Cash For Crash Fraudster staged almost 100 car crashes and cost insurers £1.6m

• Mohammed Patel charged £500 a time to stage 'accidents'
• Office workers noticed high number of crashes at roundabout

A "crash for cash" fraudster who lived the high life on the proceeds of staged accidents and cost the insurance industry £1.6m was jailed today.

Mohammed Patel, 24, charged £500 a time to stage accidents which enabled fraudsters to claim an average of £17,000 from insurers. He staged at least 93 crashes, earning himself around £46,000, Manchester's Minshull Street crown court heard.

Patel, of Bolton, Greater Manchester, admitted one count of conspiracy to defraud, six counts of dangerous driving and four counts of driving while disqualified. He was jailed for four and a half years and banned from driving for three and a half years.

William Baker, prosecuting, said Patel's earnings funded an "Aladdin's cave" at the home of his unemployed girlfriend, Ettorina Hay. The court heard the pair enjoyed luxurious foreign holidays and drove expensive cars.

Baker said the scam was exposed by suspicious office workers at Bovis Homes, who overlooked the Eden Point roundabout on the A34 at Cheadle Hulme. He said that in the latter part of 2005 "they became suspicious that road traffic accidents were being staged" because of the number and similarities of crashes.

Baker, describing the set-up, said: "One vehicle colliding with another at low speed with minor damage and often the same person driving the lead vehicle. They told drivers of the rear vehicles they thought they were the victim of fraud."

Baker said: "Mohammed Patel staged the road traffic accidents. He drove cars on to the roundabout and then stopped them so abruptly the vehicle behind could not avoid a collision.

Fraudulent claims, submitted by people not present at the scene whom Patel purported to be, were then made. Claims would include compensation for injuries such as whiplash, damage to the vehicle, a hire car, and storage of the damaged vehicle.

Baker said Patel staged the accidents between May 2005 and August 2008. Patel was arrested in Bolton on 7 August last year and gave a prepared statement to police. He pleaded guilty to the charges.

Crime Analysis Team
Nice 1 Limited

"CASH FOR CRASH" - TOP 20 HOTSPOTS

Staged Car Crashes Cost the UK £200million

Cash for crash car insurance fraudsters are endangering the lives of innocent UK motorists and costing the industry over £200million a year. Furthermore, this cost is directly passed on to car insurance customers, bumping up the average car insurance premium by an estimated £50.
Working in organised crime rings, these fraudsters are netting hundreds of millions of pounds a year at the expense and risk of the innocent road user.

The gangs use the proceeds of their crimes to fund drug trafficking, gun running, immigration fraud and even, it has been suggested, to finance Muslim extremist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sue Baker, head of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, the body charged with investigating these cases, said: "This is not just a crime where greedy people are lining their own pockets and driving around in flash cars and buying nice houses. It's the more sinister uses to which the money is being put."

Police warn that vigilance is needed as this wave of potentially fatal criminal activity spreads across the country. Whilst arrests and convictions have been made, the law enforcement agencies have barely cratched the surface.

Typically, fraudsters will drive to a busy road junction then perform unexpected and dangerous emergency stops, designed to cause the innocent motorist to crash into them. Claims are then made to the innocent motorists' insurance company, frequently including several fictitious injury reports from members of the criminal gang. Often, they will claim for injuries relating to people who weren't even present and use each others names to do so. Another common trick, is to remove the brake lights of the offending vehicle, making it even more likely that a crash will occur.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau

Since its formation in July 2006, the IFB has been instrumental in helping the police make nearly 300 arrests of people endangering the lives of motorists in their attempts to defraud insurers. Three police operations resulted in 29 convictions and combined prison sentences of over 20 years. These efforts are pleasing, but only represent a fraction of the this growing problem.

The IFB currently has 25 active joint police operations spread across 13 UK police forces.
John Beadle, Chairman of the IFB comments:

"The criminal gangs targeting honest motorists are ruthless. Innocent lives are being put at risk and fraudulent insurance claims add approximately £40-£50 to every premium paid by honest policy holders each year. Left unchecked these criminal networks grow rapidly, split and even franchise smaller networks which in turn grow prolifically".

"We must continue to take a rigorous approach to dealing with this significant national problem which is impacting on many towns and cities across the UK. Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, criminals must be brought to justice. We urge anyone with information on insurance fraud to call the Bureau's free and confidential Cheatline on 0800 328 2550 or report online at

http://www.insurancefraudbureau.org/report

Reprinted above is the IFB top twenty areas of the UK affected by "Cash for crash" crimes.

The Bureau also produce a useful free leaflet which gives advice to the UK motorist on how to protect yourself from these fraudsters.To download a copy of this leaflet click here.

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