Two fraudsters who made thousands of pounds from fraudulent insurance claims have been jailed.
Shakir Javid was sentenced to three years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court on March 1, 2013 for masterminding the scams. His accomplice, Amjed Malik Iqbal, will serve two years and four months behind bars.
An investigation was launched after a complaint was made to police back in 2006 into claims handled by Newcastle-based company Accident Claims Specialists (ACS) and the two company directors, Javid and Iqbal.
Northumbria Police detectives, working with the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), raided the business premises and homes of Javid and Iqbal 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.
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.
“The IFB was set-up in 2006 to detect organised insurance fraud and we continue to work with police to dismantle scams up and down the country.”
A third man, Zaffa Hussain, 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. Hussain was fined £800.
Detective Inspector Gary Stephenson from Northumbria Police said: “This was a widespread and complex fraud investigation which led to three men being convicted for their roles in this scam. There is no such thing as a victimless crime and this enquiry shows we will target those who seek to defraud organisations and individuals out of thousands of pounds.”
