Two men have been jailed for organizing the country’s biggest cash for crash scam.
Sabaoon Hillaman, 24, will serve 4 years and 10 months for conspiracy to defraud and Masi Naqshbandi, 27, was jailed for seven years and three months on the same charge. Hillaman was already serving five and a half years for his part in the last summer’s riots.
It’s a timely reminder of the danger posed by fraudsters who deliberately stage crashes.
Hillaman and Naqshbandi operated through a company called Real Accident Helpline. They would stage the accident, then submit fraudulent damage and personal injury claims through the company. On top of taking money off insurance companies, Real Accident Helpline would be paid for for the information by ambulance chasing lawyers.
The were involved with over 250 staged accidents which could have brought in £6.5 million if the scam had not been uncovered.
The arrests followed a 5 year investigation by the Metropolitan Police and the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB). Aviva Insurance first alerted the IFB when it noticed a series of almost identical claims filed through Read Accident Helpline.
Phil Bird, of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said: “Insurance Fraud is not a victimless crime. We all pick up the bill for fraudsters like Naqshbandi and Hillaman. About £50 is added to every insurance premium to cover it.”
Business car managers should warn drivers of the risk posed by insurance fraudsters in general and crash for cash scams in particular to keep down your business car insurance premiums.