0:00:03 > 0:00:07Insurance fraud in the UK is reaching epidemic levels,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09and it's costing us billions of pounds a year.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injury claims,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17even fake deaths.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23The fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and every year, it's adding up to £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Insurers are fighting back.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Armed with covert surveillance systems,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38sophisticated data analysis techniques...
0:00:38 > 0:00:42This is connected to a bank account and a second mobile phone number.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44..and a newly formed, dedicated police unit...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Police! Step back!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..they're catching the criminals red handed.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54All those conmen, scammers and cheats on the fiddle,
0:00:54 > 0:00:55now they're caught in the act
0:00:55 > 0:00:58and Claimed and Shamed.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Today, the police insurance fraud team - IFED -
0:01:08 > 0:01:11is hunting down suspects...
0:01:11 > 0:01:13He needs to phone, cos otherwise we'll come back
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and we'll keep coming back, until we get him. OK?
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Cos this is quite serious. It's not going to go away.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22..a would-be conman comes a cropper...
0:01:22 > 0:01:25There's no way that it could have happened as it was described.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28..and a claimer is shamed in the gym.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34There was no form of dysfunction visible in any way, shape or form.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41This is Milton Keynes, home to Michael Richards.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Eight years ago, Michael was a passenger in a serious car crash.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The vehicle smashed into a wall, killing the driver,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53but Michael pulled through.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Unfortunately, the driver didn't have insurance,
0:01:59 > 0:02:04so Michael's case was passed on to the MIB - Motor Insurers Bureau -
0:02:04 > 0:02:07an organisation set up and funded by the insurance industry.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09The MIB is there to compensate
0:02:09 > 0:02:14innocent victims of uninsured and untraced drivers.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16And that means a whole variety of injuries.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It could be a minor injury, it could be a catastrophic injury.
0:02:19 > 0:02:20We're there to help those people,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23to provide a fund from which they can claim compensation.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Details of the crash, and Michael's medical treatments, were passed to the MIB.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33Michael Richards said he had a head injury, as well as other injuries.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38And he presented in a way suggesting that he had such a bad brain injury
0:02:38 > 0:02:39that he was virtually mute.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42He was saying he needed care, he needed a lot of help,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44that he could hardly speak and that he needed lots of help
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and assistance to carry on his normal life.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51He made a claim to the MIB because the driver wasn't insured
0:02:51 > 0:02:53and that was his only route, potentially, to compensation.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55What's called "a schedule of loss",
0:02:55 > 0:02:58which is, essentially, a shopping list-type claim
0:02:58 > 0:03:01presented to us by his lawyers,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04totalled some £2.35 million.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08The severity of the head injury that Michael was claiming for
0:03:08 > 0:03:11meant that the MIB was dealing with a huge payout for care and assistance,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15so it was natural for them to look closely at the case
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and order medical examinations.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19When he saw one of our experts,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22in one interview, he uttered 15 words in an 80-minute interview.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27He said that he was seriously impaired by his injuries.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31But as the MIB continued its investigations,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33they noticed some strange inconsistencies.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Subsequently, we obtained his police records.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Now this showed, subsequent to the accident in the car,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44he was arrested for another offence.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And when we obtained the PACE interview notes,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50it was clear he was talking perfectly normally to the police officers.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And it was also clear, he had been giving us a false address.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58The MIB was, by now, so suspicious, it called in expert investigators,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01specialising in covert filming.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03We live in a surveillance society.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Effectively fraudsters are aware they might be placed under surveillance.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10To that end, we have to stay one step ahead of the game
0:04:10 > 0:04:14and the equipment that we have to use has to be cutting edge.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15It's as simple as that.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Using all its expertise to stay hidden,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23the surveillance team went deep undercover to find out what was really going on.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26What we did discover, when we eventually turned up
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and undertook the surveillance on him, was that he was visiting a gym.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Filming in a gym is obviously going to be quite a difficult scenario
0:04:34 > 0:04:36for the operatives to find themselves in.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40They're likely to be in sportswear - there's not a lot of room
0:04:40 > 0:04:43to hide a camera in a pair of shorts or a sports vest.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47But they overcame these challenges
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and were able to film Michael without being detected.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52What they discovered was jaw dropping.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57He was talking and bantering with other gym users.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01There was no form of dysfunction visible in any way shape or form.
0:05:01 > 0:05:08Here was a man who was going about his normal routine, or daily life,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10and wasn't hampered in any way, shape or form,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14by the purported injury that he had sustained.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It was solid evidence of lying and fraud.
0:05:17 > 0:05:24We presented this evidence to Mr Richards, via his lawyers, who promptly withdrew his claim.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27But the MIB wasn't prepared to let the case drop.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30It wanted to see Michael's attempt to defraud them punished.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31We took the case to court.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35The judge accepted that he had tried to mislead the court,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38he was guilty of contempt of court.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Consequently, Mr Richards received a prison sentence.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Michael was sentenced to four months in prison
0:05:45 > 0:05:47for falsely claiming £2.35 million.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51For us, it felt excellent
0:05:51 > 0:05:54that someone who was claiming a seven-figure sum,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57their case was pushed all the way through to the criminal court.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00It felt as if that person had received their just desserts.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08One of the largest-ever insurance fraud rings is busted...
0:06:08 > 0:06:12In that 18 months, they could have made £3.2 million.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15..and a swindling claimer is shamed for life.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18What this shows you is that it's not OK to do that
0:06:18 > 0:06:20and do you realise what impact that'll have on your friends
0:06:20 > 0:06:22and your family if you get caught?
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Police! Step back!
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Insurance fraud is on the rise.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Hunting and punishing the criminals responsible is an elite police squad
0:06:34 > 0:06:37called the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department - IFED.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department was set up this year,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44with the sole intention of combating the rise in insurance fraud.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49We are a dedicated unit that works exclusively tackling that problem.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53A growing number of fraudsters are prepared to lie and cheat their way
0:06:53 > 0:06:54to money they don't deserve.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58But they'd better watch their backs, because IFED is on the case.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Since our go-live date earlier this year,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04we've effected over 120 arrests in the first six months
0:07:04 > 0:07:06and we are continuing to work up and down the country,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09bringing these offenders to justice.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12IFED is determined to win the fight against fraudsters.
0:07:13 > 0:07:14We're out to stop them in their tracks.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18There's every chance that an IFED detective may come knocking on their door,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20to arrest them for committing an insurance fraud.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Yes, we're looking to go to two addresses today,
0:07:29 > 0:07:35to arrest two suspects who we believe have conspired together to plan, um,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39a crash between a coach and a car,
0:07:39 > 0:07:43purely for the purposes of submitting fake personal injury whiplash claims.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46The evidence that we'll be looking at today,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49we'll be looking to find any documentation
0:07:49 > 0:07:52in relation to any of those insurance claims.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Um, any vehicle documentation of the vehicle
0:07:55 > 0:07:58that was involved in the collision with the coach.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02And also one very important thing is mobile phones,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06because we believe there has been some form of mobile phone contact,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10both before and immediately after the crash
0:08:10 > 0:08:12between individuals on the coach
0:08:12 > 0:08:17and the main person, who we know has planned this particular fraud.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21IFED believes that the two suspects hoped to make money
0:08:21 > 0:08:26by claiming falsely for whiplash injuries sustained in the fake crash.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27If the claim had paid out,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30with numerous personal injury claims and damage to vehicles,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33they were set to make over £100,000.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35IFED needs to find their first suspect
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and they also need to find evidence
0:08:37 > 0:08:41that links him to the car and the coach passengers.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44They begin their search for the suspect at his mum's house.
0:08:46 > 0:08:54- Police! Hello. BLEEP City Police. Who's here? Just yourself?- Me, yeah. - Where is his flat?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57The first suspect's mum claims that she doesn't know where his flat is.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00She's saying he lives in his own flat, moved out four months ago,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04she doesn't know the door number, doesn't know the flat name.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07She says she's got no contact number for her own son, everything else,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10so she's clearly lying to us, clearly obstructing us,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14probably so she can put a phone call in as soon as we've gone
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and tip him off, really, that we're on our way.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20She tells them to try his ex-partner's place,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23but says she doesn't know the exact address of that, either.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26What does the front door...? What colour is the front door?
0:09:26 > 0:09:29I think that you're lying to me and my patience is wearing a bit thin.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31How do you get in contact? So he doesn't phone you?
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Do you have a mobile? You don't have a mobile?
0:09:35 > 0:09:38He needs to phone, because otherwise we'll come back
0:09:38 > 0:09:40and we'll keep coming back until we get him. OK?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Because this is quite serious, it's not going to go away.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Using the rough information she's given them,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49their next stop is the house of the first suspect's ex-partner.
0:09:51 > 0:09:52Police. Is he in?
0:09:52 > 0:09:54No. He doesn't live here with me.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Do you know his address?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- No.- All right. OK.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01The ex-partner has no idea where he is
0:10:01 > 0:10:05and the hunt is beginning to feel like a wild goose chase.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Their investigations have given them one last address to try.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10He's opening up, he's opening up.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14They arrive at the block of flats
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and quickly establish which apartment the suspects are in.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19That's where they are?
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Are they in?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Finally, it seems like they're getting closer.
0:10:35 > 0:10:36Hello, mate.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39BLEEP
0:10:40 > 0:10:41Not here. Does he live here?
0:10:43 > 0:10:44What number?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Yet again the first suspect seems to have eluded them,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51but suddenly, they get a lead about the second suspect.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Do you just live here on your own?
0:10:53 > 0:10:54What's his name?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56When the man reveals the name of his son,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58they realise they've found the second suspect.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Then he backtracks and confirms the first suspect is there, too.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Right, where are they?
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Can you hang on?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09What? No? I'm not hanging on.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Can I have a word with you, mate? Can you come in the front room?
0:11:12 > 0:11:17But when they enter the premises, it's clear he's hiding from them.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18Is he in there?
0:11:18 > 0:11:20It doesn't take long to flush him out though.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21- Yeah?- Bathroom.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25All right. So don't give me no more BLEEP, all right?
0:11:25 > 0:11:28All right, mate. Have a seat.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32Right, you're being arrested for conspiracy to defraud, OK?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Although suspects are under arrest,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37it's still far from being a watertight case.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41It's vital that the team find documentary evidence of the suspected fraud,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43or the charges won't stand up and the whole case will be dropped.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50What I don't want to do is turn this upside down and shake it, yeah?
0:11:50 > 0:11:51Which I will do if I have to.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54But if you give us what I'm asking, there's no need for me to do that.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03The enhanced security features on top-of-the-range cars
0:12:03 > 0:12:05mean that thieves are losing out
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and fraudsters are being stopped in their tracks, too.
0:12:09 > 0:12:15Headteacher Alan Bromley drove a car that befitted his status - a BMW 3 series.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18But if he'd gone for a more downmarket car,
0:12:18 > 0:12:20he might have got away with his scam.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24One night, he drove to a carol service and parked nearby,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27keeping the keys in his possession the whole time.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Afterwards, he got a lift home because he'd had a few drinks.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34A short time later, his car was found ablaze six miles away.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40Alan contacted his insurers to say his car had been stolen and set on fire.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44But right from the start, things didn't add up.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51Ursula Coulibaly is Head of Financial Crime and worked on the Alan Bromley claim.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55We first suspected there may be something wrong
0:12:55 > 0:12:58with Alan Bromley's claim
0:12:58 > 0:13:01when he phoned through to our fire and theft teams.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The reports we had from the police and fire brigade, some of the information that was in there
0:13:05 > 0:13:07again contradicted the story that Mr Bromley gave us
0:13:07 > 0:13:10when he initially made his claim.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15The insurers were particularly concerned about the timings Alan had given them.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18The independent engineers' report that we asked for,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20again as part of the investigation,
0:13:20 > 0:13:25specifically set out, if the car was stolen without keys,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28what tools they'd need to have to steal the car
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and how long it would take.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36With the timings that Mr Bromley gave us and the time that the fire brigade attended,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39there's no way that it could have happened as it was described.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Alarm bells were ringing
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and the insurers asked a company specialising in vehicle examination
0:13:44 > 0:13:46to look at what was left of the car.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Phil Hoyes is the engineer who performed the inspection.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51When I found the vehicle,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54it had sustained quite heavy fire damage.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58The condition of the car was approaching a complete burn out.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Even so, he was still able to carry out a thorough assessment.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06My remit was quite straightforward for examining the car -
0:14:06 > 0:14:10it was to determine whether there were any signs of forced entry.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13When I got to examining the locking systems and the doors,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16there were no signs of forced damage to the locking systems
0:14:16 > 0:14:19or around the door hinges or the door frames themselves
0:14:19 > 0:14:20or the door mechanisms.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23So if the doors hadn't been forced,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27then the only way into the car for a thief would have been the windows.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28There was a problem there, too.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31A close examination inside the doors
0:14:31 > 0:14:36found the glass from the windows had melted inside the doors,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39showing the windows weren't smashed. If the windows had been smashed
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and forced entry had been gained that way,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46then you would have found fragments of the glass inside the vehicle
0:14:46 > 0:14:48and it would have melted in that position.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50He hadn't lost the keys,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53there was no forced entry and the windows hadn't been smashed.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55So how could the car have been stolen?
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Alan Bromley's story was going up in smoke, but he wasn't going to budge.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01Despite the information
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and the evidence that we managed to gain from our investigation,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10Mr Bromley has been adamant throughout that he's not acted in a fraudulent manner.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14There was one more piece of evidence for the insurers to analyse
0:15:14 > 0:15:15and it proved to be the most important.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20the key to what really happened was just that - the car key.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26It contains a microchip, which records detailed information about the car that can be analysed later.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29It does give us information, such as the mileage at the last time it was driven
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and also the last time it was used.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36When we did the keys analysis report, it contradicted Alan Bromley's case.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39What it told us actually was that the car had been used after
0:15:39 > 0:15:42he'd told us he'd used it last and, in addition to that,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45it was just shortly before the fire brigade were called.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50They now had all the evidence. The only thing missing was a motive.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52But luckily, the keys analysis report
0:15:52 > 0:15:54and evidence from the financial contract for the car
0:15:54 > 0:15:57gave them the information they needed.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Within that contract, there were terms around how much mileage he could do per year.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Once again, from the keys report, that helped us to determine
0:16:05 > 0:16:08that actually Mr Bromley had gone way over his mileage allowance.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11In the event he gave his car back,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15he would either have to pay the entire financial agreement, in full,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19or he'd have to pay the excess for the additional mileage, which was significant.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23We believe that was the financial motive for what happened.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25With evidence and a motive,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29the insurers informed Mr Bromley they wouldn't be paying his claim.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31At that point, the police moved in to arrest him.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36But even then, Alan Bromley stuck to his version of events.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41Mr Bromley has always denied that the claim he submitted was fraudulent
0:16:41 > 0:16:45throughout our investigation process and once it went to court.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Alan Bromley was prosecuted for false representation
0:16:49 > 0:16:51and he was given a 12-week suspended sentence.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Although he stood to lose a lot of money on the vehicle contract,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00the cost to Alan Bromley's reputation and career is arguably greater.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03He's currently banned from teaching.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07In Mr Bromley's case, he was upstanding in the community,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09he was a headteacher, well thought of
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and what this shows you is that it's not OK to do that
0:17:12 > 0:17:17and do you realise what impact that'll have on your friends and family if you get caught?
0:17:17 > 0:17:20If you're ever thinking about doing something like this, think again.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Insurers are a lot better at detecting fraud.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26And now we've got the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31and they will take action, don't let it be you that they come to next.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40While some fraudsters exaggerate claims for genuine car accidents...
0:17:40 > 0:17:43And just brake, brake, brake. Yes.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48..others demand compensation for collisions that never even happened.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50These so-called accidents are known as staged crashes
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and can generate a lot of money.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58This makes them an attractive prospect for criminal gangs.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03As far back as 2006, Longmeadow Farm near Luton
0:18:03 > 0:18:06was on the police radar as a possible setting for organised criminal activity.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10At the time, the police had no actual evidence of any wrongdoing,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13so they decided to set up a surveillance team to find out more.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23Detective Constable Mick Conneely, who has since retired, was part of the operation.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24The purpose of doing the observations
0:18:24 > 0:18:26was to establish what criminality
0:18:26 > 0:18:30the group of people at Longmeadow Farm were involved in, if any.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32And it wasn't long
0:18:32 > 0:18:35before the police surveillance at the farm began to bear fruit.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38When this blue Astra arrives at Longmeadow,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40it looks to be in pretty good nick.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43But without ever leaving the farm, 24 hours later,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47it's so smashed up that it's become a complete write off.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It's clear evidence of a car being deliberately damaged.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53There were vehicles that were being damaged at Longmeadow Farm.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57So that gave us the view that they were involved in criminal activity
0:18:57 > 0:19:02involved around staged, induced, exaggerated accident claims.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05But staged accidents were just the start.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09There were more revelations when the police expanded the investigation.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11We made contact with the insurers
0:19:11 > 0:19:15and established that some of the vehicles on the farm
0:19:15 > 0:19:18were also subject of accident claims and, from that,
0:19:18 > 0:19:19we were able to establish
0:19:19 > 0:19:22who the accident management company were that were involved in that
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and that came down to a company called Swift Accident Management.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29It was only when we looked at who was managing all those accidents,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32it turns out they were in business with the people from Longmeadow Farm.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38Accident management companies exist solely to manage and process claims from people involved in accidents.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42The link between the people who were damaging cars at Longmeadow Farm
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and the people who operated Swift Accident Management
0:19:45 > 0:19:49immediately aroused suspicion and pointed towards Swift operating fraudulently.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52There are genuine accident management companies,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55but there are a lot of accident management companies
0:19:55 > 0:19:58who are either completely fraudulent or who do some fraud,
0:19:58 > 0:19:59in that they exaggerate claims,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03they add ghost passengers to claims, so they make money fraudulently.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Ghost passengers is the term for when an accident management company
0:20:08 > 0:20:11adds fictitious passengers to a genuine accident,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15in order to bump up the amount of personal injury being claimed.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18It was a technique that Swift used to cheat more money out of insurers.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22But the fraudulent behaviour didn't stop there.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24At the same office where they were,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27there was a taxi company called Kim's Fleet Cars.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29The manager of Kim's Fleet Cars
0:20:29 > 0:20:33was the brother of the manager of Swift Accident Management.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37So they had a number of drivers there and a number of cars that they used in fraudulent claims.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40They created their own business by staging their own accidents
0:20:40 > 0:20:42where an accident's never happened.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46They're completely fictitious, so that any money that's made
0:20:46 > 0:20:48goes directly to the accident management company
0:20:48 > 0:20:51and it's a way of making a lot of money from a single claim.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54There was now enough evidence to convince the police
0:20:54 > 0:20:57they had uncovered a huge web of criminal activity.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Between them, the criminals at Swift and Longmeadow Farm
0:21:00 > 0:21:04were creating staged accidents on an industrial scale.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Swift Accident Management themselves were in business
0:21:08 > 0:21:11between August 2005 and November 2006,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15so in effect they were in business for about 18 months.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19In that 18 months, they dealt with 180 accident claims
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and, out of those, there were 230 individual claims.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26So the extra 50 were for personal injury claims.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27So it was a lot in that period of time
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and, of course, that generates a huge amount of money.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34It looks like the level of criminality didn't stop there.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38It seems one of the gang members was also engaged in a more basic form of theft -
0:21:38 > 0:21:40stealing CDs from the wrecked cars.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44In terms of claims already paid out and claims submitted,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Swift stood to cheat the insurers out of a mind-blowing amount of money.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51If you look at what Swift could have made, in that 18 months,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54they could have made £3.2 million.
0:21:55 > 0:22:01The police operation ensured the gang operating Swift and Longmeadow Farm didn't get away with it.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Once they had evidence of cars being deliberately damaged, the police moved in.
0:22:05 > 0:22:11The sheer scale of the criminal operation meant that 750 people gave statements,
0:22:11 > 0:22:1460 people were arrested and 36 vehicles were seized.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19The hearings alone lasted three years and 37 people were convicted.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Police! Hello.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, IFED,
0:22:32 > 0:22:37is on the hunt for suspects it believes are linked to an alleged crash-for-cash scam.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39After being given the run-around,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43IFED eventually tracks down the man they believe to be the ringleader
0:22:43 > 0:22:47to a flat belonging to the other suspect on their list.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50The IFED team cracks on with their search for evidence.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Is that them all?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55What I don't want to do is turn this upside down and shake it,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57which I will do if I have to,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00but if you give us what I'm asking to there's no need for me to do that.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01All right, mate.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06What they're looking for is proof of the link between the two men
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and the accident with the coach and the car.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12We've found two mobile phones that we are interested in.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14We've found some documentation.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I believe it links him to the offence that we're investigating.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24We've also found a number of bank cards which I want to compare to certain elements of the offence.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28But that's just the start. As the IFED team searches the flat,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31they turn up signs of a separate offence.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38So what are they? Everton?
0:23:40 > 0:23:45So they're all counterfeit gear, basically, then, yeah?
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Right. Bag it all up.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Does it work? How old is it?
0:23:54 > 0:23:58They decide to get the suspects taken to a local police station,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01but the search for evidence continues.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Police! Hello!
0:24:10 > 0:24:13DS Mark Forster leads the search in the first suspect's flat.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15This is how we found it when we've come in the bedroom.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20There's a box that may have been taken off the wardrobe or some other place.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24There's a bag here which is empty,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27so I can only presume that all this documentation was in this bag.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31So at some time shortly before we've arrived and arrested him this morning,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35um, he's obviously had a quick rummage through this,
0:24:35 > 0:24:40maybe in an attempt to try and get rid of evidence, basically,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42that might be key to our investigation.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44He's obviously been tipped off that we were looking for him,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48cos we've been to his mother's address, to his ex-partner's address.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50We know that, when we arrested him upstairs,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53his mobile phone is sat on the table, ringing,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55with his mum trying to get in touch with him.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58She told us she didn't know where he lived, didn't know his address,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01didn't have his contact telephone number for him,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04or any way of getting in touch with him,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07so I'll be going back and having a word with mum later on today.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09After sifting through the paperwork,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Mark finds the evidence he's looking for -
0:25:13 > 0:25:14a link between the suspect and the vehicle.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17We've found a driving licence
0:25:17 > 0:25:23belonging to the driver of the car that hit the coach up the rear.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25We've found insurance documentation
0:25:25 > 0:25:27relating to the insurance of that vehicle.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30MOT certificates, a current MOT certificate for that vehicle.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34And various other scraps of paper
0:25:34 > 0:25:38with lists of names which we believe may, um, be those people
0:25:38 > 0:25:41that were on the coach at the time of the accident,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45who have subsequently put in personal injury claims.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49So it's nice, because it links the gentleman who lives here
0:25:49 > 0:25:53to both parties - those on the coach and the driver of the car.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57And it's fantastic evidence for us,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00certainly more than we thought we'd find.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Both suspects are currently on bail.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08If charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and found guilty,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11they could get a jail term of up to ten years.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13In the first six months of operation,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17IFED has already busted 80 suspected fraudsters.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21This pair aren't the first - and they certainly won't be the last
0:26:21 > 0:26:23to get a knock on the door from the elite police squad.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd