Two fraudsters who made thousands of pounds from masterminding fraudulent insurance claims have been jailed.
The two men have been sentenced for a total of five and half years at Newcastle Crown Court for masterminding the claims scam. The fraud was uncovered after reports were received by Northumbria Police detectives in 2006.
Raided their businesses and homes
After working in conjunction with the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) Northumbria Police detectives raided the business premises and homes of the two men in October 2010. Thousands of documents and accident claim files were seized. Officers discovered evidence of claims for fictitious accidents and inflated personal injury and credit hire claims following genuine incidents
A third man, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation after a fictitious insurance claim for which he arranged to crash two cars into each other. The details of an unsuspecting member of the public were used to make the false claim. An insurance company was defrauded of almost £14,000 as a result.
We pick up the bill for these insurance scams
Ben Fletcher, Director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), said: “These convictions conclude several years of joint-investigation by Northumbria Police and the insurance industry. Given that many of the fraudulent claims submitted did not look overly suspicious in isolation, the fact the scam was exposed is testament to the industry’s ‘zero tolerance’ stance towards fraud.
“As honest policyholders, we all pick up the bill for these insurance scams, with around £50 added to every premium just to cover the costs of fraud. Today’s verdict sends a clear message to fraudsters –you will be caught and face the consequences of prison sentences and a criminal record”
Read more about the charges on the IFB website.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
If you are a victim of fraud you can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
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