Ashpia Natasha was heading to Long Island to run errands last week when a Honda Civic cut her off in the left lane on the Belt Parkway. She slammed on her brakes and came to a stop. Seconds later, the Honda abruptly went into reverse, slamming into her Acura, and pulled forward again, a dash cam video shows. The video then showed four people getting out of the silver car, holding their heads as though they had been injured and taking out their phones to take pictures of Natasha’s car. She and experts believe it was an attempt at insurance fraud. The incident is what the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an industry group that tracks insurance claims, called “a perfect example of an attempted insurance fraud scheme playing out in real time,.” the New York Times reports.
Natasha, 31, uploaded the dash cam videos to TikTok in a post that has been viewed more than 67 million times. Natasha was not injured. Her car sustained $8,300 in damages, which is covered by insurance. The New York Police Department said the fraudulent collision investigation squad, part of the department’s Criminal Enterprise Investigation Unit, was investigating. It was not clear who the other car’s occupants were or whether they had made a statement about the collision. A 2019 law made it a felony in New York to stage a car crash for insurance purposes. It wasn’t until Natasha got home and reviewed the dash cam footage that she was able to put pieces together. When the occupants of the Honda got out of the car, they began “acting as if they didn’t know what happened,” Natasha said. They asked for her insurance information and she obliged. When she told them her husband was coming to help her and was 15 minutes away, they told her they were in a rush. As she went to check whether her car was drivable (it was), the Honda passengers got in their car and drove off.
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