NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A Baton Rouge man has been sentenced for staging a crash with a tractor-trailer in New Orleans in 2017.

A judge sentenced 52-year-old Roderick Hickman on Tuesday, Oct. 24 after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

According to court documents, Hickman and four others intentionally crashed into a tractor-trailer at the corner of Chef Menteur Highway and Downman Road and left the scene on March 27, 2017.

Hickman and another co-defendant who participated in the staged crash were referred by attorneys to seek medical attention, knowing they were uninjured, for the sake of a bigger payout for the fraudulent claims.

The victim’s trucking and insurance companies paid out a total of $277,500.

Hickman has been ordered to serve 42 months in the Bureau of Prisons and pay restitution of nearly $5.7 million. After his sentence, he will be placed on supervised release for three years and must pay a $100 assessment fee.

The FBI along with the Metropolitan Crime Commission assisted in the investigation of the incidents.

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