Company directors made thousands through crashes and credit hire scams

Ben Fletcher, IFB

Two fraudsters who made thousands of pounds through orchestrating car crashes and submitting false credit hire claims have been jailed.

Shakir Javid was sentenced to three years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court on March 1 for masterminding the scams. His accomplice, Amjed Malik Iqbal, will serve two years and four months.

An investigation was launched after a complaint was made to police in 2006 about claims handled by Newcastle based company Accident Claims Specialists (ACS) and the two company directors, Javid and Iqbal.

Northumbria Police detectives, working with the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), raided the business premises and homes of Javid and Iqbal in October 2010. Thousands of documents and accident claim files were seized. 

Insurance Fraud Bureau director Ben Fletcher (pictured) said: “These convictions conclude several years of joint-investigation by Northumbria Police and the insurance industry. Given that many of the fraudulent claims submitted did not look overly suspicious in isolation, the fact the scam was exposed is testament to the industry’s zero tolerance stance towards fraud.”

“Today’s verdict sends a clear message to fraudsters – you will be caught and face the consequences of prison sentences and a criminal record.”

Detective Inspector Gary Stephenson from Northumbria Police said: “This was a widespread and complex fraud investigation which led to three men being convicted for their roles in this scam. There is no such thing as a victimless crime and this enquiry shows we will target those who seek to defraud organisations and individuals out of thousands of pounds.”

A third man, Zaffa Hussain, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation after a fictitious insurance claim for which he arranged to crash two cars into each other. He was fined £800.

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