By Patrick Donachie
Conspirators allegedly bilked more than $88,000 by staging faked motor vehicle collisions in an attempt to trick auto insurers into paying for unneeded medical treatment, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. In all, four men, including three from southeastern Queens, were charged with taking part in the plot, according to the DA.
Todd Henderson, 50, of Jamaica; his stepbrother DaJuan Henderson, 30, of St. Albans; Joseph Louis, 32, of Springfield Gardens; and Yusuf Carter, 30, from Brooklyn all were arraigned last week and were variously charged with grand larceny, insurance fraud, falsifying business records, conspiracy and falsely reporting incidents.
Brown said Henderson and Louis conspired to stage car crashes with no one at fault and bill insurers for non-existent or exaggerated injuries for profit. The men would refer the so-called victims to medical clinics, and the victims in on the scheme were offered payment for participating, according to the DA.
On June 17, 2015, the Hendersons also conspired to stage a car crash using a truck rented by DuJuan Henderson. In all, a total of $12,019.66 was paid by insurance companies to the defendants on the basis of false injuries sustained in this particular staged accident, the DA said.
“These arrests send a clear message to those who are attempting to fleece the system that they will be caught and prosecuted,” Brown said in a statement. “The cost of automobile insurance fraud is estimated by the industry at $30 billion nationwide annually. Such rip-offs hit the honest consumer in the pocketbook by way of higher premiums and will not be tolerated.”
At one point, Todd Henderson tried to convince an individual to pretend he had been hurt in a staged motor vehicle crash. As it turns out, that victim was an undercover police officer, according to Brown. Henderson gave the officer the address of a Queens medical facility and told him to tell the clinic’s front desk “Jimmy Stone sent you” (Henderson is also known as Jimmy Stone or Jimmy Cash, according to the DA’s office).
Henderson paid the officer working undercover a total of $560 for his part in the scheme, Brown said. Henderson stressed that when the officer visited the clinic, he needed to complain about everything, including his neck and back.
Carter and Todd Henderson face up to seven years in prison if convicted, while DaJuan Henderson and Joseph Louis face as much as 15 years if they are found guilty. The next court date for all the defendants is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
