A 27-year-old Haitian man pleaded guilty Monday in connection to a scheme in which he and five other men staged 50 car crashes in Southeastern Connecticut to collect insurance payouts.

Jacques "Magic" Fleurijeune, who was living in New London, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Haven to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to a news release from Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. 

As part of the scheme, the men staged car crashes between 2011 and 2014 and then filed false claims for injuries and property damage to collect payouts from insurance companies, according to the release. They generally received between $10,000 and $30,000 per accident.

Fleurijeune admitted in court that he was involved in a staged accident on Oct. 22, 2013 in Norwich in which the men collected $31,334.52, after submitting false insurance claims, according to the release.

During the scheme, Fleurijeune allegedly took the driver's seat of the car after another man first crashed it, according to the news release. Fleurijeune told officers that he had been driving the car when he swerved into a tree because there was a deer in the road.

Sentencing has been scheduled for May 10, according to the release. Fleurijeune is a citizen of Haiti and has been detained.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Norwich Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with the assistance of the Mohegan Tribal Police Department, are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry is prosecuting the case.