Slough insurance fraudsters sentenced

According to the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), two insurance fraudsters who put motorists at risk by forcing them into collisions around Slough, have been sentenced to 18 years’ in prison collectively for their crimes.

The mastermind behind the crimes has escaped and Thames Valley Police is appealing for the public’s help to trace him.

A joint investigation between the IFB and Thames Valley Police discovered one of the largest crash for cash scams. It was discovered that the fraudsters were commonly breaking erratically and carrying out dangerous manoeuvers at mini-roundabouts around the Slough area, causing other drivers to crash into them.

The fraudsters would then hand out ‘crib sheets’ which contained their personal details including their telephone number and insurance information to their victims at the crime scenes. These ‘crib sheets’ were analysed by the IFB who were able to connect multiple collisions to one another due to the common handwriting and telephone numbers. These telephone numbers were later found on the suspect’s personal mobile phones and used as evidence in the trial.

The IFB worked closely with Thames Valley Police throughout the investigation, which originally began in September 2014. After receiving intelligence from insurers, IFB began investigating a number claims which appeared to be linked to suspicious car crashes in the Slough and surrounding areas.

In total, IFB were able to identify over 500 deliberate crashes with a similar amount of fraudulent policies taken out to cover their vehicles until the crash. The types of claims being submitted meant this scam was worth millions of pounds.

IFB worked closely with organisations from across the insurance industry to collate over 100 witness statements, each evidencing the crash for cash incidents in and around Slough. Thames Valley Police then used this information and their own intelligence on the gang in order to track the criminals down and make the arrests.