasha was driving north in the left lane of the Belt Parkway near the Nassau County border when a silver Honda Civic cut in front of her and came to a sudden stop.

The Honda then reversed and slammed into her vehicle. Immediately after impact, occupants of the Honda held up what appeared to be a black plastic tarp over the rear window, blocking visibility inside the car while Murillo allegedly switched seats with another passenger.

A woman exited from the driver’s side, and a man who identified himself as Maikel Martinez told Natasha that the woman was his wife and had been driving. Murillo then slipped into a waiting red Kia that had trailed Natasha’s car throughout and left the scene. Natasha’s front and rear dashcams recorded all of it.

The same pattern appeared in two earlier incidents. On August 24, 2024, victim Alyssa Attanasio collided with a silver Honda Civic on the Belt Parkway after it merged abruptly into her lane.

She noticed a black garbage bag covering the Honda’s rear window and watched four men exit the vehicle, one matching Murillo’s description. Her dashcam captured a man getting into a red Kia parked in front of the Honda after the crash.

Allstate Insurance received personal injury claims from that incident totaling more than $79,000.

On October 3, 2024, truck driver Alexis Mendoza was traveling the Nassau Expressway when a blue Nissan Xterra cut directly in front of his tractor trailer.

After the collision, a woman claimed she had been driving the Nissan while Murillo allegedly moved to another waiting vehicle. Huiracocha himself reportedly arrived at the scene and spoke to the truck driver. Allstate received injury claims from that crash exceeding $3,000.

The two defendants face charges including insurance fraud, staging a motor vehicle accident, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and grand larceny. If convicted on the top count, each faces five to fifteen years in prison.

Anyone who suspects insurance fraud can report it through the DFS Insurance Fraud Hotline at 888-372-8369.