Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast - He Went Viral (Then Went To Prison) // The Dashcam Scam

Episode Date: September 4, 2026

Ashpia Natasha posted viral dashcam footage in October 2024 exposing a staged insurance fraud scheme on the Belt Parkway in Queens, where a vehicle intentionally reversed into her car after cutting her off. The widely shared video prompted law enforcement investigations that ultimately resulted in prison sentences for the orchestrators of the crash-for-cash ring.

Advertising on Spotify with audio and display ads helps brands turn attention into results. Download the 26 Performance Playbook and discover why Spotify belongs in your media plan. Imagine you're just driving along when skirt a car stops right in front of you and you break just in time to avoid an accident. But then they reverse and bam, they hit you anyway, just like they planned. So this all starts with this guy. Jaime. And Jaime is around 53, living around the Queens, Brooklyn area of New York. And here's the thing about Jaime. He wants a way to make a bunch of money really fast. But he doesn't want to get a job or anything like that. So one day in 2024, he comes up with an insane scheme that I've never heard of

before, so this is all new to me. But he's going to commit fraud by intentionally causing car accidents. So he gets to work on this scheme. And he starts recruiting a team, starting with this guy, Victor. And Victor's 34, and I assume he's Jaime's buddy since they're both, you know, dirtbags. Anyway, Jaime comes to Victor and he says something like, hey, bro, want to state some car crashes to make money? And Victor's like, all right, and he agrees to be the driver who deliberately causes the crashes. Now, Jaime isn't going to crash his own car over and over again. That would be way too obvious. He's a lot. needs to use someone else's car in someone else's name. So he goes looking for people with

cars and he hits him up like, hey, want to make some easy money by getting in a little fender bender? And one guy who owns an old Honda is like, sure. And Jaime's like, great, got any buddies who can be in the car with you and fake being injured? And this part is essential because Jaime knows the insurance game pretty well. The more people in the car, the more witnesses on your side, and the more people who can file personal injury claims, and so the more these guys get paid. So Jaime, his plan is ready, and they set out to stage a crash. So Victor drives the old Honda Civic, while the owner sits in the passenger seat and his two buddies are in the back, while Jaime is trailing behind them in his own car orchestrating the whole thing. He's actually

on the phone with Victor instructing him what to do. Then, Jaime sees a woman driving alone, and he decides that she's going to be their target. So on the phone, he's like, do it now! And so Victor pulls the old Honda right in front of this woman, and skr-h-he slams on his brakes. And the woman has no time to break, so kaboon, she hits them from behind, just like they planned. Then Victor and the Honda Civic owner quickly trade places

to pretend that the owner was driving the whole time. After that, the owner and the passengers all get out of the car like, oh my God, my neck, my back, faking injuries and distracting their victim. While Jaime pulls up in his car and Victor slides into it and they drive away. Not only that, but Jaime has told the passengers of the old Honda exactly which medical center to go to to get a doctor to sign off on their fake injury. Afterwards, all the passengers file insurance claims so that they can get paid too. And this scheme actually works.

The woman's insurance pays out nearly $80,000 to the group. So I'm sure Jaime and Victor are totally pumped. Their scheme just raked in a bunch of easy money. So they decide they're going to do it all over again. So Jaime, he finds a new car owner who doesn't mind their car getting hit. This time it's a Nissan. And they find more passengers to fake their injuries. And just like last time, they're out driving and Jaime drives behind them

and he spots a new victim, a man driving alone in an 18-wheeler. And I assume they believe a commercial vehicle hitting them will lead to an even bigger payday. So they target this guy. Anyway, so Victor cuts right in front of this guy and skir-d, he slams on his brakes, and kaboon the 18-wheeler crashes into him from behind. And right then, Victor switches seats again with the car owner, a woman. But this time, the truck driver sees the switch happen. Then the passengers all get out acting like they're all hurt, faking their injuries, and the woman pretends that she was the one driving.

But the truck driver, he isn't buying it. He looks at them like, do you think I'm stupid? He immediately knows that this is all a setup, and he's not going to put up with it. So he starts filming and calling them out. He was driving him. Yeah, come over here. Huh? You okay?

He, the only guy was driving him. He praised the brakes. regardless, the truck driver can't prove it was a scam, so the passengers all file personal injury claims and the insurance pays them out again. But this time it only pays out $3,000, likely way less than Jaime and Victor were hoping for. But whatever, they're going to just try again. So they get to work setting up another staged crash, not knowing that this crash will be their downfall. And this is where this woman comes in, Ashpia. And so it's a normal day for Ashpia. She's driving along in traffic, talking to her husband on speakerphone. And that is when Jaime,

who's also driving along, sees her, and he sees that she's driving alone. And he's on the phone with Victor, and he lets him know, she is our target. And so in the footage, you can see Victor's car here. So he cuts right in front of her and skirt! he slams on his brakes. Oh my God. Now, lucky for her, Ashpia was able to slam on her brakes just in time, and she was able to avoid a crash. And I guess, you know, Victor is in the other car, and he's all pissed off, and he didn't expect her to stop in time. And he doesn't want to wait for another payday.

So, his greedy ass puts the car in reverse. Oh, my God, what is he? Babe. Babe, what happened? Oh, shit. I don't know. Wait. I got into an accident.

I got into an accident. Oh my god. This guy just reversed into me. What the hell is going on? Then, the scammers put up a trash bag in the back window to hide the view of Victor switching seats so that they don't get spotted this time. After that, the passengers all get out and they all start grabbing their necks and stuff and acting all hurt. And they have the audacity to take pictures of Ashbia's car like she's the one who did something wrong. Meanwhile, Haimei pulls up in a car.

in his car and Victor slides into it and they drive off thinking that they got away with it and that they'll get another big payday. While Ashpia, she's shocked. I mean, she has no idea that this is insurance fraud. She thinks that these guys hit her out of like road rage or something. So she gets out of her car and she asked, why did you reverse into me? But the scammers don't admit anything. They're like, we didn't. But the thing is, Ashpia has a dash cam. And it's been required. this whole time. And when she realizes what these scammers are actually up to, she does something pretty clever.

She doesn't tell them that she has them on video. So these turds all go to file claims against her insurance, which gets their intentions to commit fraud on record. Later, Ashpea shows her insurance company the dash cam footage, you know, to clear her name. And then she also goes and posts the video online. And this dash cam video blows the fuck up, getting over 80 million views on TikTok alone. Now, as a result of that, one of the people who sees this video is the district attorney of Queens County.

And she is just appalled by all this. I mean, it's an obvious scam. So she starts an investigation. And that investigation is able to link the crash to the two other staged crashes. And so, bam, police arrest. Victor. Here's a picture of him. Also, bam, they arrest Jaime. Here's a picture of him. And some of the other passengers were also arrested, so bam to them, I guess. And they are currently awaiting sentencing. Also, the medical center that signed off on their fake injuries is under investigation as well.

And ultimately, Victor is sentenced to two years in prison, while Jaime is sentenced to one to three years in prison.