Defendant ran several claims management companies
The head of multiple claims handling companies has been jailed for his role in a fraudulent personal injury claim.
Haroon Karim, 33, was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to six months in prison for his role in falsifying signatures relating to the claim.
The prosecution, which was headed by specialist insurance law firm Horwich Farrelly on behalf of LV= General Insurance, also found that a solicitor at Asons had acted in an “improper, unreasonable and negligent” manner by not verifying the document signatures supplied by Karim.
Asons was also found to have backdated correspondence to hide non-compliance with court timetabling. Karim was one of Asons’ main clients, and was at various times a director of ACA Claims Ltd, ACA Accident Claims Assistant Ltd, Medicals Elite Ltd and Easy Go Hire Ltd, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Karim was found to have forged a claimant’s signature on several documents, including the claim form used to start proceedings, without the claimant’s knowledge, a statement from Horwich Farrelly said.
Had it succeeded, he and his family members would have stood to make a profit. He and Asons were ordered to pay LV=’s costs of about £50,000.
Horwich Farrelly managing partner Ronan McCann said the ruling “highlights Horwich Farrelly’s commitment to always working alongside the industry to ensure fraudsters and professional enablers receive the punishment that they deserve”.
“This case sends a clear message to professional enablers that insurers will not stop in their efforts to stamp out fraudulent claims, and ensure that honest customers do not suffer from the dishonest actions of others,” he said.
LV= GI fraud detector Clare Lunn said that the industry needs to “take a tough stance against such conduct which will act as a deterrent to stop underhand practices like this”.
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