Philadelphia man gets 4 to 10 years for faking accidents to defraud insurers

The mastermind of an extensive scheme to fake car accidents that defrauded insurance companies out of more than $1 million was sentenced Thursday to four to 10 years in state prison.

Wallace Morris Sr., 44, of Philadelphia, known as "Popsicle" and "Pops," also faces federal charges in another alleged insurance-fraud scheme.

In his state case, Morris pleaded guilty to being involved in 44 faked accidents. In addition to sentencing him to prison, Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie Defino-Nastasi ordered Morris to pay $440,000 in restitution to 17 insurance companies.

Deshane Riggins, a Philadelphia police officer who wrote phony accident reports for Morris, was fired from the force and pleaded guilty in 2008 to insurance fraud.

In his federal case, Morris was involved with another Philadelphia police officer, Drexel Reid Jr., who was arrested in 2007 and has pleaded guilty to fraud.

From 2004 through 2006, Morris worked with an evolving network of at least 268 relatives, friends, and associates to submit 187 fraudulent insurance claims, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Each accident typically involved two vehicles with three people in each to generate six claims.

The defrauded insurance companies included AIG, Allstate, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, and State Farm.

More than 95 people have been arrested in the case. More arrests are pending, according to the District Attorney's Office.