A staged crash, also known as crash for cash, is a scheme in which fraudsters deliberately cause a vehicle collision with an unsuspecting driver in order to file a false insurance claim. The vehicles involved typically suffer little real damage relative to the inflated repair and injury costs then submitted to insurers, and the scheme often involves accomplices posing as injured passengers to support fraudulent medical and damage claims. Multiple vehicles sometimes coordinate the collision to trap one innocent motorist who is left liable while the perpetrators pursue the payout, and organizations such as the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud have tracked it as a growing criminal problem.
Facts
Classification CodeFlorida Statutes 817.234, False and fraudulent insurance claims 2 Elements of OffenseCriminals maneuver unsuspecting motorists into crashes in order to make false insurance claims 1 Notable ExampleJose Luis Lopez Perez, a driver who died after a swoop and squat crash, prompting an investigation that revealed the extent of the fraud 1 Jurisdiction VariationFlorida has passed specific legislation, Florida Statutes 817.234, against faking a car crash in order to receive insurance money 1 Partially Attested
Typical PenaltyFlorida: insurance fraud conduct under Florida Statutes 817.234 includes a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 2 Only the third degree wording was confirmed on the page fetched; the statute may set other classifications for other conduct Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Staged crash, Wikipedia
Introduction
is when criminals maneuver unsuspecting motorists into crashes in order to make false insurance claims
History, Lopez Perez
One such driver, Jose Luis Lopez Perez, died after a swoop and squat crash, leading to an investigation which revealed the extent of this fraud.
Legislation
Florida has since passed specific legislation (Florida Statutes 817.234) against faking a car crash in order to receive insurance money.
View the Source2. Florida Statutes 817.234, False and fraudulent insurance claims, Florida Legislature
817.234, felony classification
felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082
817.234, opening provision
A person commits insurance fraud punishable as provided in subsection (11)
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