NY training police how to detect insurance fraud | #datingscams #romancescams

ALBANY — Nearly 270 law enforcement officials from across New York gathered at the State Police Academy in Albany this week for specialized training intended to help officers identify staged crashes and investigate other forms of financial and insurance fraud.

The symposium brought together representatives from more than 50 state, local and federal agencies and was organized by the State Police and the state Department of Financial Services.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration said the training is part of a broader effort to combat insurance fraud and reduce the costs passed on to New York drivers.

The participants received instruction on insurance fraud laws, investigative techniques and indicators that may suggest a vehicle collision was deliberately staged. The symposium also addressed other financial crimes, including scams involving older adults, deceptive contractors, compromised business email accounts, digital currency and ATM skimming.

Milton Yu, deputy superintendent for insurance fraud at the Department of Financial Services, said the agency works as a “force multiplier” by sharing information, expertise and resources with police departments, sheriffs’ offices and other agencies that have the authority to make arrests.

“It enables them to get out into the scene and fulfill their enforcement duties,” Yu said.

Insurance companies operating in New York are required to report suspected fraud to the state agency. Yu said the department received more than 51,000 suspected insurance fraud complaints in 2025, including more than 36,000 connected to no-fault auto insurance.

A focus of the training seminar held at the State Police Academy was helping investigators and police recognize signs of staged crashes when they first arrive at a collision scene.

Yu said staged crashes may involve drivers intentionally causing a collision before submitting fraudulent insurance claims. He cited state motor vehicle data indicating that more than 1,700 suspected staged-accident schemes were reported in 2023.

Although insurance fraud is not classified as a violent offense under the state Penal Law, Yu said staged crashes can place drivers, passengers and other people on the road in danger.

“You have somebody who had the premeditation to get behind the controls of a car and smash it into another person,” Yu said.

During the training, financial services instructors used previous cases and scenarios to demonstrate the behaviors and warning signs that may accompany a staged crash. Some clues may no longer be visible by the time police arrive, Yu said, making it important for officers to ask questions about the events leading up to the collision.

“We don’t want to make any particular accusations based on a whim,” Yu said. “Through DFS’s experience and what we’ve seen from these accidents time and time again, we know exactly what to look for.”

Insurance fraud investigations can be lengthy because investigators must examine documents, statements and other evidence to determine whether a claim contains false information, Yu said.

Under New York law, insurance fraud involves submitting a false written statement as part of a claim. That distinction separates it from other forms of theft and requires investigators to identify the documents or representations used to seek an improper payment.

Kurt Strassberger, a senior investigator with the State Police Financial Crimes Unit, said the symposium provided the attendees with additional tools to respond to financial crimes that they may not encounter regularly.

“Our goal is to equip them to be able to investigate and see what the problem is and then how to react to it,” Strassberger said. 

The organizers expect the training to extend beyond the officers who attended. Strassberger said participants will return to their home agencies and share what they learned with fellow investigators, patrol officers and deputies.

“If 200 were at a training today and they go back to their stations that have four, five or six other investigators, the effect magnifies exponentially,” he said.

According to Strassberger, assessing the full effect of the symposium will take time.

“It’ll show itself to us when our investigators are reaching out and using the resources that were made available to them in a really positive manner,” he said.

The specialized material will also be permanently incorporated into the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation school curriculum for future investigators, according to the governor’s office.

State officials said the training complements changes included in the state’s recently enacted budget. The measures allow prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against people accused of organizing staged accidents, rather than limiting liability to the drivers involved.

Yu cited an estimate from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that insurance fraud adds roughly $300 annually to the costs paid by a typical American household. He said fraud schemes often involve a series of smaller payments made over time rather than a single large claim.

“Once we intercede, we break that cycle,” Yu said. “We stop all future payments that would have happened had we not interceded.”

Officials said staged crashes are more frequently reported in downstate New York than in upstate communities. Yu said organizers sought to ensure that investigators from those areas were represented at the symposium while also expanding knowledge of financial fraud among agencies throughout the state.

State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said the collaboration will help investigators identify repeat offenders and organized groups involved in insurance schemes.

“Auto insurance fraud is no minor crime,” James said in a statement. “The perpetrators are organized and deliberate, and it often intersects with other criminal activity.”