A view of the U.S. Capitol. Republican Reps. Mike Collins and Brandon Gill introduced the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act on April 7. (uschools/Getty Images)
Two trucking associations have voiced their support for a bill introduced in Congress that would make it a federal crime to stage a crash with a commercial motor vehicle.
The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, introduced April 7 by Mike Collins (R-Ga.) and Brandon Gill (R-Texas), would close legal loopholes that criminals are exploiting to attack motor carriers by establishing clear, enforceable criminal penalties that apply to all of the conspirators involved in staged collisions, a dangerous and costly practice.
“This hazardous and increasingly pervasive phenomenon is being used by criminals to manipulate the legal system and extort seven-figure settlements from trucking companies,” said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs. “When con artists seeking a big payday intentionally collide with commercial motor vehicles, their reckless disregard for safety puts innocent truck drivers and the motoring public at risk.
Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said, “Staged accidents are not victimless crimes. These are calculated, premeditated assaults that endanger lives, destroy livelihoods, and compromise highway safety. To add insult to injury, criminals abuse the legal system for profit through false accusations and lawsuits, which contribute to skyrocketing insurance premiums for small trucking businesses.
Reps. MIke Collins (R-Ga.), left, and Brandon Gill (R-Texas)
“OOIDA and our 150,000 members support Rep. Collins and his common-sense legislation to protect law-abiding truckers from sophisticated criminal fraud schemes that exploit the hardworking men and women behind the wheel.”
The legislation follows the national spotlight centering on an estimated 100 staged accidents with tractor-trailers in the New Orleans area since 2011.
In Louisiana, so far, dozens have pleaded guilty or been sentenced for their roles in the scheme. The ongoing investigations have been part of the FBI’s “Operation Sideswipe,” with assistance from the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission.
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New Orleans Man Guilty of Murder in Connection with Staged Automobile Collisions in the New Orleans Area https://t.co/JpT75zs5bY
— U.S. Attorney EDLA (@EDLAnews) January 16, 2025
The scheme has included “slammers,” individuals who drove automobiles and intentionally collided with tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles to stage collisions. After the incidents, the slammers would flee the scene, and a passenger in the vehicle would falsely claim to have been driving at the time of the collision, according to investigators. The individuals riding as passengers knew that they would be involved in staged collisions and later lied as part of fraudulent insurance claims and lawsuits based on the staged collisions.
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In December, the scam widened with prosecutors announcing a 10-count indictment, unsealed by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in the yearslong federal investigation into a series of staged accidents with heavy trucks dating back as far as 2011. The new round of indictments brings to 63 the number of individuals who have either been charged or pleaded guilty.
The latest charges came in a Dec. 9 indictment naming two law firms, two individual attorneys and multiple participants in a sweeping conspiracy that included fraud, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and murder.
The murder referenced in the indictment focuses on charges filed in May against two individuals in the 2020 shooting death of Cornelius Garrison, 54, a fellow participant in the scheme who was known to be cooperating with the FBI.
