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Gang plead guilty to £30,000 crash for cash motor insurance scam (10 August 2015)

Date: 10/08/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Gang plead guilty to £30,000 crash for cash motor insurance scam

A gang which nearly netted £30,000 from a crash for cash insurance scam was caught out when a motorist who had heard about the scams installed a dash-cam in his car and filmed one of the road collisions.

Manchester Evening News reports that the driver’s dash-cam recorded an incident in which two men and a woman orchestrated a collision on Chester Road in Hulme in 2011 involving his own car.

The footage from the driver’s Vauxhall Corsa captured the moment a silver Audi in front of him – driven by 30-year-old mother-of-three Alina Khan Eric Street in Oldham – suddenly braked, leaving him no chance to avoid hitting the rear of the car.
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The court heard that Khan had “‘slammed on the brakes” in what appeared to be an emergency stop for “no reason or justification”.

Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard that Kamran Yasin, 32 –
from Brook Lane in Oldham – was driving beside the victim on the inside lane, leaving the driver no chance to manoeuvre.

The drivers exchanged details and Yasin contacted a friend, Sarfaraz Ahmed, 31 – of Cambridge Road in Oldham – who is the owner of accident management company, AMC Claims.

Ahmed then pursued an insurance claim for Khan for recovery and storage of the Audi and a courtesy car. Khan also submitted a separate claim for whiplash, the court heard.

The claims had a potential value of £30,000 and were referred to a firm of solicitors, who contacted the driver’s insurers.

The court heard that Khan had stated on the forms that she had not braked –
and there were no witnesses to the collision, but the incident had been seen by a man in a hair salon.

The driver’s own in-car video footage was then assessed – and an investigation was launched, leading to arrests being made by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.

Detectives uncovered evidence that the silver Audi had also been driven through West Yorkshire at the time it was supposedly in storage. Detective Constable Mick Jones – who led the investigation – said the gang’s actions had “put lives at risk”.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, all three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Most of the claims had not been paid, the court heard.

Judge Angela Nield sentenced Khan to a 14-month jail term, suspended for two years – saying that Khan had been influenced by others.

Yasin and Ahmed will be sentenced in September.

The judge described crash for cash scams as a “wicked and dangerous practice”.

“The fact that there was a camera in the vehicle was a matter of good fortune for the driver of the vehicle and the course of justice,” she added.

Duncan Lewis Fraud Solicitors

Duncan Lewis fraud solicitors can advise at any stage of a charge involving fraud, including charges relating to:

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• White collar crime.

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For expert legal advice on all fraud charges, call Duncan Lewis fraud solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

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