Jan. 25 Eleven Tri-Citians are accused of participating in a widespread fraud ring that amassed almost $1 million in insurance payouts from staged car crashes. Now, 23 people from four different states and Canada are charged with the scam in U.S. District Court in Richland. Ten of the defendants live in Kennewick and one is from Eltopia, just north of Pasco.
Federal prosecutors have charged 23 people in an alleged scheme that they say claimed nearly $1 million in damages from staged automobile accidents. The
Twenty-three people have been charged in connection to a staged automobile crash scheme and for allegedly obstructing the FBI’s investigation that followed.
After some of the wrecks, the accused "sought emergency room and medical treatment for fictitious, fabricated and exaggerated accident symptoms and injuries," and even hired personal injury lawyers to pursue their fraudulent claims, the indictment states.