Nationwide Car Care Ltd, which hires out cars to people who have been
involved in accidents, has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison
after a £250,000 'cash for crash' scam was uncovered.
Along with his wife, Rehana Dean, aged 31 and business associate
Luqman Patel, aged 28 and with the help of David Sleigh, aged 46, and
Caroline Catley, aged 34, Mr Dean falsely claimed to have been
involved in a car crash.
They claimed that the supposed accident took place on July 2nd at the
junction of Derby Street and Venice Street in Bolton.
A couple was paid by Dean to obtain false doctors notes detailing
injuries acquired in the accident, while the cars said to be involved
in the accident were damaged by another associate.
The Deans hoped to obtain around £82,000 from their claim, which
could have cost insurance company Zurich as much as £250,000 in
payouts and costs.
The fraud came to light when a vehicle examiner hired by Zurich found
that the damage to the cars was not consistent with the supposed
circumstances of the accident.
Following the suspicions raised by the vehicle examiner, an accident
investigator visited David Sleigh and Caroline Catley, who broke down
under questioning and admitted that the crash had not actually taken
place.
The Dean swiftly abandoned their claims when they were taken to court
by Zurich insurance and Patel's claim was dropped by the company when
he was unable to answer their questions regarding the incident.
All five involved were then taken to court, where Catley and Sleigh
pleaded guilty to fraud while giving evidence against their fellow
defendants.
In light of his involvement, Sleigh was given an eight month suspended
sentence along with 200 hours community service, while Catley was
given a 12 month community order along with 150 hours community
service.
Rehana Dean and Patel were also sentenced to community service, with
each told that they must complete 300 hours and pay £2,800 in costs.
As the leader of the group and in light of a similar investigation
against him in 1999, from which he escaped with a caution, Musharaf
Dean was disqualified from acting as a company director for five
years, ordered to pay £2,800 in costs and sentenced to 18 months in
prison.
Judge Steven Everett said of Mr Dean: "I am quite sure you are a
dishonest individual. You are the ringleader. This was a serious
matter and the public must know if you commit this sort of offence
that prison must follow."
Detective Constable Mike Gladwin, investigating the case, has seen
many fraudulent cases of this nature as Bolton is in fact a hotspot
for false accident claims of this nature.
According to figures from Zurich, they discovered 1,031 fake claim in
2008, with the higest number coming from the Bolton area.
DC Mike Galdwin said: "It is unbelievable the lengths some people
will go to for money."
If you've been in a car accident in the last 3 years and suffered
personal injury then you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét