A car crash on a Southern California freeway last year was a staged wreck to scam a ride-hail driver’s insurance company, authorities said Monday.
On Nov. 23, 2024, a group of suspects ordered a ride-hail car that took them onto the 215 Freeway in San Bernardino, where John Murillo, 37, was driving another vehicle and intentionally collided with the ride-hail car, according to a California Department of Insurance news release.
The passengers inside the ride-hail vehicle, Ledontae Pope, 30, and Kalil Davis, 27, were allegedly in on the scam and claimed they were injured. The two were taken to a hospital by paramedics. The aim of the scam was to file a claim against the ride-hail driver and collect the insurance payout, state officials said.
The incident was reported to the California Highway Patrol as a hit-and-run, according to the release. But during the CHP’s investigation into the crash, the ride-hail driver shared their suspicion that the crash may have been staged. The CHP then referred the incident to the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force.
On Jan. 27, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office charged Pope, Davis, and Deshawn Perater-Nickson, 26, with assault with a deadly weapon and insurance fraud. Perater-Nickson was identified as the owner of the vehicle that Murillo was driving during the crash.
As part of the investigation into Pope, Davis and Perater-Nickson, authorities executed search warrants that led them to Murillo as the driver and a fifth co-conspirator, Klydale Moses, 24, of Fontana. Authorities said Moses wasn’t involved in the crash but played a role in their scheme.
Of the five defendants, all but Perater-Nickson have pleaded no contest in court in the last two months.
Pope, Davis and Moses were sentenced to jail time and probation. Murillo is awaiting sentencing but has agreed to spend two years in prison, state Department of Insurance officials said. Perater-Nickson faces multiple felonies, including false imprisonment, pimping and pandering. His case is pending in court.
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