Unemployed man guilty after ‘loss of earnings’ claim
A 57-year-old man from Milton Keynes has been convicted of fraud after claiming loss of earnings following a crash when he was actually unemployed.
Paul Self of Aspley Guise, Milton Keynes submitted a fraudulent insurance claim for £7,250, but after an investigation by the City of London’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), he has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £860 in costs.
Self was involved in a collision on Newport Pagnell High Street in October 2014. The accident was genuine and the other driver, who was insured by 1ST CENTRAL, admitted blame. In February 2015, 1ST CENTRAL received a claim from Self’s solicitors totaling £11,261 – of which £7,250 was being claimed for lost income due to injuries sustained in the crash.
However, medical certificates with details of his injuries from the crash listed his occupation as unemployed.
Detective Constable Helen Shipston, from the City of London police, who investigated the case said, ‘There is a misconception that solicitors or claims management companies offering the promise of ‘no win, no fee’ claims, means that you can submit exaggerated or false claims to insurance companies without any risk.
‘Fraud is a serious criminal offence and if you lie in order to make financial gain from a bogus insurance claim, then, like Paul Self, you could end up with a knock on the door from police and a criminal record.’
Glen Marr, claims and counter fraud director at 1ST CENTRAL said, ‘This is yet another example of the excellent and successful collaborative work of IFED and the 1ST CENTRAL counter fraud team, in rooting out and pursuing insurance fraudsters. At 1ST CENTRAL we take an uncompromising stance with fraudsters, underlining our commitment to protecting genuine customers from the impact of fraud.’
