Eighth conviction in ‘cash for crash’ case

A man who was part of a ‘crash for cash’ scheme which conned insurance companies out of more than £120,000 has been found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

Rajesh Kurmi of Letchworth Garden City was convicted of making a false insurance claim – one of numerous claims made by a gang of eight people between July 2012 and March 2014, which related to road traffic collisions that either had not taken place at all, or were deliberately caused.

A woman and six other men have previously pleaded guilty to multiple offences.

The court heard how the group gave different accounts for the alleged accidents and how a garage used to carry out the repairs on the vehicles was owned by one of the people making the claim.

Kurmi was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud relating to a false damage and personal injury claim for a collision reported to have occurred in June 2013 between an Audi TT and an Aston Martin. He had previously pleaded guilty to a further count of conspiracy to defraud.

Detective constable Ian Russell, from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, said, ‘This was a highly-organised, calculated and extensive conspiracy to defraud, and we are pleased the final part of this group has been found guilty. Fraud is not a victimless crime. We will continue to persistently pursue those we suspect of being involved in organised crime and continue to put them before the courts.’

Ben Fletcher, Ddirector of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), said, ‘Staged and contrived accidents form part of the ‘crash for cash’ insurance fraud phenomenon which we estimate costs the honest policyholder almost £350 million each year.

Today’s convictions demonstrate how the IFB, insurers and the police work closely together to identify suspected fraud by linking a series of apparently unconnected claims to one individual or gang.

‘The investigation between ERSOU and the IFB highlights to would-be fraudsters that the risks of being caught and prosecuted is very real and that they face the prospect of heavy fines, a criminal record and imprisonment, with potentially restricted access to financial services for the rest of their lives.’

The group of eight will be sentenced on the 11 March 2016.