<p>Sen. Chuck Schumer joined forces with local prosecutors yesterday to declare war against auto insurance scam artists, saying the motorized fraudsters were costing New Yorkers a whopping $1 billion a year.</p>
<p>Schumer joined Queens DA Richard Brown in an appeal for new legislation that would make auto insurance fraud a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and more than $100,000 in fines.</p>