Rep. Laura Gillen wants to send car insurance scammers to prison for up to 10 years

Rep. Laura Gillen is moving to put a major dent in the growing trend of staged car accidents by introducing the Stop Auto Fraud Act of 2026. This new legislation aims to crack down on the dangerous practice of staging collisions to secure fraudulent insurance payouts. 

As reported by the NY Post, under this proposed federal law, individuals caught participating in these schemes could face up to 10 years in prison. The bill also reportedly includes significant sentence enhancements if these staged crashes result in physical injuries or the death of an unsuspecting driver.

Rep. Gillen, a Democrat from New York, has reportedly teamed up with a bipartisan group of colleagues, including Reps. Troy Nehls, Josh Gottheimer, and Vince Fong, to push this measure forward. By directing the proceeds of fines collected from these fraudsters into the federal Highway Trust Fund, the bill aims to turn the consequences of these crimes into resources for road infrastructure.

These frauds put a burden on drivers

The financial burden on drivers is staggering. In New York, drivers are currently reportedly paying an average of $3,492 per year for car insurance, which is over $1,000 higher than the national average. Data cited by Rep. Gillen’s office suggests that insurance fraud and these staged incidents contribute more than $300 annually to the bills of drivers in the state. 

Rep. Gillen noted that the issue goes beyond simple vehicle damage. She explained, “It’s not just the actual accidents themselves and the damage to the vehicles. It’s also about claims for injuries, for treatments, and in some of these fraud cases, people were getting unnecessary surgery just to make their damages go higher, and so it’s cracking down on all of that.”

The human cost of these scams was highlighted by Nicholas Díaz-Baquero, an Uber driver from Garden City who shared his experience during the rollout of the bill. He suspects he was a victim of a staged crash, describing a situation where the vehicle in front of him stopped without any reason, leading to a high-speed collision from behind. 

He reportedly recounted, “We both had our left signals on to turn, and there was no traffic in front of us. Suddenly, the vehicle ahead stopped for no apparent reason, and a driver coming from behind at a very high speed slammed into both of us. I had no chance to avoid it.” 

The scale of this issue is backed by concerning data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. According to their reports, staged accidents reportedly have seen a 35% increase across the United States between 2024 and 2025, and a 52% increase over the first half of this decade. Currently, the District of Columbia has the highest rate of these incidents, followed by California and New York. 

Kyle McCollum, the vice president of government affairs at the National Insurance Crime Bureau, emphasized that this is a highly organized criminal activity that requires a strong, organized response. He explained that the legislation provides federal prosecutors with a clearer tool, as they have historically relied on wire fraud statutes to handle these cases.