That is almost what actually happened. When police told Smollett that they had arrested two suspects, Smollett was prepared to testify against them. That is, when he thought they were innocent people that he could press charges against to perpetuate his fraud. Once he found out they were the two brothers he hired to fake the attack, he ceased cooperating.
So he was perfectly fine with ruining the lives of two innocent people to further his own interests.
View: https://twitter.com/MichaelDavSmith/status/1097468270561628161