Insurance broker jailed for diverting customer payments into personal account

Insurance broker Leon Price, 45, of Playstool Road in Sittingbourne, Kent, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison following an investigation led by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (Ifed). 

Price abused his position of trust to mislead customers, falsify documents and divert payments totallying more than £133,000 into his own personal bank account.

As a result of his actions, customers were left without valid cover for homes, vehicles and commercial properties, leaving them uninsured against risks.

He appeared at the Inner London Crown Court yesterday (20 November 2025) and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. 

His criminal scheme, through which he presented policy documents as valid cover to customers, was uncovered following an invesitgation by Allianz owned LV= General Insurance. LV= identified that a motor policy had been registered using the same address as another existing customer, with records confirming that the insured details were incorrect. 

Upon being contacted, this customer then confirmed they did not own the model of car that had been insured and had never taken out a policy. 

Price was also discovered moving privately owned vehicles onto trade policies without the consent of policholders, as well as impersonating genuine policyholders to pursue fraudulent claims against their policies. 

Despite evidence gathered, Price opted to answer “no comment” to all questions put to him by Ifed officers during an interview. The force is now seeking to commence confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act, with funds to be directed to Price’s victims as compensation. 

Systematic abuse

Ifed detective Oliver Gent said: “Price systematically abused his position of trust to defraud customers and insurers, leaving victims uninsured and exposed to serious financial risk. His actions demonstrate the devastating impact of insurance fraud not only financially, but in the risk it creates for innocent people.

“Thanks to the vigilance of insurers and the co-opertion between industry partners, Ifed was able to uncover the scale of Price’s offending and bring him to justice.” 

Matt Crabtree, head of financial crime intelligence and investigations at Allianz, added: “Insurance fraud continues to be a serious problem. In this case, our fraud teams spotted the insider concerns when validating a suspicious policy. 

“Even though we were one of a panel of insurers used by the broker, I’m pleased that our special investigations team went on to uncover the true extent of Price’s wide-ranging and prolonged frauds.

“While these cases may be rare, we work hard to ensure those behind insider frauds who are abusing their positions are brought to justice and we’re pleased with the result.”