Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Police announced Tuesday the arrest of 16 car insurance scammers who deliberately caused crashes then filed $500,000 in bogus claims.

Hochul, a Democrat up for reelection next month, trumpeted the arrests at a news conference in Washington Heights as she said insurance fraud cases had tripled in the last five years - while warning that more arrests were to come.

 Mark my words: These first 16 are just the beginning,  Hochul said.  For anyone who thinks they can get away with a crash, think again. We are onto you.:

3 DuSean Barnett (left) swerves into a car sitting at a stop sign at a Brooklyn intersection, allegedly on purpose. New York State Executive Chamber

The busts unfolded in the Bronx, on Long Island and upstate, officials said.

 I have no tolerance for any individuals who commit fraud in ways that drive up cost for others or abuse public dollars for their own personal gain,  Hochul said.  And I have used every tool in my arsenal to stop exactly that. 

The scams followed a typical playbook - with individuals or groups of people piled into a car deliberately causing crashes with unsuspecting drivers, who they then try to blame before filing claims.

That's what allegedly happened on Dec. 2, 2025, when 28-year-old DuSean Barnett allegedly swerved into a car waiting at a stop sign at a Brooklyn intersection and then tried to blame the unsuspecting driver of running the sign.

Barnett filed a $16,000 medical claim - only for footage to later reveal Barnett's car was the only one moving at the time of the collision.

3 Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the 16 arrests at a press conference in New York on Tuesday. Brian Zak/NY Post

That claim was small potatoes compared to some of the others accused in the ongoing crackdown - a November 2025 fake collision allegedly involved scammers who tried filed over $150,000 in medical claims, while an October 2025 incident involved nearly $116,000 in claims.

Sometimes the accused weren't even in the car at the time of collisions.

Esgar D. Zavala Espinoza, 29, claimed $41,540 worth of medical bills after allegedly sayin
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