.jpg)
New York state has passed a new law making it a felony to intentionally cause a car accident in order to collect insurance money.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation Thursday, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The new law also makes it a felony to seriously injure another person in a staged accident.
Insurance fraud and reckless endangerment are already illegal in New York, of course. However, supporters of the new law say it will strengthen criminal penalties for staged car accidents and give law enforcement new tools to punish scammers, the AP reported.
The bill has been called “Alice’s Law” after Alice Ross, a Queens grandmother who was killed in 2003 when a driver attempting to commit insurance fraud intentionally crashed into her car, the AP reported.
