0:00:02 > 0:00:06Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09It's costing us over £2 billion every year.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11That's almost £6 million every day.
0:00:13 > 0:00:19Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, even phantom pets -
0:00:19 > 0:00:22the fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26And every year, it's adding over £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33But insurers are fighting back, exposing 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38There's the subject out the vehicle.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data analysis techniques...
0:00:41 > 0:00:46- ..and a highly skilled and dedicated police unit...- Police! Don't move!
0:00:46 > 0:00:49- Stay where you are!- ..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Just don't lie to us.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55All those conmen, scammers and cheats on the fiddle are now
0:00:55 > 0:00:58caught in the act, and claimed and shamed.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Coming up: A fraudulent cyclist takes his claim up a gear...
0:01:12 > 0:01:13All in all,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17we estimated that he would be seeking around £3 million in damages.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Stop, look and listen. This woman certainly didn't.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Suddenly, a large object has struck you, you've fallen down,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29you see your life flashing before your eyes.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32And the police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department is out
0:01:32 > 0:01:34to catch some bad guys.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36You still get quite a buzz when you're
0:01:36 > 0:01:39sort of knocking on somebody's door and taking out the baddies.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Life goes in cycles.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Well, it certainly does for the 13 million people in the UK who
0:01:50 > 0:01:52regularly get on their bikes.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55But accidents do happen,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58and it's often the cyclist that comes off a lot worse.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03And in August 2008, Majid Khan was no exception.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Mr Khan was cycling to work early one morning and a vehicle,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14which was insured by ourselves, actually had a collision with him.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And Mr Khan was actually very seriously injured.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23He had fractures of various vertebrae,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27multiple rib fractures and lacerations to his liver.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31He also had a brain haemorrhage and skull fractures.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33He was in hospital for around a month.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40Insurance payouts on serious cycling accidents like this can be massive.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45And there was no doubt that Majid Khan would need financial help.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49An accident like this, for us, it's more about how long it takes
0:02:49 > 0:02:53to recover and how full the recovery actually is.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Although Majid Khan had been severely
0:02:56 > 0:02:59injured in the accident. Nine months later, he made what was
0:02:59 > 0:03:03thought to be a full recovery and even returned back to work.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Everything was proceeding pretty normally as a claim.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We were investigating it, we were working with his lawyers.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17We offered Majid Khan £75,000 in damages
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and that offer was initially rejected.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24With the cash offer refused and what appeared to be a full recovery, the
0:03:24 > 0:03:27insurers and solicitors thought Mr Khan had simply got
0:03:27 > 0:03:30back on his bike and got on with life.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32But six months later, that all changed
0:03:32 > 0:03:35when Majid Khan's father-in-law got in touch.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40He seemed to have a complete relapse. He could only recognise his wife.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43He was struggling with day-to-day activities.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46He was unable to walk down the road unaided.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50We were told that Mr Khan wasn't allowed out of the house
0:03:50 > 0:03:55on his own because his family feared that he would just wander aimlessly.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58He had no sense of danger
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and so he wouldn't have been able to cross roads safely.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04We were also told that he had no concept of money
0:04:04 > 0:04:08so he wouldn't be able to go to the shop and purchase an item.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10He wouldn't be able to check the change.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15He'd forgotten how to do basic tasks like using a mobile telephone.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19What they were alleging was that he was so severely disabled
0:04:19 > 0:04:24by these injuries that he would need 24-hour care and supervision.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And they were alleging that would go on for the rest of his life.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Around-the-clock care would cost millions - £3 million, to be exact.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36That's how much Mr Khan's family claimed
0:04:36 > 0:04:40they needed to look after him. But it just didn't add up.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44We knew that this was a man who had returned to work,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47and all of a sudden, we were being told that he couldn't work
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and would never work and that he was severely disabled.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54With suspicions high,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56the insurance company decided to employ its best
0:04:56 > 0:05:00tactic in suspected fraudulent claims - surveillance footage.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Sometimes, with surveillance, you don't believe that the person
0:05:06 > 0:05:09you're seeing is the claimant in this action.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13The footage was shocking, to say the least.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16You can sum up the CCTV footage very easily as everything that he
0:05:16 > 0:05:19claimed he couldn't do the CCTV showed us that he could do.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26The medical experts had been told that Majid Khan didn't smoke.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30He was seen to smoke quite a few cigarettes.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32They were told that he wasn't permitted
0:05:32 > 0:05:35out of the house on his own, yet we saw him out,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38apparently running errands and, in some cases,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40looking after small children.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43That he wouldn't be capable of shopping for himself
0:05:43 > 0:05:45and that he had no concept of money,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48yet we see him going into the local shop.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53That he had forgotten how to do basic tasks,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56such as using a mobile telephone, yet he's seen having quite
0:05:56 > 0:05:59a long conversation with somebody on a phone.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02They'd been told that he couldn't communicate with anybody,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07and again, he's seen out conversing and laughing with others.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09The Majid Khan on the surveillance footage was
0:06:09 > 0:06:12so unrecognisable from the one described on the insurance
0:06:12 > 0:06:15claim that even the solicitors had to double-check.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21We sent it to the expert who had examined Majid Khan on our behalf
0:06:21 > 0:06:24during the claim and it was only once
0:06:24 > 0:06:26he confirmed that he recognised the man in the footage
0:06:26 > 0:06:31as the claimant that we were then able to think about disclosing it.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37To add insult to injury, the investigation also uncovered
0:06:37 > 0:06:41payslips which showed Majid Khan was in full-time employment.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We looked at some of his payslips and he was working full-time.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47In fact, he was working overtime.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52He'd been peddling so many lies, the case was taken to court.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56The judge said that it had been a relatively sophisticated fraud,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59that it was a grotesque exaggeration
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and that everything Majid Khan had done had been a pack of lies.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Majid Khan and his father-in-law were both banged up for nine months.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14We now have a family who has been split up because of their own greed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18The grandfather is in prison, the father is in prison and the
0:07:18 > 0:07:21mother is now at home, trying to cope with a young child on her own.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Unlike some unscrupulous fraudsters,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Mr Khan had genuinely suffered life-threatening injuries
0:07:30 > 0:07:34and was eventually paid £75,000 compensation.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Mr Khan absolutely was injured and we paid the amount of money which
0:07:38 > 0:07:40we believe covered him for those injuries.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43The whole issue here is that he took a case where
0:07:43 > 0:07:48he was injured and then tried to make millions of pounds out of it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54From an original offer of £75,000 for his cycling accident,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Majid Khan had pumped up his claim to 3 million.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03But he was left deflated when he received nine months behind bars.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Once that lie had been struck, he stuck with that lie.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Unfortunately, Mr Khan is now in jail
0:08:09 > 0:08:11and will have nine months to contemplate that issue.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Majid Khan won't now receive the proper compensation
0:08:18 > 0:08:21to which he was entitled because nobody knows what the
0:08:21 > 0:08:24effects of the accident truly were on his life.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Coming up: A 15-ton bus gets pushy...
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Suddenly, a large object has struck you, you've fallen down,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43you see your life flashing before your eyes.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46..and an insurance company takes a crash-for-cash criminal
0:08:46 > 0:08:47to the cleaners.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50The evidence was so overwhelmingly strong,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53we felt it right to make an example of Mr Singh.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, or IFED for short,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04is an insurance scammer's worst nightmare.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09There is a dedicated 40-strong unit that works 24/7,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12hunting down insurance fraudsters.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15The team was set up over two years ago to crack down on insurance
0:09:15 > 0:09:17crime in the UK.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Is there anything here that shouldn't be here that we're
0:09:19 > 0:09:21going to find?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24In that time, it's made over 450 arrests
0:09:24 > 0:09:26and seen around 200 prosecutions.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32If it's a fraud, it's in insurance, then it may well come to
0:09:32 > 0:09:35IFED's attention, and IFED will take the necessary action.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Police officers! Can you come to the door, please?
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Unscrupulous fraudsters will stop at nothing in their lust for cash.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49And with street crime on the increase,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52why would anyone question a woman who appears to be the unlucky
0:09:52 > 0:09:54victim of a series of muggings?
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Mugging can be a terrifying experience,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02especially for someone who's a vulnerable victim, like a young lady.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06It can have a traumatic effect on the person that suffered it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09In February 2012,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Anita Debnath claimed she was mugged in Trafalgar Square.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17With over 15 million visitors to the capital every year,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20it was an unlucky but not necessarily unusual crime to
0:10:20 > 0:10:23be a victim of, and she immediately reported it to the police.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28She's lost various items, all high-value,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31all top-of-the-range smartphones, top-of-the-range designer bags,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33top-of-the-range purses.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37A month later, she was mugged again on a trip to Leeds.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Apparently a mugger's magnet, her run of bad luck didn't end
0:10:41 > 0:10:45there as she was a victim again three months later in Dublin...
0:10:47 > 0:10:50..and then again in Kingston upon Thames.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54On each occasion, she claimed her handbag had contained more
0:10:54 > 0:10:56electrical gadgets than MI5!
0:10:58 > 0:11:00But four flyby fleecings just didn't add up.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07I would say you're very unlucky if you've been mugged once in a year.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10To be mugged four times in a year in four different
0:11:10 > 0:11:15locations in two different countries is almost an impossibility.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Anita Debnath thought that if she played the victim, insurance
0:11:20 > 0:11:26companies would take pity on her and simply hand over £50,000 in claims.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Anita Debnath invented the muggings to generate some sort of...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34maybe some sympathy with the insurer and also the hope that they
0:11:34 > 0:11:38wouldn't drill too deep into that particular offence.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40I think, had she said she'd lost her purse on the bus
0:11:40 > 0:11:43or on the underground, it may have got a different response to
0:11:43 > 0:11:46saying that she'd actually been robbed in the street.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50I think that was her way of thinking that she would get an easier ride.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53The real mugger, in this case, was Anita.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56She claimed from 11 different insurance companies for her
0:11:56 > 0:11:57made-up muggings.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00She obviously felt that she would get the cheque sent through to
0:12:00 > 0:12:03her at the relevant time, once her claim had been settled.
0:12:03 > 0:12:04Unfortunately for her,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07she was wrong because the insurers were sharing information.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12A pattern of offending emerged and it was that sheer volume that
0:12:12 > 0:12:16brought it to the attention of the insurers.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And by reporting the fake crimes to help bolster her claims,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Anita Debnath had also robbed the police of their time.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I take a particularly dim view of the way Anita Debnath's operated.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Street robbery and mugging is a serious offence, which would
0:12:31 > 0:12:34have been treated accordingly by the relevant police force.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36She's quite happy to waste their time.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Officers would have been allocated to investigate that robbery
0:12:40 > 0:12:42that never occurred.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Anita Debnath had travelled round Britain and Ireland,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48carrying out what she thought was a mugging masterpiece.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But her final destination was the Old Bailey.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55There were 12 charges of fraud by false representation,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59to which she pleaded guilty to each one, and the judge sentenced
0:12:59 > 0:13:02her to two years, three months' custodial sentence.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Anita Debnath thought she could mug the insurers of £50,000
0:13:07 > 0:13:11but she was the real loser, and for her lies and deception,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13she ended up with a long stretch behind bars.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17I'm pleased with this particular sentence cos
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I believe it sends out a message that insurance fraud isn't
0:13:20 > 0:13:24a victimless crime and it also isn't a crime without consequence.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35A vital part of IFED's work is the early-morning raid.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40The element of surprise is a powerful weapon, which enables
0:13:40 > 0:13:43officers to seize crucial evidence before it's destroyed.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45For Detective Constable Kate Sibley,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48it's the highlight of months of investigation.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51You still get quite a buzz when you're knocking on somebody's door
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and taking out the baddies.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57But then I think it's good that we do have a bit of adrenaline pumping
0:13:57 > 0:14:01cos you don't know what's going to happen when they open that door.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03This morning, Kate is on a double raid.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Her colleague, DS Mark Forster, is driving to the other location as
0:14:07 > 0:14:11part of a joint investigation into a suspected crash-for-cash claim.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16The actual collision has been staged.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Effectively, one car has been driven into another car.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23They've all submitted claims for the damage of the vehicle,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26recovery costs and also personal injury.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30As this is a multiple raid...
0:14:33 > 0:14:36..it's essential that both teams go in at the same time.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41- Can we come in and speak to your son, please?- Yeah.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Thank you very much.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Good morning. Police officers from the City of London Police.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Are they here?
0:14:51 > 0:14:52Where are they?
0:14:55 > 0:14:56Gone out to work? Can we come in?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59We've got a warrant to enter and search the premises.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02IFED never take anything at face value,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06so Kate decides to look for the suspects herself.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07OK. Where...
0:15:08 > 0:15:11They're upstairs? I did ask you that when I came in.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12- Did you?- Yup.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16At the other property,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Mark has also found the suspect at home with his family.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21Right, take a seat for me, please, mate.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Just listen to what I'm going to say to you, all right?
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Listen carefully cos it is important, all right?
0:15:26 > 0:15:30I'm arresting you on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35You conspired with others in order to submit a fraudulent
0:15:35 > 0:15:39insurance claim in relation to a vehicle collision.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43We have a warrant to enter and search these premises as well,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46so we've searched your bedrooms.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49They might be investigating fraud, but they still have to tread
0:15:49 > 0:15:51carefully when it comes to house rules.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Can we take our shoes off before we go upstairs?
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Upstairs, Kate's looking for any computer equipment that may have
0:16:03 > 0:16:05been used in the alleged fraud.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09I'm seizing a laptop that I've found and a mobile phone so far,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11but I've still got all this to do.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The phones will be downloaded to see...
0:16:15 > 0:16:17To get a list of all the phone numbers and calls.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19We'll get a list of all the calls that have been made to see
0:16:19 > 0:16:22if we can link them up to the other suspects that have been arrested.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24And with the computer, that will be downloaded,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26so hopefully, there'll be documentation or
0:16:26 > 0:16:30e-mails on there in relation to the claims that have been made.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32At the other location,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Mark also needs to seize any electrical devices.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40- You've got a mobile phone?- Yeah. - Where's that? In your room?
0:16:40 > 0:16:41- You've got it there?- Yeah.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Whilst the phones are important, IFED is also looking for any
0:16:49 > 0:16:52paperwork that may show any fraudulent activity.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57We found some documentation in relation to another accident
0:16:57 > 0:17:01claim already. It's not an accident that we're aware of at the moment.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03We need to clarify exactly who's involved in that claim
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and the nature of it, but we can obviously do checks with
0:17:06 > 0:17:09insurance companies to find out a little bit more about that.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It appears that there's at least two more here, in this bedroom.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18I found details of a further claim. May well be legitimate.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22But it's something we need to look into.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25It's certainly stuff that we're interested in at the moment.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26We'll take it away.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It's essential that nothing is touched by the family as IFED
0:17:29 > 0:17:30conducts its search.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Excuse me, can I just ask you to leave that there for me, please?
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- Really?- Yeah, please. You can stand and watch me. I'm not going to...
0:17:39 > 0:17:41But I just don't want you to sort of interfere
0:17:41 > 0:17:43with my things before I've had a look at them.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Any unusually expensive insurance documents are also seized.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59This particular insurance quotation we've got here is in relation
0:17:59 > 0:18:02to when the guy downstairs purchased them.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07And his insurance, just for one year, was in excess of £1,000.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10By anyone's standards, paying out over £1,000,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13just for an insurance premium, seems quite excessive.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17It seems the paperwork in the house is raising a number of questions.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22We've got two separate letters here which are addressed to this
0:18:22 > 0:18:25particular address. However, they're in a different name.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27And the name...
0:18:27 > 0:18:30The male's name listed on both of these two letters,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33as far as we're aware, doesn't reside here.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35But we'll obviously take these away, make some more inquiries
0:18:35 > 0:18:40and interview the suspect downstairs as to who this particular
0:18:40 > 0:18:41individual is.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49At the other property, DC Tom Hill is assisting Kate in the search.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50No cupboard is left untouched.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56This is all stuff in the suspect's name so, obviously,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59I'm searching a bit more closely through it all.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04This is not his bedroom but he seems to use this maybe to
0:19:04 > 0:19:05store his documents.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12With all the evidence seized, bagged and removed from the property,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16- Kate reflects on the morning's results.- We've done a search.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19We've seized computers, thumb drives, mobile telephones,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21the stuff we wanted to seize.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And then we'll get that downloaded and examined and hopefully,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27we'll get some evidence off that. And now they've been arrested,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30they're going back to the police station where we'll interview them
0:19:30 > 0:19:32and they'll probably be bailed later on today.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38At the second location, Mark and his team have also called it a day.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Yeah, it's been a success.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42We've got the four people that we've come out to get,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44all been arrested, all now in custody.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50What we often find is where there's one claim, there are numerous,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53previous claims, and that certainly seems to be the case
0:19:53 > 0:19:56searching this address, so a number of inquiries to be done on those.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01- Yeah, it's been a success.- The case is still under investigation.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14FirstGroup transports over 2 million passengers every day.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Each double-decker weighs in at a whopping 15 tonnes of steel.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Not something you really want to have a run-in with.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26But if you are bashed by a bus,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29your case may well end up on Lee Ingram's desk.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34The lady alleged that she was walking along the path,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36she's looked to the left, looked to the right.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39There's nothing coming so she's decided to cross the road.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43As she's decided to cross the road, a bus has come out of nowhere,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47struck her. According to her, she was thrown to the pavement very hard.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Her bag and her contents hit the floor and spilled everywhere.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Even though the bus was travelling at low speed,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58the impact shocked the passengers on board.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03She described being hit so hard that she thought she was finished.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Suddenly, a large object has struck you, you've fallen down,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10you see your life flashing before your eyes
0:21:10 > 0:21:14and it's a terrifying ordeal for anyone to have gone through.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17To add insult to injury, in her moment of need,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20the woman claims she was left abandoned at the roadside.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24She's alleging that no-one offered her any help,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27she couldn't get home, she didn't have any taxi fare.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30The fact that no-one offered her assistance or even offered to
0:21:30 > 0:21:33call her an ambulance, get her off the floor, yeah,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35a very sad indictment of society nowadays.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Still, every cloud has a silver lining,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and this woman thought it came in the form of an insurance payout.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49The lady claimed for physical and mental injuries.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51She's also claiming that she was unable to look after her
0:21:51 > 0:21:54children because of this accident, therefore
0:21:54 > 0:21:58her husband had to take two weeks off work, no wages coming in,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01couldn't pay her rent, couldn't pay her bills.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Some people will exaggerate their claims of illness.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Some even tell the odd fib about them.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13So Lee always has a look at the CCTV footage before he reaches
0:22:13 > 0:22:15for his cheque book.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17When I first looked at the CCTV footage, you can
0:22:17 > 0:22:21see that the bus has impacted with the woman.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25It's definitely not the front of the bus, more to the side.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The average bus has twice as many eyes as a spider,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35so Lee sets about looking at all 16 cameras to find out just how
0:22:35 > 0:22:36badly knocked the woman was.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40When you look at the second camera,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43it shows that the incident isn't as serious as she described.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45She hasn't actually fallen over at all.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- It was her handbag that's actually hit the floor.- Hold on!
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Let's have a look at that again.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59She has amazingly been hit by a bus and stayed on her feet.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04The woman thought she was on a ticket to ride, but the only
0:23:04 > 0:23:09part of her that was left sprawled on the floor was her handbag.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16And was she really left stranded by the side of the road?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19When we reviewed all of our evidence, including the CCTV footage,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21we were quite happy that the circumstances
0:23:21 > 0:23:25she described just weren't right, so we then wrote to her,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28explaining what had really happened in the incident, which she
0:23:28 > 0:23:31must have known, whether she'd hit the ground or not.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34We subsequently said we were not going to be paying her claim,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37and she has now gone away.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42So basically, she walked away with just a nasty scuff to her handbag.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57With insurance fraud reaching critically high levels,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01the Insurance Fraud Bureau was created eight years ago to clamp
0:24:01 > 0:24:05down on organised insurance fraud and protect innocent customers.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08We essentially collate all the data from the industry
0:24:08 > 0:24:13and we help find the large-scale networks of organised fraud
0:24:13 > 0:24:16that individual insurers can't spot themselves.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Its biggest headache is crash-for-cash cases,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23where scammers either cause accidents or just pretend
0:24:23 > 0:24:24they've been involved in one.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26And more often than not,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29it isn't just the insurance companies who are the victims.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Crash-for-cash is a dangerous type of fraud.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35These people are taking vehicles out onto the road
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and they're essentially using them as weapons because they're driving
0:24:38 > 0:24:42one car into a collision with another and often at quite high speed.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44We know that can lead to injuries and ultimately,
0:24:44 > 0:24:46we know it's led to at least one fatality.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54With around 70,000 personal injury claims linked to crash-for-cash,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57insurers like LV are always suspicious when these
0:24:57 > 0:25:01types of claims are made, just like the one from Mr Michael Singh.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07It was alleged that the claimant was driving along a main road
0:25:07 > 0:25:10when our policyholder came out of a side road into his path
0:25:10 > 0:25:14and a collision occurred, injuring not just
0:25:14 > 0:25:17the occupants in his vehicle but also occupants in our vehicle.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Multiple whiplash injuries, an awful lot of expense in terms
0:25:24 > 0:25:30of vehicle damage, totalling in excess of £100,000.
0:25:30 > 0:25:31With a six-figure settlement
0:25:31 > 0:25:34and seven different claims of personal injury,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38LV were becoming increasingly suspicious of the alleged accident.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40We realised that this particular claim was being managed
0:25:40 > 0:25:46through a claims management company that was well known to us
0:25:46 > 0:25:49for providing fraudulent claims.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Incredibly, some people will damage their own car to make it
0:25:53 > 0:25:54look like an accident.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58And after a forensic engineer had looked at Mr Singh's car,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01it was obvious there was no side-on smash.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04What it was consistent was to a raking impact,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06potentially down the side of a wall,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09which alerted our suspicions to the fact that this car could easily have
0:26:09 > 0:26:14been deliberately damaged to portray having been involved in an accident.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17There was also no police report
0:26:17 > 0:26:19and the insurance policy had been taken out just
0:26:19 > 0:26:24days before the smash, so LV decided they weren't going to pay out.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26However, he didn't let it lie
0:26:26 > 0:26:29and decided to pursue the claim further
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and with the help of his lawyers, issued proceedings against our
0:26:32 > 0:26:36customer for his injuries and the damage to his vehicle.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Mr Singh had more front than Blackpool!
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Not happy that his fraudulent claim had been turned down,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45he decided to take LV to court for the money.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49With such strong evidence in the insurer's favour,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52the case was thrown out, but LV didn't want to leave it there.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58On this occasion, the evidence was so overwhelmingly strong,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02we felt it right to make an example of Mr Singh, not just to him
0:27:02 > 0:27:04and his relatives and those involved in the accident management
0:27:04 > 0:27:08company, but also to the wider population.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11So we decided to bring our own proceedings through the civil
0:27:11 > 0:27:14courts to prosecute Mr Singh for contempt.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19He was given a custodial sentence of eight months.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Mr Singh spent eight months in prison for lying
0:27:22 > 0:27:24about his scamming in court.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Cases like these are crucial in the clampdown
0:27:27 > 0:27:31on crash-for-cash, which is financially crippling the industry.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33The industry estimate that crash-for-cash scams,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38in total, cost about £400 million a year, and that cost is ultimately
0:27:38 > 0:27:41passed on to all of us, you and I, who pay insurance premiums.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Often seen as a crime without time, cases like the LV one
0:27:45 > 0:27:50are helping the IFB in their fight against crash-for-cash criminals.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Insurance fraud has probably been historically seen as an easy
0:27:53 > 0:27:56target, so if anybody thinks they can still do this
0:27:56 > 0:27:58and get away with it, my message is you can't.