Eleven people sentenced after £500k '˜cash for crash scam'

Eleven people have been sentenced to more than 42 years for the part they played in a '˜cash for crash' scam.

The gang were connected to over 111 claims going back to 2011 believed to be worth man £500,000.

The men and women involved in the conspiracy attended Nottingham Crown Court yesterday and today for a two day sentencing.

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The Derbyshire police operation entitled ‘Operation Skipsea’ began in 2013 where officers investigated a group who set-up a vehicle recovery company to defraud drivers by making false injury claims.

Detective Constable, Kevan Handley, who led the investigation, said: “The gang all played their part in this complex fraudulent activity, their roles ranged from carrying out fraudulent medical examinations of personal injury claims, driving the vehicles involved in the collisions to providing fraudulent vehicle examination forms.

“This type of crime will always be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and will not be tolerated; the sentences received today reflect this.”

The fraud came to light when one of the individuals who worked for the gang became aware of the suspicious behaviour and staged a burglary at the business address to highlight the activity to the police.

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As Derbyshire Police investigated the burglary and searched the property, they seized four laptops alongside a significant amount of documentation evidence linked to insurance fraud, which is when the Insurance Fraud Bureau were contacted to support.

The investigation uncovered that the gang centred round Derby Enterprise and TTM Recovery, which were both submitting fraudulent claims for personal injury and vehicle storage following the crashes.

Derby Enterprise was a claims management company set up by Dharminder and Davinder Nagra, operating outside of any regulation, in an attempt to authenticate their scam

and ultimately increase the value of the claims.

Ben Fletcher, director of IFB, said: “Fraudsters are fuelled by greed and have little regard for the significant impact that crash for cash has on society. It puts innocent members of the public at risk of serious injury, meaning people need to be extra vigilant when driving on the roads. There’s not only a physical impact but also a substantial cost associated, as we estimate crash for cash costs the industry £336m a year. This is a financial burden on insurers, but it’s ultimately premium-paying motorists who are footing the bill for fraudsters.

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“IFB, alongside the insurance industry and police, are determined to uncover cross-industry insurance fraud and today’s sentences send a clear message - if you are committing fraud the risk of being caught and prosecuted is very real. It simply isn’t worth it.”

Sentences:

Mohammed Asghar: 7 years imprisonment, reduced to 5 years for guilty plea

·Dharminder Nagra, 47, of Gregory’s Way, Belper - 5 years imprisonment

·Davinder Nagra, 40, of Arkwright Avenue, Belper – 5 years imprisonment

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·Nasir Ahmed - 7 years imprisonment, reduced to 5 years and 3 months for guilty plea

·Adam Stark, 26, of Trenton Drive, Long Eaton - 4 years imprisonment for fraud and 9 months for perverting the course of justice

·Martin Walker, 29, of Hopton Close, Ripley - 6 and a half years imprisonment, reduced to 5 years 3 months for guilty plea

·Arsalan Hussain, 28, of New Street, Brierley, Bradford: 4 years imprisonment

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·Liam Swinfield, 22, of Northfield Avenue, Sawley - 3 and a half years imprisonment, reduced to 31 months for guilty plea

·Dorothy Bacon, 28, of Cedar Avenue, Ripley - 3 years imprisonment, reduced to 30 months for guilty plea

·Nicola Brown, 24, of Edinburgh Court, Alfreton - 3 years imprisonment, reduced 21 months for guilty plea

·Anthony Walker, 22, of Loscoe Road, Heanor - 21 months imprisonment, reduced to 18 months for guilty plea

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