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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Twenty people have been indicted by a grand jury in Spokane, Washington, for allegedly staging vehicle crashes to defraud insurance companies.
Defendants are accused of deliberately staging a series of automobile, boating, pedestrian/vehicle and other accidents in Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California between 2013 and 2018.
The Spokesman-Review says most of the crashes were two-vehicle collisions on remote roads at night where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the intentionally crashed vehicles.
Most people named in the indictment are Spokane-based.
Court documents say the defendants staged 33 crashes, collecting payment for property damage, wage loss, and bodily injury.
The documents say in some cases conspirators would urinate in a bottle, which they would pour on their clothing to make it appear they lost consciousness.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
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