Yesterday, the State Department officially designated the violent gang MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization. This designation underscores the gang’s extensive criminal operations. Gangs like MS-13 have been linked to various illicit activities, including exploiting the legal system with a rise in staged car accidents used for insurance fraud.

"MS-13 members have been recruited specifically to fake injuries from these accidents," reported the New York Post. According to sources, "MS-13 leaders provide a pipeline of Hispanic migrants, some who are brought to New York specifically to fake injuries." The gang allegedly lures unsuspecting border crossers with offers of transportation, meals, and spending cash before coercing them into participating in phony accidents.

These gangs do not operate alone. They collaborate with Russian-led operations that specialize in white-collar crime. A former NYPD supervisor noted, "The Russian-MS-13 partnership ‘is a perfect marriage for them.’" This collaboration highlights the increasing complexity of organized crime affecting the insurance industry.

The schemes involve healthy individuals pretending to suffer severe injuries from minor incidents, leading to lawsuits against businesses or landlords. Settlements often start at $1 million but can be much higher. These scams depend on law firms handling numerous cases, high-profile doctors, dubious lending firms pressuring migrants into borrowing money for costs, and 'runners' who recruit victims and orchestrate their falls.

While MS-13’s activities are broad and violent, their shift toward financially motivated crimes like abusing the personal injury legal system shows a troubling trend. With the State Department's Foreign Terrorist Designation, law enforcement now has more tools to combat MS-13's illegal activities, including widespread insurance fraud schemes that exploit consumers and increase costs for Americans.

Information from this article can be found here.