ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man has been arrested on accusations of staging a crash on Universal Drive in which two children were hurt.
Johnson Maxius is the latest person arrested in a series of accidents that were allegedly staged in order to skim profits from insurance payouts.
The crash report said everyone complained of neck, back and leg pain, but all parties refused to be transported to the hospital.
State insurance investigators said they believe the contents of the report, with the exception of the people's pain, to be a lie, particularly with who was behind the wheel.
Maxius said he was the passenger of the car and his girlfriend was driving.
His girlfriend thought she was in an actual accident, but the affidavit used to arrest Maxius said he confessed to "having his girlfriend and her kids…unknowingly participating in an intentional motor vehicle crash and signing blank treatment forms for a clinic that (a man named Gerard) Andre paid him to go to."
Investigators said Andre ran the entire operation and had a man named Roberson Laurent driving most of the cars that caused the wrecks.
Andre and Laurent would then recruit Maxius and others to drive the cars that would be hit, according to investigators.
Documents said the wrecks usually involved three cars -- the car that would be hit, like Maxius drove, Laurent's car and a getaway car for Laurent to leave in, forcing the others to take the blame for the accident.
Investigators said Maxius' girlfriend and her children were unaware of the scheme.
WFTV
