Federal Law Could Make Staged Crashes Criminal Nationwide

New legislation would criminalize all staged crashes at federal level

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House would make it a federal crime to knowingly stage or fabricate any motor vehicle crash and then submit a fraudulent insurance claim.

The Stop Auto Fraud Act of 2026 was introduced Sept. 3 by Reps. Laura Gillen, D-New York; Troy Nehls, R-Texas; Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey; and Vince Fong, R-California.

The legislation is aimed at organized insurance fraud schemes in which individuals deliberately cause collisions, arrange for others to cause them, or fabricate crash circumstances in an effort to secure large payouts from insurance companies. Unlike earlier proposals focused specifically on commercial vehicles, the House bill would apply to staged crashes involving any motor vehicle.

For professional drivers and motor carriers, the broader language is significant because commercial trucks are frequently involved in staged-collision schemes. A passenger vehicle may intentionally cut in front of a tractor-trailer, strike the truck or create circumstances that make the truck driver appear responsible. Such incidents can expose drivers to injury, criminal investigation, civil claims and higher insurance costs, even when the collision was deliberately engineered by someone else.

Under the bill, a person who knowingly stages or fabricates a crash and submits a fraudulent insurance claim could face fines and imprisonment. The penalties described in the legislation would include up to 10 years in prison for a staged or fabricated crash. If the incident causes serious bodily injury, the maximum penalty could rise to 20 years.

Fines collected under the bill would be deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. The money would be available for roads, bridges and public mass transit systems.

The House proposal follows other federal efforts to address staged collisions involving commercial motor vehicles. In April 2025, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, introduced the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act of 2025. That bill would make intentionally staging a collision with a commercial motor vehicle a federal crime. Reps. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, and Collins, along with Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Florida, also have backed similar legislation focused on crashes targeting commercial vehicles.

A similar version of the broader Stop Auto Fraud Act was introduced in the Senate in July, according to the bill’s supporters. The House and Senate measures would need to pass both chambers and be signed by the president before becoming law.

The American Trucking Associations supports the new House legislation. In a Sept. 3 statement, ATA said the bill would help address collision fraud, improve safety and reduce insurance costs nationwide.

“On highways across the country, brazen criminals are intentionally colliding with other motorists in an attempt to score a big payday, and commercial trucks are a top target,” said Alex Rosen, ATA’s senior vice president of legislative affairs. He said staged crashes put drivers and other motorists at risk and contribute to insurance premiums that raise costs for consumers.

ATA also supports the separate legislation focused specifically on crashes involving commercial motor vehicles. That proposal would establish federal penalties for a person who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial vehicle, or arranges for someone else to do so. Under the version described by ATA, a violation could result in a fine, up to 20 years in prison, or both. If the collision causes serious injury or death, the prison term could not be less than 20 years.

The new bill’s sponsors pointed to the scale of suspected auto insurance fraud. Insurance carriers reported 38,270 suspected motor vehicle insurance fraud incidents to the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2023, according to information highlighted by Gillen’s office. That represented a 58% increase from 2020.

Staged crashes can create consequences beyond the initial collision. A truck driver may face damage to equipment, lost time, medical complications and questions about the driver’s record while investigators determine what happened. Motor carriers can also encounter costly claims, litigation and increased insurance premiums.

Supporters of the Stop Auto Fraud Act argue that a federal statute would give investigators and prosecutors another tool for pursuing schemes that cross state lines. The legislation would not replace state laws governing insurance fraud or traffic offenses, but would add federal criminal penalties when the required elements of the offense are met.

The bill remains at the introduction stage. Its progress will depend on consideration by House committees and further action in Congress.