A recent collision on the 215 freeway in San Bernardino was no ordinary accident – it was an orchestrated effort planned by a group of Inland Empire residents seeking to collect an insurance payout from a rideshare driver, insurance investigators say.
The California Department of Insurance announced the recent pleas of the defendants in what became an insurance fraud and assault case in an effort to encourage the public to report suspicious crashes.
In November 2024, Ledontae Pope, 30, of San Bernardino, and Kalil Davis, 27, of Hesperia, ordered a rideshare.
John Murillo, 37, of San Bernardino was conspiring with the group to crash into the vehicle, so the suspects could file bodily injury claims and collect a payout from the rideshare driver’s insurance, investigators allege.
The California Highway Patrol responded to the initial crash, which was reported as a hit and run. The suspects in the rideshare said they were injured and were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
The driver became suspicious of the crash and told authorities they thought it may have been intentional. The CHP ultimately reported it to the Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force.
In January 2025, San Bernardino prosecutors charged Pope, Davis and Deshawn Perater-Nickson, 26, of Adelanto, the registered owner of the car Murillo crashed into the rideshare, with assault with a deadly weapon and insurance fraud.
“At the time of their arrests, two of the three suspects were on probation for previous convictions for narcotics trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony possession of a firearm,” according to a statement from the California Department of Insurance.
Search warrants served after the initial arrests led authorities to two more suspects, Murillo, the driver of the car and Klydale Moses, 24, of Fontana. Both were arrested in May 2025 and charged with insurance fraud and knowingly causing or participating in a vehicle collision/insurance claim, the California Department of Insurance said.
Moses was not in either vehicle, but was conspiring with the others to participate in the fraud scheme, according to investigators.
Pope, Davis, Murillo and Moses pleaded no-contest to various felony charges, the state insurance department reported.
Pope pleaded no contest to knowingly causing or participating in a vehicle collision/Insurance Claim and Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and was sentenced to 90 days in county jail plus two years felony probation.
Davis pleaded no contest to insurance fraud and assault with a deadly weapon and received a sentence of 180 days county jail and two years felony probation.
Murillo pleaded no contest to knowingly causing or participating in a vehicular collision/insurance claim. He is in custody, but has not been sentenced, though he agreed to two years in state prison in his plea.
Moses pleaded no contest to insurance fraud and was sentenced to 90 days in county jail and two years felony probation.
The case of Perater-Nickson, the registered owner of the car used in the scheme, currently remains in court, investigators said.
“While in custody, on March 13, 2025, he was charged with additional charges related to false imprisonment, pimping, and pandering as a result of evidence discovered during the [task force] investigation,” the insurance department stated. He is expected in court in January 2026.
In an effort to curb fraud, the California Department of Insurance urges the public to be aware of collision schemes and to take steps to protect themselves if they suspect they may have been targeted by a staged crash.
“If you suspect you or someone you know are the victim of a staged collision insist on a police report; document as much information about the collision as possible; use a cell phone to document the post-collision damage with photographs or video; ask the peace officer to positively identify everyone involved; and report the suspicious collision to the California Department of Insurance by calling 800-927-4357,” the department said.