Freeze put on ice cream scammer
A 39-year-old man has been convicted for his part in an insurance fraud where an ice cream van was used to stage fake accidents across the country.
The ice cream van was identified as being linked to three separate fraudulent insurance claims, which, had they all been paid out in full, would have cost the insurers in the region of £100,000.
Detectives from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), which is part of the City of London Police, are now appealing for anyone with information about the van or its owner to contact them, as they continue to try and identify others behind the scam.
Barry Mark Sandmann of Strood, Kent pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to conspiracy to defraud and fraud by false representation. Sandmann lied about being involved in an accident with an ice cream van in Kent to allow others to make fraudulent claims. He also lied about the time of another genuine accident to try and get insurance cover for damage caused to another van when he reversed his into it.
Had all the claims Sandmann made been paid out in full, it would have cost the three insurers – Allianz, Covéa and NFU Mutual – in the region of £100,000. Sandmann is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 27 May.
Detective constable Paula Doyle, from the IFED, who investigated the case said, ‘In the space of two months, Sandmann not only tried to take out a policy to cover him for an accident that had already happened, but then tried to facilitate a crash for cash scam so that others could profit.
‘Thanks to the good relationships and information sharing between IFED and the insurance industry, what first appeared to be an isolated incident has been uncovered as an organised scam and we’re determined to try and identify and bring all those involved to justice.’
