Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty In Car Crash Staging

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PIERRE JEUDY, 56, of Norwich, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to one count of wire fraud stemming from his involvement in an insurance fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between April 2011 and February 2014, JEUDY and others participated in a scheme to stage approximately 50 car crashes in eastern Connecticut for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies and enriching themselves. A high percentage of these planned crashes were single-vehicle accidents on remote roads where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the crashed vehicle. After each staged accident, the defendants filed fraudulent property damage and bodily injury claims with various automobile insurance companies. They then collected payouts on the fraudulent claims from the victim insurance companies. These payouts typically ranged from about $10,000 to about $30,000 per accident.

In pleading guilty, JEUDY admitted his personal involvement in a staged automobile crash in Norwich on October 22, 2013.

JEUDY was arrested on May 20 and is released on bond. He is a citizen of Haiti and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for November 29, 2016, at which time JUEDY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Norwich Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with the assistance of the Mohegan Tribal Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.