Black Country scammers sentenced after pocketing £320,000 in reckless crash for cash scheme

Raju Patel of Walsall was one of the ringleaders of the dishonest scheme, a court heard.

Patel, Dimple Ghera, Minata Jalloh, Asid Nadeem, James Payne and Amjad Rehman were among 10 people sentenced in court after pocketing more than £320,000 by making false claims for collisions that were deliberately induced or never took place in and around Walsall.

The organised crime group, whose activity predominantly took place across Walsall, pleaded guilty after an investigation led by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), and supported by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) and its insurer members.

Evidence found that Patel and Kamlesh Vadukul were ringleaders of the group and submitted false claims on insurance and to a vehicle repair finance service for road traffic collisions.

The investigation also found that the other eight individuals helped to facilitate the fraud scheme by causing deliberate collisions with innocent road users or knowingly providing personal details for claims. 

The group was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday and Tuesday this week, with Patel, 40 and of Segundo Road in Walsall, sentenced to five years in prison and Kamlesh Vadukul, 36, of Firshill Avenue in Sheffield, sentenced to four years and one month in prison.

Amarjit Dhaliwal, 45, of Millers Road in Warwick, also known as Amo Singh, was sentenced to 19 weeks in prison and Dimple Ghera, 39, of Farndale Avenue in Wolverhampton, was sentenced to a 12-month community order.

Aqeb Hussain, 42, of Gainsborough Avenue in Oldham, was sentenced to 22 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, while Minata Jalloh, 33, of Empress Way, in Dudley, was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge.

Saqib Khan, 32, of Vincent Street in Walstead, was sentenced to a 12-month community order, while Asid Nadeem, 40, of Dudley Road in Dudley, was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

Finally, James Payne, 37, of Carisbrooke Road in Sandwell, was sentenced to a 12-month community order and Amjad Rehman, 50, of Hope Street in Walsall, was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

Jon Radford, Head of Intelligence, Investigations & Data Services at the IFB, said: “We’re pleased to see this organised crime group has faced justice for their reckless actions. 

"Crash for cash scams are devastating, as they place innocent people in danger and victims can suffer significant emotional distress as a result of being targeted.

"We’re working closely with the police and insurers to help protect the public from this issue, and urge anyone with evidence of insurance fraud to report it to our confidential CheatLine.”

Detective Sergeant Adam Maskell at IFED said: “Crash for cash fraud puts motorists at risk and contributes to the rise in premiums for everyone who buys insurance. 

"The level of planning involved in this scheme shows the greed of calculated insurance criminals and the measures they will take to gain financially.

“This outcome reflects that fraudulent claims don’t go unnoticed by insurers or law enforcement, and we will work collaboratively to bring organised criminals to justice.”

As part of the scam, the IFB said the group would cause deliberate collisions by slamming on their vehicles' brakes so innocent drivers behind would collide into them. 

Some incidents were also paper-based fabrications, with the group then submitting fraudulent repair invoices to an accident repair credit business who would then look to seek recovery from the ‘at fault’ insurer. 

It was found that the group had spoofed a genuine repairs company and when the vehicles were due to be inspected, they would even park these along the same road as the business. 

Many of the group members were recruited and paid to pose as claimants. 

WhatsApp conversations showed they were given scripts detailing how to report the incidents and what to say to medical practitioners when attending medical examinations.

IFED’s investigation revealed Patel and Vadukul had submitted repair finance claims totalling £275,548 for 39 collisions from December 2015 to October 2016, while the repair finance service made the payments into a bank account that had been opened by Vadukul.

A total of £321,055 was paid into the bank account from December 2015 to October 2016 and was withdrawn as cash or transferred into other accounts linked to Patel.

Confiscation proceedings will take place at a later date to recover the funds that Vadukul and Patel obtained.