0:00:03 > 0:00:06Insurance fraud in the UK is reaching epidemic levels.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09And it's costing us billions of pounds every year.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injury claims,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16even phantom pets.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22The 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 > 0:00:37'The subject is out of the vehicle.'
0:00:37 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data analysis techniques.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44And highly skilled dedicated police units...
0:00:44 > 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.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Today, a crack police squad
0:01:09 > 0:01:12dedicated to stamping out insurance fraud
0:01:12 > 0:01:14executes an early-morning raid.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26A man who claims he's too disabled to work
0:01:26 > 0:01:29is caught lugging kitchen units at a warehouse.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33It was quite galling. If it wasn't so serious, it would be humorous.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And a fraudulent claim for an old banger goes nowhere
0:01:36 > 0:01:39after the owner is caught providing fake photos.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45One of the photographs he supplied was a direct lift from a website of a Bentley dealership!
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Building sites are known for strict health and safety regulations.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54But accidents do happen.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58In 2005, a fall from a vehicle like this
0:01:58 > 0:02:04resulted in a personal injury case so fiercely contested that it led to a change in the law.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08David Spencer from law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer worked on the case.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12He started by looking into the man at the centre of the claim,
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Sean Summers.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17He says that he slipped from a stacker truck,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20a kind of JCB-type vehicle.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23The injuries that Sean sustained were a fracture to his wrist
0:02:23 > 0:02:26which was relatively minor and relatively straightforward.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29The fracture to his ankle was quite serious.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33It required pins being put in
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and a second operation for a bone graft.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38No-one had witnessed the accident.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43And a judge ruled that Summers' employers, Fairclough Homes, were liable.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47The insurers would have to compensate him
0:02:47 > 0:02:49for any loss suffered as a result of the accident.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54And if Sean Summers' claims about the extent of his injuries were true,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56the losses would be considerable.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59According to him, he couldn't walk without the aid of elbow crutches.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02He wasn't able to walk up and down stairs.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04He wasn't able to stand for long periods of time.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Just as serious was his assertion that he would never work again.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11So his claim for loss of earnings for a man who was in his middle 20s
0:03:11 > 0:03:15was significant, into the many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Because he said that he was unlikely to ever fully recover from his injuries
0:03:19 > 0:03:23he also said he would continue to require care and services for the rest of his life.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28The various costs came to a grand total of:
0:03:28 > 0:03:34But it seemed out of all proportion to the actual injuries he'd suffered.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39We've seen similar and worse injuries where people have made a quicker and better recovery.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And so one of the lines of enquiry
0:03:42 > 0:03:46is to make sure that the claimant is being honest in his presentation.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51With this in mind, they decided there was only one option - surveillance.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54They approached Roger Bescoby,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57whose company specialises in covert surveillance,
0:03:57 > 0:03:58to work on the case.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01His operatives immediately got to work.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06It wasn't long before secret filming revealed a very different Sean Summers
0:04:06 > 0:04:08to the man he was purporting to be.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Here was a guy who was showing no signs of disability.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21There were no walking aids in place.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He boarded and alighted a vehicle very easily.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30I think it was actually quite useful that we had such an accurate description of the guy
0:04:30 > 0:04:33because it would be quite easy to not believe this was the same person,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37given the level of injury that this chap was alleging.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41We would have expected to see a man on crutches, unable to walk,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43being helped, perhaps, through the day.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46The way that he displayed himself on surveillance footage,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49he was perfectly fit and well
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and the absolute opposite of what he described in his medical evidence.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56And the revelations didn't end there.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58He'd told his own medical expert
0:04:58 > 0:05:02that he wasn't able to work and hadn't worked since the day of the accident
0:05:02 > 0:05:04because of the horrific pain that he was in with his ankle.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The surveillance immediately showed Mr Summers was working.
0:05:07 > 0:05:14We managed to film him loading and unloading a vast amount of kitchen units, domestic appliances,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16to and from his vehicle.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18This involved him climbing in and out of the van.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Once again there was no apparent disability evident in our opinion.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25And certainly no walking aids being used.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Sean Summers was required to attend regular medical assessments
0:05:30 > 0:05:32in order to evaluate the level of injury
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and plan for his future treatment.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Surveillance footage which was recorded on the day of one medical assessment
0:05:38 > 0:05:41showed Summers waiting outside the building
0:05:41 > 0:05:43while his wife fills in a questionnaire.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45His behaviour is particularly revealing.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Mr Summers is seen on his crutches, but at one point
0:05:49 > 0:05:53he's sitting on a step but pushes off from the floor
0:05:53 > 0:05:54with his injured foot.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Sean Summers kept up the appearance of disability
0:05:58 > 0:05:59for the duration of the assessment.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03But as soon as he returned home, things changed.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06An hour, hour and a half later, we see Mr Summers arrive home.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Shoe back on the injured foot,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12not using the crutches at all, other than carrying them into the house.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Taken as a whole, the surveillance footage appeared to contradict
0:06:16 > 0:06:18the majority of Sean Summers' claim.
0:06:18 > 0:06:24It was quite galling. If it wasn't so serious, it would be humorous.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27But we knew this was a man who was claiming substantial damages
0:06:27 > 0:06:31for injuries that clearly weren't affecting him as badly as he said they were.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36With the expectation that he would scale down his claim,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38the footage was sent to Summers' solicitors.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Hearing that he'd been caught on camera,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43seemed to have a dramatic effect.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47He attended a general practitioner complaining of an acute stress reaction
0:06:47 > 0:06:50to having been found out by the insurance company.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Eventually, the case reached court.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Sean Summers adopted an unusual strategy
0:06:55 > 0:06:58when the surveillance footage was presented to the court.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Mr Summers refused to accept that the surveillance evidence
0:07:01 > 0:07:05was anything other than showing him in a disabled state.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09At points, it got ridiculous that despite the fact we saw him shopping in Tesco's,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12he said that he still couldn't go shopping.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Although there was strong evidence to suggest exaggeration,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18the judge was bound by legal precedents.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Even a lying and dishonest claimant was entitled to what was assessed to be the genuine part of his claim.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28The judge had no option but to award Sean Summers a payout for his actual accident.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33He calculated the claim to be worth in the region of £88,000.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Despite only being paid around 10% of his claim,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42Sean Summers still walked away with the best part of £90,000.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45But the defence didn't rest there,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and they employed the services of renowned QC, William Norris.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53They felt that the Sean Summers case highlighted an important legal issue.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Because the existing law was that
0:07:56 > 0:08:00if you claim 100% and even 90% is a fraud,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02as was the case here,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05you're still entitled to judgement for the 10%.
0:08:05 > 0:08:11We wanted the law changed so the court recognised it had a power to strike out the whole of the claim
0:08:11 > 0:08:14as to its entirety.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16What they wanted to do was exceptional.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19They wanted the Supreme Court to change the law
0:08:19 > 0:08:22so that claimants got the message that if they were dishonest,
0:08:22 > 0:08:23they wouldn't get a penny.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29You've been caught cheating. Your claim is dismissed in its entirety.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Don't complain. If you don't like it, next time just tell the truth.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35The case was brought to the Supreme Court.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38After a two-day hearing, it came to a decision.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41The Supreme Court heard legal argument and eventually handed judgement down
0:08:41 > 0:08:44agreeing with the points that we'd made on the legal principle
0:08:44 > 0:08:49that where people use the court process and abuse the court process
0:08:49 > 0:08:51in a massive attempt to deceive,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53the entirety of their claim can be struck out.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55It was a landmark ruling.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58From now on, claimants grossly exaggerating their injuries
0:08:58 > 0:09:02could have their whole claim thrown out of court, leaving them without a penny.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04The message for anyone who's tempted to inflate their claim
0:09:04 > 0:09:06is now loud and clear.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10If they are the subject of a contempt of court case
0:09:10 > 0:09:12after the personal injury trial
0:09:12 > 0:09:14they will be sent to prison.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19So although the ruling came after the case of Sean Summers,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22the payout of £88,000 he received
0:09:22 > 0:09:24may not have gone particularly far
0:09:24 > 0:09:28as around £63,000 was deducted for state benefits.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Things could have been very different if he'd tried an alternative approach.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35If Mr Summers had been genuine in his presentation
0:09:35 > 0:09:39and admitted that he'd tried to go back to work in some capacity,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43he would have actually never seen the inside of a courtroom.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46The likelihood is the insurance company would have negotiated settlement
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and paid him more money than the court eventually awarded.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54So Sean Summers' strategy meant that he missed out on a larger amount of compensation
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and his actions led to a Supreme Court ruling
0:09:57 > 0:09:59that has effectively changed the law.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The courts now have the tools available to them
0:10:02 > 0:10:07to strike out entire claims where claimants have been fraudulent or exaggerated their claim
0:10:07 > 0:10:09in a massive attempt to deceive.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Thanks to the ruling, people benefitting from exaggerated claims
0:10:12 > 0:10:14should be a thing of the past
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and will never again financially benefit from their greed.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24The police insurance fraud team
0:10:24 > 0:10:27finds a bundle of cash.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29What's that for?
0:10:30 > 0:10:33And a spectacular crash by an uninsured driver
0:10:33 > 0:10:36is caught on CCTV.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41When we saw the footage, we thought this was a very strange accident.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43We don't see accidents like that very often at all.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Businessman Peter Webb ran a company that hired out vintage cars
0:10:52 > 0:10:54for happy couples on their wedding day.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56But heartbreak was in store for Webb
0:10:56 > 0:10:59when the latest addition to his fleet was stolen.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03He bought a 60-year-old Bentley Mark VI
0:11:03 > 0:11:06for around £3,700.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18DC Declan Malone from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department worked on the case.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Suspicions were aroused when he looked into the circumstances of the theft.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Mr Webb informed the police that his car had been stolen,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29that it was inside a locked garage
0:11:29 > 0:11:31inside a locked compound.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33The only one that was broken into
0:11:33 > 0:11:37was the one that his Bentley was supposedly taken from.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43In addition, the theft had occurred just two months after the car had been insured.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47And when the insurance company requested further information about the restoration,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49alarm bells began to ring.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54They required some photographs of the stages of renovation work
0:11:54 > 0:11:56which would only be natural to have been taken.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00He said that unfortunately for him that wasn't possible
0:12:00 > 0:12:04as all the photographs were in the boot of the car at the time it was stolen.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07He was also asked to supply invoices
0:12:07 > 0:12:09for the renovation work that had been carried out.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14He said unfortunately they were also in the boot of the car at the time that it was stolen.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17The insurance company strongly suspected fraud
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and were querying the claim.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Curiously, this appeared to jog Peter Webb's memory.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27He then remembered that he'd managed to have some of the photographs
0:12:27 > 0:12:31captured on one of the computers he'd given to one of his grandchildren.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35And he supplied those photographs to the insurance company.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38But these images painted a different picture
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and confirmed that there was something seriously suspicious about the claim.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44One of the photographs that he'd supplied
0:12:44 > 0:12:48was a direct lift from a website of a Bentley dealership!
0:12:49 > 0:12:54He tried to pretend a photo of a pristine vintage Bentley he'd found on a website
0:12:54 > 0:12:56was a picture of his car.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59The insurance company immediately passed the case to the police.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02As part of the investigation,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07IFED went to the mechanic who'd recently performed an MOT on the car.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09He said that the car that he MOT'd
0:13:09 > 0:13:13was "in a tatty state", as he described it.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15He didn't think that it was the same vehicle.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22In addition, investigations revealed that the man who was said to have performed the extensive renovation
0:13:22 > 0:13:24had since died
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and would have been far too ill to do the job.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33DC Declan Malone then asked renowned Bentley expert Ken Lea to look at the other photographs.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Yet more inconsistencies were revealed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41We thought that the car in the photo was a later-dated car
0:13:41 > 0:13:45than the one that he purported to own.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I think his was built in 1949
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and the car in the photograph was 1952.
0:13:50 > 0:13:56And it's between 1950 and 1952 that the engine changed
0:13:56 > 0:13:58and the exhaust system changed
0:13:58 > 0:14:00and that was the first giveaway.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02He'd unfortunately picked a car
0:14:02 > 0:14:06which was very different in its individual features
0:14:06 > 0:14:09than the one that he actually owned.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16The car Peter Webb owned and the car in the photos were completely different.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18He'd pilfered pictures from the internet
0:14:18 > 0:14:20to pass off his shabby old banger
0:14:20 > 0:14:22as a pristine restoration job.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25He was hoping to collect £42,000
0:14:25 > 0:14:27for a car worth a fraction of that price.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But the most important piece of evidence was still to come.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The truth behind the other photo
0:14:33 > 0:14:36revealed just how far he'd been prepared to go with his fraud.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Mr Webb had taken out a Bentley from a Bentley dealership
0:14:40 > 0:14:41for a test drive.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45He'd been allowed to use the vehicle for about half an hour.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49During which time he fitted it with false plates
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and had photographs taken.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55He'd then supplied the photo to the insurance company
0:14:55 > 0:14:56claiming it was of his own car.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00By now, IFED had overwhelming evidence of fraud
0:15:00 > 0:15:02and the case proceeded to court.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Initially, he pleaded not guilty
0:15:04 > 0:15:08and it wasn't until right up until the day before the trial
0:15:08 > 0:15:11that he actually pleaded guilty.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Mr Webb was fined £10,000,
0:15:14 > 0:15:21ordered to pay £1,375 in compensation to the insurance company,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25£1,000 costs plus a £15 victims' surcharge.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27If Mr Webb defaults on the £10,000 fine,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30he's been given six months' imprisonment.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Despite going to some effort to provide fake photos,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Peter Webb was unable to cheat his way to a fraudulent payout
0:15:37 > 0:15:41and has ended up with a criminal record and a huge fine.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Combating the ever-increasing threat of insurance fraud
0:15:47 > 0:15:50is an elite police squad known as IFED,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56The primary aim of IFED is to start taking disruptive action
0:15:56 > 0:16:00against those criminals who are intent on committing crime
0:16:00 > 0:16:01in relation to insurance.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It's that defrauding that is raising the premium for everyone in this country.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08They've made over 300 arrests
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and have saved millions of pounds in fraudulent insurance claims.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Money which ultimately goes back into our pockets.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17From now on, fraudsters need to watch their backs.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20We do intelligence gathering, sometimes surveillance on individuals.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Sometimes a lot of detailed research into the background.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29We'll decide when the time is right to take down people,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and that means often execute search warrants where necessary.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35We'll force entry into premises if we think evidence could be lost.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38In only 18 months, we've arrested over 300 people.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42We will start to see a reduction in insurance fraud in this country,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44which is ultimately what we're aiming for.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47It's highly likely now, if you commit any insurance fraud, you will get caught.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:16:55 > 0:16:59At any one time, IFED officers are juggling multiple investigations.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Another one of DC Declan Malone's cases
0:17:02 > 0:17:06has reached a point where the team is ready to stage a raid.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10He believes that a specific traffic incident relates to a suspected motor insurance fraud.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14DC Malone and the team have hit the road early
0:17:14 > 0:17:17so they can pay a visit to a man at the centre of the case.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21We're going to the home address of a taxi driver
0:17:21 > 0:17:28who was carrying five juveniles when he, we believe, induced an accident
0:17:28 > 0:17:33whereby he slammed on his brakes and a marked police vehicle went into the rear of him.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39After the accident, claims for personal injury were then allegedly made
0:17:39 > 0:17:42on behalf of the juveniles who'd been in the taxi,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45but without their permission or the permission of their parents.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50The suspicion is that a third party was potentially fraudulently making the claims
0:17:50 > 0:17:52with the intention of lining their own pockets.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Other raids are taking place simultaneously
0:17:56 > 0:18:00which are focused on third-party suspects believed to be connected to the potential fraud.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07We're going along now this morning to see if we can arrest this guy
0:18:07 > 0:18:09and see what he's got to say.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11The team has also obtained a warrant
0:18:11 > 0:18:13so they can search his house.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Today, we're looking for evidence of association
0:18:16 > 0:18:18to see if he's got connections
0:18:18 > 0:18:22either with the other individuals that are being arrested elsewhere
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and also a claims management company.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30The IFED team never knows what lies in store on a raid.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So today, the local police force is providing back-up.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38They gather outside the house, taking care to cover all possible exits.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Suspects have been known to flee or try and destroy evidence.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45So it's important to try and minimise the chance of this happening.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Good morning. We're police officers.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Is Mr BLEEP in, please?
0:18:56 > 0:18:57Yeah. He's asleep.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I need to talk to him. Could you wake him up, please?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Come in. Is that OK? Can we come in?
0:19:05 > 0:19:07It's early in the morning.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08The suspect is just getting up.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10He's immediately arrested.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15The time by my watch is two minutes past seven.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18So if you put on your trousers, but I need to watch you. Yeah.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Once you get dressed, we'll explain the rest to you. Yeah, yeah.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25With the suspect located and detained within minutes,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27it's been a successful start to the raid.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31But the team needs to get the search underway as soon as possible.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36We need you to tell us where your paperwork is. That's what we want.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Sorry? Your paperwork. Any insurance documents or anything like that.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44It's much simpler and quicker if the suspect co-operates,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47but he initially seems hesitant.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56The papers are in... Have a look if you can find anything
0:19:56 > 0:19:58you are looking for through there.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Before being taken away for further questioning at a local police station,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05the suspect is asked to empty his pockets of anything he doesn't need.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12It turns out he's carrying a huge bundle of cash.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16We've found £1,000 in cash.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20We've spoken with the person who's been arrested.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23The IFED team decides not to look into the money there and then,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26preferring to investigate it at a later date.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28At this time, because you're arrested,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32we're going to take you to the police station while we are here
0:20:32 > 0:20:34searching the premises.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Anything we take, we'll record and leave a receipt with your wife.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41If you take him away, we can finish up downstairs. Yeah. Fine.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Finally, the suspect is on his way.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47He'll be questioned at a local police station
0:20:47 > 0:20:51and the interview will form an important part of the investigation.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Meanwhile, the search gets underway in earnest inside the property.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59The team don protective gloves
0:20:59 > 0:21:02so that they don't contaminate any potential evidence.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05OK, gentlemen. We know what we're looking for, yeah?
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Any sort of documentation.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10We'll start upstairs, then. OK. Good man.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18We're looking for things that associate him with the accident we're investigating.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22We're also looking for articles that will associate him
0:21:22 > 0:21:24with the others who have been arrested.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Diaries, hopefully. Telephones, storage devices,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31that may have the other suspects' details on them as well.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36He may have sketch plans of accidents that have been induced.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Anything, really, that may link him with that type of lifestyle.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44That's the vehicle that was involved.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47DC Declan Malone immediately makes a useful discovery.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49I've just found a DVLA form
0:21:49 > 0:21:54which is the taxi that was involved in the collision.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56It's a copy of that.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Which ties him to the vehicle.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's important to back up the case with supporting documentation.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07There's also a copy of a report made to the local council about the accident
0:22:07 > 0:22:09at the centre of the case.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12It ties him in with the occurrence that we are investigating.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14It's nothing on its own that's going to hang it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19He obviously, if he maintains his story that it was a genuine accident,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21that's the kind of thing you'd expect to see.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28It seems that this isn't the first personal injury claim connected to the suspect.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33It's only a previous claim that he'd made for personal injury
0:22:33 > 0:22:35but he hadn't pursued.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41The vehicle at the centre of the case is parked outside the residence
0:22:41 > 0:22:45and it's not long before it, too, yields possible evidence.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51We're actually looking for documentation from insurance companies.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55We're also looking for mobile phones which may contain evidence.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58As you can see, there's two in the glove box of this vehicle.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05This is a handwritten letter
0:23:05 > 0:23:09describing an accident where a cyclist rode into a car.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14It forms part of the investigation and might lead to further enquiries that need investigating later.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Back inside, there's further potential evidence
0:23:20 > 0:23:23that the suspect has been involved in previous insurance claims.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28We've got a few bits and pieces that tie him in to the vehicle.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31And we've got some other documentation that we've found
0:23:31 > 0:23:38where the vehicle has been involved in a previous similar accident
0:23:38 > 0:23:43that it would seem as though he's been paid out for.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45It's reference another road traffic collision that happened.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47It looks like he was a witness to it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52So it may be nothing, but it's obviously another road traffic collision at a similar time
0:23:52 > 0:23:54to the traffic collision we're looking at.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Should be able to find the paperwork for it and just check and see what it was all about.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03IFED is turning up evidence of a number of previous collisions.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The information will be fed into the investigation
0:24:06 > 0:24:08to see how it fits into the bigger picture.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13DC Malone then finds something concerning the suspect's financial situation.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17It indicates the amount of debt he's in, really.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21The search is drawing to a close.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24DC Declan Malone reflects on how the raid has gone.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28We managed to arrest the person that we were after.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32We've conducted a search of his home address.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35We've come up with some documentation that links him to the vehicle
0:24:35 > 0:24:39that was involved in the reported induced collision.
0:24:39 > 0:24:46We also have some documentation that shows that that vehicle was involved in other collisions previously.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49We'll see what he's got to say with regards to the accident.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50He'll be bailed after we've interviewed him
0:24:50 > 0:24:55and he'll be interviewed on another occasion when all the available evidence will be put to him.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57It's been a long day,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00but the search has turned up a variety of potential evidence.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04IFED is determined to win the fight against fraud.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08It will do whatever it takes to stop criminals
0:25:08 > 0:25:10whose greed adds to the rising cost of insurance policies,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13an offence that costs all of us money
0:25:13 > 0:25:15and endangers the lives of innocent road users.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Claims handlers in the next case
0:25:23 > 0:25:26were immediately alerted by the short space of time
0:25:26 > 0:25:29between motor insurance being taken out and a claim being made.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Richard Davies is head of fraud at AXA UK.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40We first heard about the policy about 20 to 4 on 24 November.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45So less than 12 hours afterwards, we'd had an accident reported to us.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48When we've got a small gap between a policy being taken out
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and a claim being reported, it often rings alarm bells inside an insurer.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54As part of the claims procedure,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57the policyholder was asked to describe the accident.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00They'd clipped the wing mirrors of another car they were passing
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and then in reversing back to talk to the person they'd had an accident with,
0:26:04 > 0:26:09they collided with another vehicle and that caused the vehicle to roll over.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16It was a serious accident that had caused a lot of expensive damage to several vehicles.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19The investigation into the claim revealed further cause for concern.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The credit card payment which we took to pay for the policy bounced.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27It was then that the insurer was alerted to a piece of evidence
0:26:27 > 0:26:31which blew apart the claimant's story - CCTV.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38When we saw the footage, we thought this was a very strange accident.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41We don't see accidents like that very often at all.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45The CCTV footage actually came from a third party
0:26:45 > 0:26:49whose vehicle had been damaged as our policyholder reversed back into them.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52They worked in an educational institution
0:26:52 > 0:26:55which had CCTV cameras at the doors
0:26:55 > 0:27:01and the time stamped on that film told us when and where the accident actually occurred.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05The accident had been reported to the insurer on 25 November.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08The claimant said the accident had happened the day before,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11on 24 November at 3.45,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14just five minutes after the policy had been taken out at 3.40.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18However, the CCTV told a different story.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20The time stamp on that
0:27:20 > 0:27:23said the accident took place at quarter past three
0:27:23 > 0:27:26on 24 November,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30so in essence the accident has taken place before the policy existed.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32The next step was for the company to go back to the complainant
0:27:32 > 0:27:34with the CCTV evidence.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36When we challenged the policyholder about this,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40they failed to respond to any of the questions that we asked them.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44We sent her a questionnaire and we've yet to receive any response.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Needless to say, the insurers didn't pay out on the policy.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50This was a really bold attempt at insurance fraud.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52The policyholder knew they didn't have a policy.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55They took it out knowing that they were going to submit a claim
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and we're very lucky to have caught them at it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd