Three people from Manchester have been jailed for their involvement in a fictitious road traffic collision where they tried to defraud their insurer, Diamond, out of £27,268.
Hammad Michel Khan claimed that his Suzuki Liana, which was carrying four passengers, crashed with a Ford Focus driven by a third party. Siblings Abdullah and Natasha Tanveer alleged to have been amongst three passengers reported in the third-party vehicle. The high occupancy of each vehicle raised the suspicions of Diamond, who referred the case for investigation to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).
Investigations revealed that the identity of the third party had been stolen in order to facilitate the fraud. Forensic evidence also indicated that the collision could not have occurred in the way in which it was described.
The trio were sentenced on Monday 2 August 2021 at Manchester Crown Court as follows:
- Hammad Michel Khan, 30 of Manchester, two years and two months imprisonment for Fraud by False Representation
- Natasha Tanveer, 30, of Manchester, two years and nine months imprisonment for Fraud by False Representation
- Abdullah Tanveer, 27, of Manchester, two years and six months imprisonment for Fraud by False Representation
Hammad Khan and Abdullah Tanveer had previously pleaded guilty, whilst Natasha Tanveer pleaded not guilty but was found to be guilty at trial.
Detective Constable Andrew Porcher, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said:
“This was a shameless and ludicrous attempt to defraud an insurer out of a substantial amount of money. The trio showed no qualms in incriminating an unknowing stranger by stealing his identity to commit this fraud.
“Fortunately, concerns were raised by industry experts to IFED when they noticed the high occupancy of each vehicle. Investigations flagged a number of issues surrounding the claim, proving that the group had lied about the alleged collision and those involved.
“The outcome reflects that bogus cases like this do not go unnoticed by the industry or law enforcement, and we will work collaboratively to bring these fraudsters to justice.”
Khan took out a policy with Diamond around two months before the alleged collision occurred. In July 2016, Khan contacted the insurer to report that he had collided with another vehicle whilst pulling out of a T-junction the day before. Khan also provided a name for the third party, who later submitted a Claim Notification Form which listed an address in Manchester as his residence.
Enquiries were unable to locate the third party at the address in Manchester, finding that the individual in fact lived in London. IFED officers later visited the Manchester address, discovering Natasha’s husband at the property. Further checks proved that this address was associated with Abdullah Tanveer and not the third party as previously stated. Evidence established that the trio stole the identity of the individual living in London, but used Abdullah Tanveer’s address when reporting the collision.
In addition to this, officers discovered that the bank account number provided for the third party belonged to Natasha Tanveer’s daughter.
A forensic examination was undertaken on Khan’s Suzuki, which exposed that the accident could not have taken place as reported to the insurer. The inspection found that the damage to the car was not consistent with the circumstances described, and that the seatbelts had not obtained the friction marks expected from this type of collision.
All three suspects were interviewed, answering ‘no comment’ to all questions relating to the investigation.
Ben Neyland, Head of Claims Fraud at Admiral Group commented, “We’d like to thank IFED for its support and hard work investigating this case. We’re understandably satisfied with this ruling and the message it sends to anyone considering making a fraudulent claim. Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, it affects all motorists through higher premiums and we hope the outcome of this case sends a warning that Admiral will investigate suspicious claims and fight against dishonesty and anyone failing to tell the truth.”
Mr Bhatia, whose identity was stolen by the trio, said, “I was very shocked and felt violated when I heard that my details had been used to commit this offence. I have been a victim of identity theft in the past, so I am very pleased with the outcome and sentencing levels, and also that the criminals are now paying for using my details to facilitate this fraud.”