Illinois woman says she staged car accident, cashed in on insurance

HAMMOND | In 2007, a pregnant Illinois woman staged a car accident, went to the hospital for "injuries" and then pocketed the insurance money from a Valparaiso State Farm branch. 

Daphyne Thomas, 36, of Markham, said she and several others hatched the plan in Hammond before carrying out the fake accident in Calumet City. Thomas made more than $1,000 in the ruse that involved at least four adults and seven children, according to court records.

"Me and some other people staged, planned a car accident in Indiana and then in Calumet City," Thomas said in court.

Wearing blue jeans and black boots, Thomas changed her plea to guilty for one count of conspiracy and two counts of mail fraud. She could face up to 60 years in prison and a $750,000 fine, but as part of a plea agreement, she committed to cooperating with the government in exchange for prosecutors recommending a lower sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Toi Houston said Thomas and several others chose a wooded area with no surveillance cameras for the scene of the crime. 

There they damaged a 2002 Mercury Sable -- which they used routinely in other staged accidents, according to court records. In this case, Thomas reportedly got out of a car along with several children and watched as the second vehicle circled and slammed into the first car's bumper.

"It skidded and went into the woods," Houston said of the vehicle that caused the collision. "There were people in the car, including one of the minor children of a co-conspirator."

The conspirators lied and said the driver of the second vehicle passed out, Houston said, and ambulances took them to local hospitals to treat fake injuries. 

Because children between ages 4 and 11 were used as pawns, Thomas and others made personal injury claims both for themselves and on the minors' behalf, according to court records.

The alleged auto and mail fraud ring operated from about 2007 to 2009, according to court records, and involved at least five insurance companies. The total amount bilked from insurance companies has not yet been released.

Thomas' sister also allegedly was in on the hustle, and per the terms of the plea agreement, Thomas could testify against her.

"She has no criminal history," said Thomas' attorney, Mark Psimos, of his client. "She just got caught up in it and listened to someone she should not have."