Dec. 11, 2020—Multiple auto repair shops in New York were caught in an alleged insurance fraud scheme, reported CBS2. 

The Westchester District Attorney reported finding evidence of the scheme at six auto repair shops where surveillance video appeared to capture workers deliberately damaging vehicles. 

Video of two specific incidents show a worker driving one vehicle to scrape the side of another, and in another, a shop worker appeared to use a sledgehammer to damage the side of vehicle to drive up the price of repair. 

After inflicting the damage, repair shops in Westchester and the Bronx later allegedly billed insurance companies to repair the damage, with totals estimated in the range of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a year. 

The incidents were investigated as the District Attorney opened a criminal enterprise probe when insurance companies reported multiple questionable claims. Court-approved surveillance cameras were used to gather evidence.