Jury finds 10 people guilty of conspiracy to defraud in Chester bus crash scam

A jury at Manchester Crown court has found 10 people guilty of conspiracy to defraud in one of the largest scams of its type ever detected.  A further 5 people had already admitted their involvement.

The case, brought by the Cheshire Constabulary, centred around stage-managed accidents involving First Group buses on routes in the Chester area.  In each of seven collisions a car, and in one case a van deliberately drove into a bus.  In total 218 bus passengers submitted personal injury claims totalling more than £1m as a result of the collisions. 

A number of insurers were impacted by the fraud.  Leading insurance industry legal practice, Horwich Farrelly, represented ERS which insured a vehicle that was hired specifically to be used in one of the collisions.  Crucial evidence gathered from this incident was instrumental in the prosecution.

Ronan McCann, Horwich Farrelly fraud partner comments: “Our clients are prepared to commit significant resources to investigating and fighting such attempts to defraud them.  We are pleased that ERS and ourselves were able to provide the high quality evidence required for the Cheshire Constabulary to bring this case to a successful conclusion.  We welcome the court’s verdict and hope this will act as a deterrent to anyone contemplating undertaking this type of large scale fraud.”

The prosecution alleged that most of the claimants were relatives, friends and associates of the defendants.  However, because of the scale of the incident they decided to concentrate on the suspected ringleaders of the fraud.

One of those found guilty was John Christopher Smith, who ran accident management company Swift Accident Solutions.  It was claimed in court that Smith had benefited to the tune of around £157,000 from referral fees alone on 177 of the claims arising out of these collisions. 

Peter Smith, ERS claims director said: “At ERS claims we have a zero tolerance policy to fraudulent claims. 

“Working closely with our legal partner, Horwich Farrelly, we therefore made every effort to support the excellent work conducted by Cheshire Constabulary in attempting to disrupt and prosecute the organisers of what we believe to be a sophisticated insurance fraud ring.  We strive to protect the premiums of honest policyholders by making sure that fraudsters are brought to justice and would like to take this opportunity to commend the Cheshire Constabulary on their efforts, which left no stone unturned.”

Ronan McCann added: ”I would also commend Cheshire Constabulary for their tenacity in pursuing this case.  It demonstrates that regional police forces have a vital role to play alongside IFED in fighting organised fraud.”

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