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 every year.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injury claims, even phantom pets.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21The 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.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Insurers are fighting back,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38The subject is out of the vehicle.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data analysis techniques.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44And highly skilled dedicated police units...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53All those conmen, scammers and cheats on the fiddle,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55now they're caught in the act
0:00:55 > 0:00:57and Claimed and Shamed.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Today, IFED is raiding the home of a suspected insurance cheat.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- The officers have found a hand gun. - Quite possibly everything in this house
0:01:12 > 0:01:15has been purchased from the proceeds of crime.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18An aircraft manufacturing giant fights a fraudster.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I've seen an awful lot of these over the years,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24but it was still pretty staggering to watch.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28And a smashed-up sports car is at the centre of a whodunit mystery.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31He was saying the rear end was completely smashed up.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33She said there was minimal damage to the rear of the car.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Photocopying can be pretty dull.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Sheet after sheet after sheet.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Followed by collating and stapling ad infinitum.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Imagine doing it all day.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53That's what Adam Roberts used to do for a commercial airline manufacturer.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56His career wasn't always this humdrum.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Up until October 2007,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01he used to make these.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Some of the biggest planes in the world.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Adam Roberts was working as an apprentice aircraft electrician.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11He was working in an aircraft factory
0:02:11 > 0:02:14helping to apply parts to aircraft wings.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18He could have expected to earn anywhere between 30,000, going up to 50,000 a year
0:02:18 > 0:02:22depending on where he was working and his experience.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Everything changed for Adam in 2007
0:02:25 > 0:02:28whilst working on one of the largest aircraft in the world.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32The accident was on 15 October 2007.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35And what he said was that he slipped on debris while he was working.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The injury was a wrenching injury to the back,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42a soft tissue injury which is alleged to have caused some sort of spinal problems.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45His injuries worsened over time,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47badly affecting his everyday life.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Before the accident, he'd liked to go horse-riding, playing golf,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54cycling and other such activities.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58But as a result of this accident and his supposed disability,
0:02:58 > 0:02:59he could no longer do that.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03He said that he had to use a crutch all the time and often two crutches.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08Due to his injuries, Adam was no longer capable of doing his job
0:03:08 > 0:03:09as an aircraft electrician.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13He tried it but said he found it too physically demanding.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17He was saying that he was at a big disadvantage in the labour market because he was disabled
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and it made a difference to his ability to work in the future.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22It imperilled his ability to work in the future.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Roberts, now stuck in an admin role,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27decided to make a claim against his employer.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31He was claiming for past care afforded by his family,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34for unspecified aids and equipment,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37and he was also claiming for future loss of earnings,
0:03:37 > 0:03:42future care and future equipment, plus a claim for future accommodation costs.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44My assessment of the overall value of the claim,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47including legal costs, was £670,000.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50It was a massive claim.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54To see it through, Roberts would need to provide medical evidence of his disability.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58When he issued his legal proceedings,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00he supported his proceedings with two medical reports,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02one from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and one from a consultant psychiatrist.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10And both of those doctors concluded that he had suffered injury in this accident
0:04:10 > 0:04:13and that that injury was responsible for his continuing disability.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17He looked to have a solid case.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18Just one more thing.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The insurers' medical examination.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24When I got the papers, I went through them in detail.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26There were a couple of things about the claim
0:04:26 > 0:04:29that raised my suspicions.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31There was no hard clinical pathology
0:04:31 > 0:04:35that our medical experts could find to justify the complaints.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38That was part of the issue for us in looking at this case very hard.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41There was a suggestion when he'd been examined in hospital
0:04:41 > 0:04:45that a test which is used to detect exaggeration
0:04:45 > 0:04:49had resulted in some not entirely straightforward responses.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Nothing conclusive had come from the medical reports.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57And with suspicions raised, the insurer set out to discover
0:04:57 > 0:04:59the real physical state of Adam Roberts.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02They hired a private investigator.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08He was put under surveillance for a period of three days in June 2011.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12From our point of view, the surveillance on the 17th June was the crucial surveillance.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14What it showed Mr Roberts doing was,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18after having come home from work on the Friday afternoon, it was Friday afternoon,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22he then drove to a house which we now know to be a house which his mother had just bought.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25In accordance with his claim,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29we should expect to see a badly disabled Adam Roberts using crutches
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and only capable of walking short distances at a time.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Here he comes now.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I've seen an awful lot of these over the years,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41but it was still pretty staggering to watch!
0:05:44 > 0:05:47An industrious Roberts emerges from the house
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and proceeds to dump the contents of a gutted bathroom into a skip.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Firstly he was shown putting some large pieces of board into the skip.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Not just putting them in, but ramming them in, breaking them on occasion
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and sometimes bashing them on the side of the skip.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Then, I think, as I recall it,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11he and his mother brought out a bath between them.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15But he was the one who picked it up and up-ended it into the skip.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18He brought out a lavatory cistern.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20There was a washbasin.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22There was a fire surround that he spent quite a lot of time
0:06:22 > 0:06:25bashing around and trying to get into the skip.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31There were bags of rubble, and you could see from the way he was carrying them
0:06:31 > 0:06:35that they weren't lightweight bags of rubble, they were builders' sacks
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and they were heavy. He was empting those into the skip, with dust everywhere.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42There were a number of items which he was trying to break up
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and bashing against the side of the skip.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49And it culminated, as I recall, with Mr Roberts actually jumping into the skip
0:06:49 > 0:06:55and actually tamping stuff down with his feet, jumping up and down on stuff a little bit
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and generally trying to settle stuff down the skip by being in it!
0:06:59 > 0:07:03And that's the point at which I just thought, "Oh, dear!"
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Roberts had tried to get a massive payout from the insurers.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10They weren't happy. They decided to take it to court.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15The reason for doing that was that we and the insurers
0:07:15 > 0:07:17felt it was necessary to send a message to people
0:07:17 > 0:07:20that they just can't do this and expect to get away with it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27The judges said they felt he was somebody who was prepared to lie to achieve his aims.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Adam Roberts was found guilty of contempt of court.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33He was sentenced to six months in jail.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It seems such a shame.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38He'd qualified as an aircraft electrician
0:07:38 > 0:07:41and to lose all that for the sake of exaggerating his symptoms
0:07:41 > 0:07:45is inexplicable to me, really. I don't understand why he did it.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49I don't think insurance fraud is ever worth the risk. It is fraud.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53People have kidded themselves, I think, into thinking they won't be found out.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56They will get found out, and when they get found out,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01as Adam Roberts' case shows, the consequences are very, very serious indeed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03You can end up ruining your life. And for what?
0:08:09 > 0:08:13An injured man makes a £17,000 claim.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15He'd stepped out of the car
0:08:15 > 0:08:17and put his foot onto a manhole cover
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and the manhole cover collapsed.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And a fast car takes a whack.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25In most cases, they normally take a hammer to the back of it.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Insurance fraud is on the rise.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And if you have insurance of any kind, you're footing the bill.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37But the fraudsters have an ominous enemy.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40IFED is a 35-strong unit
0:08:40 > 0:08:43that works tirelessly to hunt down
0:08:43 > 0:08:45and prosecute insurance fraudsters
0:08:45 > 0:08:47wherever they may be throughout England and Wales.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Through a combination of investigation, industry connections
0:08:52 > 0:08:54and surprise,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56they've made over 300 arrests
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and stopped millions of pounds from going to the criminals.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Money which ultimately goes back in our pockets.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06If you're thinking of committing insurance fraud,
0:09:06 > 0:09:08I'd say to you, "Think again."
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Because there's every chance that IFED could coming knocking on your front door.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:09:15 > 0:09:17It's 7.35am.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21In an attempt to stop the activities of a suspected fraud gang,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department
0:09:23 > 0:09:27are simultaneously executing raids at multiple addresses.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31IFED's Declan Malone and Simon Styles
0:09:31 > 0:09:34are heading to the address of the suspected ringleaders.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39This morning, we're off to the home address
0:09:39 > 0:09:42of the main suspect
0:09:42 > 0:09:45in a fake claims management company
0:09:45 > 0:09:48where he's setting up fake policies online
0:09:48 > 0:09:54and making claims on accidents that have never occurred
0:09:54 > 0:09:58and it's believed that the perpetrators have managed to achieve
0:09:58 > 0:09:59something like a quarter of a million pounds
0:09:59 > 0:10:02from their claims so far.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07The guy should be at his home address with his wife, who's also going to be arrested.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13It's one of six search warrants that have been issued simultaneously.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Alex, hi.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Yeah, we're just plotting up now. We'll be good to go in about five.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Because it's the house of the suspected ringleaders,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31as well as making arrests, they expect to find potential evidence
0:10:31 > 0:10:33of the gang's activities.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35It could be a big search.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Declan and Simon are joined by representatives from the Ministry of Justice,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43local police and the head IFED, DCI David Wood.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54MAN SHOUTS
0:10:54 > 0:10:55Quiet, please!
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Quiet, please!
0:10:56 > 0:10:59It's only 7.40am
0:10:59 > 0:11:01but the neighbours are out and about
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and agitated by the presence of the raid team.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09DCI David Wood steps in to stop the situation escalating.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13MAN CONTINUES TO SHOUT
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Would you like to come down, please? It's the police.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Thank you.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Hiya.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22I'm Declan Malone from the police. Can I speak to Mum or Dad?
0:11:23 > 0:11:26We need to come and speak to them. It's OK. Can I come in, please?
0:11:26 > 0:11:31We need to come in and get people out of the street
0:11:31 > 0:11:32so they don't get into trouble.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36Hello? Police!
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Hello? Hello? Police.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41IFED finds both suspects in the house.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43One of them is a familiar face.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45The individual arrested today,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48we believe is one of the main individuals involved
0:11:48 > 0:11:50in this particular insurance scam.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54He's been convicted before of a like-minded crime.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58I'm arresting you on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud
0:11:58 > 0:11:59and money laundering.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Both suspects are taken to a local police station for questioning.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10That's half the job done at this location.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14We're taking away the main suspect and his wife.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17He's been arrested for conspiracy to defraud and for money laundering.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20She's just been arrested for conspiracy to defraud.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29IFED can now begin a systematic search for potential evidence.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33It's a three-storey town house. It could be a big job.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37It's important we do everything and don't leave any stone unturned.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39We want to do the search properly.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42That's why we've called in the experts who are fully trained and qualified
0:12:42 > 0:12:45in current search techniques. Even better than us!
0:12:52 > 0:12:55The town house is new and fairly high spec.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00Its quality raises the suspicions of IFED's financial investigator, Simon Styles.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04From the enquiries that I've made,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I can see no trace of any member of the family actually working.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I've just to check on whether they're in receipt of any benefits.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15But this house, looking round it,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18there's a lot of nice stuff - clothes, material goods -
0:13:18 > 0:13:23and it's quite possible everything in this house has been purchased from the proceeds of crime.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Head of IFED, DCI David Wood,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29has received news from the other location of today's raid.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I've just received some breaking news from one of the addresses.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33The officers have found a hand gun.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36They're not sure exactly what it is,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39- so they've called out the local police- BLEEP- to the firearms scene
0:13:39 > 0:13:42to come and make it safe and identify exactly what the weapon is.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46IFED makes big discoveries
0:13:46 > 0:13:47in a small room.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49In the wrong hands, deadly.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It's upsetting and annoying to see,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54especially with being so close to where the children were, next to their bedroom.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00This is a street in Shrewsbury.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02It looks fairly innocuous.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Most people would feel safe walking down it.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07But watch your step.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11In 2012, local man Peter Finney was badly injured here.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15The culprit...
0:14:15 > 0:14:17a manhole cover.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Peter Finney was a passenger in a car
0:14:19 > 0:14:23and he stepped out of the car outside the Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28He put his foot onto a manhole cover and the manhole cover collapsed
0:14:28 > 0:14:30and he injured his leg.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The manhole was on private land.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Its upkeep was the responsibility of a hotel.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41The hotel's insurer would have to bear the brunt of Peter Finney's claim.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43They had a look at the details.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47He had soft tissue injuries to his leg.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50It's something which is not visible
0:14:50 > 0:14:55so it is soft tissue. Whiplash is the most obvious example that we get.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00But it's anything which is not easy to detect or easy to see.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05His injuries were severe enough to force him off work.
0:15:05 > 0:15:12Loss of earnings and mounting medical bills led Finney to seek compensation totalling £17,000.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16For a claim of this size, the insurer needed to know more about the accident.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21We asked him to give us some more information
0:15:21 > 0:15:26and eventually he provided a photograph of the manhole cover.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29This is what a well-maintained manhole cover looks like.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The one Peter Finney fell down
0:15:33 > 0:15:35looked like...this.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39It seemed as though the hotel had been negligent
0:15:39 > 0:15:41with the upkeep of the manhole.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43With cast-iron evidence like this,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Finney could look forward to getting his payout.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48But not yet.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Peter Finney's claim had a few irregularities.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Chasing further information,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57the insurer decided to visit the scene of the incident,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59the hotel in Shrewsbury.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Since Peter Finney's alleged accident,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06the hotel had replaced the manhole cover with a new one.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Although the manhole cover at the hotel was intact,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13they actually thought they'd replace it, just to be on the safe side.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17But luckily for the insurer, the manager had kept the old one.
0:16:18 > 0:16:24And when they saw it, it turned Peter Finney's claim into a criminal investigation.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31The manhole cover that's in the photo is a completely different construction.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33It's quite obvious to anybody.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37You wouldn't need forensic examination to see that these were different manhole covers.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42We referred him straight to the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Finney was in big trouble.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Since its inception, IFED's team of over 30 specialist detectives
0:16:51 > 0:16:53have made over 300 arrests.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Peter Finney was in their sights.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Detectives travelled to Shrewsbury and arrested Mr Finney
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and interviewed him at the local police station.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Mr Finney stuck to his original story
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and maintained that the injury had been suffered
0:17:08 > 0:17:12due to stepping on the defective - as he called it - manhole cover.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Faced with a stubborn suspect,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17IFED decided to take the case to court,
0:17:17 > 0:17:20causing Peter Finney to crack.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22On 31 January 2013,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Mr Finney attended Shrewsbury Magistrates Court
0:17:26 > 0:17:28and entered a plea of guilty
0:17:28 > 0:17:31to the charge of fraud by false representation.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36Peter Finney was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and ordered to do community service.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41It would have impacted on the hotel
0:17:41 > 0:17:43because there they are running their business
0:17:43 > 0:17:49when somebody chooses them to be the victim of a fictitious claim.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Ultimately it will impact on the premium that they'd have to pay
0:17:53 > 0:17:58had this person been successful in getting away with their scam.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Further breaking news. At another address, we've uncovered
0:18:03 > 0:18:06a CS spray canister.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Jeremy Clarkson doesn't care for them, but many do.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18Porsche cars have always been associated with speed and style.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And most people would agree they're not cheap.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22So, when one takes a shunt,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25it generally results in a big insurance claim.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32The black car in this tunnel is a Porsche.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Right behind the Porsche is a van
0:18:34 > 0:18:37belonging to Doncaster County Council.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43The driver of the Porsche, Mark Smith, is pretty annoyed right now
0:18:43 > 0:18:47as the white council van has just smashed into the back of him.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Luckily, the road layout meant the crash wasn't at high speed,
0:18:51 > 0:18:52so no-one was seriously injured.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57At the time of the accident, according to the report,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00the van wasn't going more than 30 miles an hour. Nor was Mark Smith.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Even at that speed, fixing a Porsche doesn't come cheap.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07The repair costs came to £27,000.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Mark Smith also filed a claim for whiplash
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and for the cost of a hire car until his was fixed.
0:19:14 > 0:19:20All in, the insurers of the council van were potentially facing a £100,000 claim.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23He would have got a high-end vehicle
0:19:23 > 0:19:25because of the Porsche he was driving, so he'd get like for like.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28You're looking at a lot of money each day. It soon starts adding up.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33Before they could pay out on the personal injury claim and hire charges,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38the insurers needed to make sure all of the claim's paperwork was in order.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40That's when they spotted a problem.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44They became suspicious when they obtained a statement from the van driver.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45When her statement came in,
0:19:45 > 0:19:50there were ambiguities between what she was saying and what Mark Smith was alleging.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He was saying the rear end was completely smashed up.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54She said there was minimal damage to the rear of the car.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57It was a big difference in opinion.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Did the Porsche suffer massive rear-end damage
0:20:00 > 0:20:02or just a small dent?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The insurance company sent out a specialist examiner
0:20:05 > 0:20:09to look at the vehicle and find out whose statement was more accurate.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13When the examination took place, photographs were taken.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17The rear end of this vehicle was completely smashed up.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Pictures can prove that.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22The Porsche looked to have been severely damaged,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25which backed up owner Mark Smith's version of events.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29But before they paid out, there was one last question.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Why did the driver of the council van say that the Porsche drove off
0:20:34 > 0:20:36with a small dent in its rear?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39The insurers had one last thing to look at.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45The tunnel has got CCTV both at the beginning and at the end of the tunnel.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48When they played the CCTV footage,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50this is what they saw.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53What happened was Mark Smith came into the tunnel on the outside lane
0:20:53 > 0:20:56which was completely clear, no traffic in front of him whatsoever.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59The van was driving on the nearside lane.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04He suddenly pulls in in front of the van and then slams on his brakes
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and does an emergency stop, causing the van to then rear shunt him.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12It looked like what's known in the business as a "slam on".
0:21:12 > 0:21:15A simple form of crash for cash.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18But Smith claimed to have good reason for his drastic manoeuvre.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23He was stating that he'd pulled into the nearside lane
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and had to do an emergency stop because the vehicles in front of him were braking.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32When you look at the CCTV, they weren't braking.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35You can see a slight brake on the vehicle in front of him,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37but not enough to do an emergency stop.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Mark Smith's case was falling apart.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44And if DC Kate Sibley needed one further piece of evidence against his claim,
0:21:44 > 0:21:45she had it.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Remember that photo of his Porsche
0:21:47 > 0:21:49with the rear end smashed up?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52That's what he was stating happened in the tunnel.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55But it can be physically seen, him coming out of the tunnel
0:21:55 > 0:21:59and the spoiler is still totally intact. Very little rear-end damage
0:21:59 > 0:22:00compared to what was in the photographs.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04The driver of the council van had said all along
0:22:04 > 0:22:08that the Porsche had driven away with a minor dent to its rear,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10and she was right.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12In order to maximise his claim,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16Mark Smith had further damaged his vehicle after the accident.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19In most cases, they normally take a hammer to the back of it,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21the rear end of it, and smash it up like that.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24In this case, I don't know how he did it. He never stated that.
0:22:24 > 0:22:30Mark Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32He was given a suspended six-month jail term
0:22:32 > 0:22:37and ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid community work.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Crash for cash is a big business at the moment.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43The implications can be quite serious
0:22:43 > 0:22:45and have been, in certain circumstances.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Worst-case scenario, somebody dies.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50I think they've got away with it for too long,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52but hopefully, not any more.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Today, IFED is executing multiple simultaneous raids.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Come down, please. It's the police.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03It has warrants for six members
0:23:03 > 0:23:06of a suspected fraudulent accident management gang.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Just received some breaking news from one of the addresses. The officers have found a hand gun.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Here at the address of the man thought to be the ringleader,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16the team has made two arrests
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and has begun an extensive search of this three-storey townhouse.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23IFED's financial investigator, Simon Styles,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25is on the first floor of the house.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28His attention has been drawn to a box room.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34This is of interest. It's a ceremonial sword.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36In the wrong hands, deadly.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41It's upsetting and annoying, especially when it's so close to the children's bedrooms.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Having been drawn to the room,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46IFED conducts a thorough search of its contents.
0:23:46 > 0:23:52This is the hub of the enterprise we're talking about, the insurance scam. This may be where it happened.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56It turns out the room is crammed with documents
0:23:56 > 0:23:59relating to vehicle insurance policies.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02What I note here is the vehicle registration number.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04This relates to a vehicle
0:24:04 > 0:24:08that is currently sat on the driveway of this premises,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13that I know from my investigation has been used, or the registration number has been used,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15in contrived accidents.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20The car is meticulously searched for further evidence.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25We noticed on the front passenger seat there was some documentation.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Even looking through the window, we noticed it was in relation to a road traffic accident
0:24:29 > 0:24:32which we're interested in, in connection with an enquiry.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36So those bits of paper have been seized while we search the vehicle
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and they are entered into the evidence chain.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42From its research, IFED knows a bit about the car's history.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44According to insurance records,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48the car has been involved in several bumps and scrapes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Each time, the owners received hundreds or thousands of pounds for the claim.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55The car is, at most, worth a couple of thousand pounds.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00The children's bedrooms also have to be searched.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07It's such a shame when you're turning someone's bedroom upside-down, especially a girl's.
0:25:07 > 0:25:13But unfortunately, people do hide things in strange places
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and what I tend to do is be as sensitive as possible
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and look at things, and if I don't need them, I put them back
0:25:19 > 0:25:21exactly where I found it
0:25:21 > 0:25:23so there's no disruption to their lives.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30We're looking at sim cards and credit cards, things like that,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32that can be stuck underneath.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Things that you wouldn't, if you open a drawer, you wouldn't normally see.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Simon has found something of interest in a school satchel.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46This book, I've opened the first page,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50it's got a line here, "cheap quotes online".
0:25:50 > 0:25:52And a phone number.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55As we're here for insurance scams,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58it may be something that later may well incriminate that individual.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Simon heads to the box room
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and removes what may be the heart of the operation.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13This, I believe, is a storage unit
0:26:13 > 0:26:19that any history of any of the contrived accidents, any of the claims,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22any of the setting up of the claims management companies -
0:26:22 > 0:26:25there have been a number of claims management companies that have been set up -
0:26:25 > 0:26:31so anything that has been used in the contrived accidents maybe well be stored here.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35So this may well hold the key, really, to what we're all about.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Today, DC Declan Malone is the exhibits officer.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Anything taken as potential evidence has to pass under his nose.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54So far, we've received vehicle documentation, log books,
0:26:54 > 0:27:00we've received computers, and storage data devices have been seized.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04So we're quite happy with what we've got so far.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09Declan has found some items of interest on the top floor of the house.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15He's got a contingency plan. He's got two driving licences in his own name.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Current ones.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19And also he's done the same with passports.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24He's got two of them, both British passports,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26in his own name with the correct details.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Holding two passports from one country is highly suspicious
0:27:30 > 0:27:33and often indicative of criminal activity.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35So Declan is bagging them up.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Every room of the suspected ringleader's house has been searched.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42IFED has found a boot-load of potential evidence.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45This part of the multiple raid is done.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And there's been a good result at the other raid location.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Further breaking news.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56At another address, we've uncovered a CS spray canister.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59So a person has been further arrested for possession of that article.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01And at a separate address,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05they've found a selection of baseball bats and balaclavas
0:28:05 > 0:28:09which we obviously suspect to be gang-related paraphernalia.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11So again, they'll be in the evidence chain
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and questions will be asked of the suspects when they're interviewed later today.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19A good day at the office for DCI Wood and his fraud-busting team.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd