Episode 8 Claimed and Shamed


Episode 8

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Transcript


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Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.

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It's costing us around £2 billion every year.

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That's almost £6 million a day.

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Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, even phantom pets.

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The fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing

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and every year, it's adding over £50 to your insurance bill.

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But insurers are fighting back,

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exposing around 14 fake claims every hour.

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Armed with covert surveillance systems...

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Subject out the vehicle.

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..sophisticated data analysis techniques...

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..and a number of highly skilled police units...

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Police, stay where you are!

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..they're catching the criminals red-handed.

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Just don't lie to us.

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All those con men, scammers and cheats on the fiddle

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are now caught in the act and Claimed And Shamed.

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Coming up:

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A convicted drug dealer thinks a bump on the head will give him

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a bumper pay-out.

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Mr Foster claimed that he had fallen from his top bunk

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during the night and that he'd been knocked unconscious,

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suffering a severe head injury.

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Thames Valley Police continue to clamp down hard on suspected

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crash-for-cash gangs.

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Hello, it's the police.

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And after feeling under par,

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a golf professional tees himself up for a double bogey.

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The insurance company grew suspicious because they

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received information that Mr Turner had been working at a golf club.

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Some criminals just don't know when to stop.

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And you'd think being locked up would be enough of a deterrent,

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but for some, time inside just seems like an excuse to

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steal from hard-working taxpayers.

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Too many prisoners now see bogus personal injury

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claims as a nice little earner.

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The kind of people who put in false claims while in prison

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are the kind of people who don't realise the implications of doing so,

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both cost and to their own freedom.

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At Her Majesty's Prison Manchester, the litigation team can sometimes

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be processing as many as 120 claims at any one time.

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These claims can be all sorts of trips, slips and falls, but one

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of the most common is for injuries sustained from falling out of bed.

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There are a number of prisoners claiming to have fallen from the top

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bunk at Manchester. It's quite a hot topic.

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The injuries vary from case to case.

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Some claim to have banged their elbows,

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some claim to have bruised their side,

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some have suffered head injuries, front, back, facial injuries.

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22-year-old inmate Calum Foster was awaiting trial

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but soon appeared to find himself the victim of an unfortunate

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accident while asleep in his cell.

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Mr Foster claimed that he had fallen from his top bunk

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during the night and that he had been knocked unconscious,

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suffering a severe head injury.

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Two months later, whilst still inside,

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Foster was reading a newspaper in his cell

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and spotted an injury claim solicitor's advert and suddenly saw

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an opportunity to write himself what he imagined would be a blank cheque.

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After contacting his new solicitors, a claim soon arrived at the prison.

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Initially, it was the solicitor's letter that raised our suspicions.

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They claimed that he had fallen out of his bed at nine o'clock

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that morning, when we knew, looking from the records, that he

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was due to attend a review for his behaviour at 10am that morning.

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Alarm bells started to ring for the prison's litigation team

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and a thorough investigation of the incident was launched.

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Once we started to investigate the matter more thoroughly,

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we actually discovered that Mr Foster was involved in an altercation

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on the yard that afternoon.

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He'd become extremely abusive towards staff, verbally abusive

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and physically abusive and he had to be restrained.

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After any such restraint, prisoners automatically are referred

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to medical staff and thoroughly checked over.

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After the incident, he was seen by a nurse who noted that he'd

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received a small raised bump to the front of his head.

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Foster realised there was an opportunity to exploit

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his earlier injury and came up with a clever plan

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to claim for a fall in his cell.

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At least it would have been clever had Foster not

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forgotten that is bump on the head had already been

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noted in the medical records a few hours before.

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The records showed that later that evening,

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Mr Foster had in fact pressed his cell bell and raised the alarm

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that he'd fallen from his top bunk.

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Medical attention was sought for him

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and a medical officer attended his cell.

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It was noted that he did have a slight bump to the front of his head.

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Foster's ridiculous lies were unravelling fast

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and when interviewed by local police, he answered, "No comment,"

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to all questions.

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In a ground-breaking case,

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Foster became only the second ever inmate in the country to be

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charged with fraud offences committed from the inside.

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Once again, he was heading for the dock at Manchester Crown Court.

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Mr Foster never actually admitted to his attempt on fraud.

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It was taken to trial

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and he received nine months on top of his original sentence.

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In court, a jury found Foster guilty

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and the judge was damning in his verdict.

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He told Foster:

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I don't think this was a well-thought-out claim at all.

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The fact that he was claiming for an injury that he'd already

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sustained earlier in the same day and the record was there,

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he did receive medical treatment for that injury, which he

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knew of, makes it not a sophisticated attempt at all.

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Foster was looking for a bumper payday, knowing that substantial

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compensation had already been paid to prisoners, but his plan

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backfired and, instead,

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he was landed with an extra nine months inside.

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The best thing about this job is successfully

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defending against fraudulent claims, getting a brilliant outcome,

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saving the taxpayer the money.

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It was a really good feeling that we could get this guy prosecuted.

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Still to come, the Asset Protection Unit

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play cat and mouse with an evasive customer whose borrowed car

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has crossed the point of no return.

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If I think that there is a danger that vehicle might be stolen,

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I will authorise a snatch-back, which is two of my staff

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going to physically go and get the car back.

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And an insider trader on the fiddle gets an unexpected

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visit from the IFED team.

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It wasn't long before Mr Clegg received the famous

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knock on the door from IFED and his skulduggery was uncovered.

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Crash-for-cash is becoming a major policing issue.

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Currently, UK police forces are investigating 110

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of these scams, across the country.

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Reports claim that one in seven personal injury

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claims are linked to deliberate crashes.

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These crashes are designed to milk insurance companies of up to

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£30,000 per crash.

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It's big money and it's a serious danger to the public.

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Britain's police forces are determined to put the brakes

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on this type of crime, and Thames Valley Police is no exception.

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Police! Open the door now, last chance!

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Detective Inspector Louise Roddy, from Force CID, has a team

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of 25 officers dealing with crimes from murder to blackmail and fraud.

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We work closely with the Insurance Fraud Bureau

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and the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure that we have got

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a watertight case to present at court.

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Second person in here.

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But it's not just costing the insurers thousands.

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These criminals are putting innocent lives at risk.

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People are getting seriously hurt.

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Unsuspecting members of the public are driving on busy roads and they'll

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be involved in these accidents because they are targeted by

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such an organised group, and that's why we're involved

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in the investigation.

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It's early morning at HQ.

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After months of hard work, today is the start of an operation

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designed to smash another suspected crash-for-cash gang

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believed to be working in the area.

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We want to send out a really clear message from Thames Valley Police

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that these offences will be dealt with robustly,

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that offenders will be arrested, and, at any opportunity,

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we'll prosecute them.

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Helping to take the fight to the suspected scammers

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is Detective Sergeant Tony Maddison,

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who quickly brings the officers up to speed.

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Please expect the unexpected.

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We don't know what exactly we're going to find.

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What I will say is that, other than our objective,

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our main arrest, which is highlighted in the arrest packs,

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there could potentially be other offences disclosed.

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The coppers begin to head out, ready to hit the suspected

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fraudsters right where it hurts.

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With five separate warrants served across multiple raids,

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the Rapid Entry Team are called in to assist at every single address.

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-Police officers. Open up!

-..at the address.

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Police!

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-Open your door, please!

-Clear.

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You're under arrest on suspicion of fraud.

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Three suspects have already been arrested

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and taken away for further questioning.

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Evidence has been seized at various premises during four multiple

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raids so far.

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With just one address left to target, the team are hopeful that

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another suspected fraudster is about to be brought to

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book by the police.

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Sergeant Alex Clough is leading the raiding party into action.

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We're off to conduct a warrant

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and hopefully arrest for fraud offences, dangerous driving.

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The intelligence we have got is that we're going to go and arrest a male.

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That's the only male that we expect to find at the address.

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The offences being committed, we're looking for documents,

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insurance documents, passports, identification, mobile phones.

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The warrant is going to be conducted as a door knock,

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but if no-one answers, we have the powers to force entry.

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Once again, the team

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are assisted by rapid entry officers wearing protective clothing.

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Their job is to gain entry to the building as quickly

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and safely as possible, ensuring that suspects have no time

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to dispose of incriminating evidence.

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Hiya. It's the police. All right to come in?

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We've got a warrant to search this property.

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But not every door knock yields a result.

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Hello, it's the police. Hello? Police. Is anyone here?

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Hello, it's the police. Are you all right?

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Officers check round the back just in case.

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Who else is in the address? Who else is in here?

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After looking over the premises for further occupants,

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the officer runs a check to verify the identity of the male tenant.

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We suspect there is a person living at this address that has

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committed offences. Not you, but we still need to search the property.

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We'll need to search the whole property in relation to the

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offences of fraud, conspiracy to destroy debt or damage property

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and also dangerous driving.

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A thorough search is carried out across the house.

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Detailed checks are made in bags, boxes,

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drawers and cupboards in every room, making sure that no mattress

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is left unturned in the hunt for evidence.

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Getting letters like that, an address just down the road.

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That's the suspect linked with these guys.

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Has that got anything that could link them?

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We've just found some sort of various letters regarding

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financial arrangements relating to, either the landlord of this property

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or the younger male occupant, but at a different address.

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It may be that there's a group of addresses in the area where

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people are moving around, so it could be relevant.

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As the search for evidence continues,

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the boys in blue check further documentation,

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to try and confirm the details of all the occupants at the premises.

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We've detained three persons, done some checks on them

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and we're confident that they are not connected

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to the person that we were after originally.

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We've some valuable intelligence, but, unfortunately,

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not the suspect that we were after.

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This morning's search is over,

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but contacting the owner of the property may yield further clues.

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That's us done.

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We've got some details of the landlord which we're going

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to progress with to find out whether or not our suspect lived here,

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and perhaps a forwarding address to where they've gone to.

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Whilst this team didn't get to arrest their man...

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the wider case remains under investigation and the police's

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commitment to reduce crash-for-cash crime in the area continues.

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In times of financial hardship, as the bills start piling up,

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people begin to worry about keeping a roof over their heads.

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Thankfully, for a relatively low sum each month, income protection

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insurance is there to cover up to 70%

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of earnings should you fall ill.

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Especially useful if your job is more like a hobby

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but relies on you being fit and well.

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52-year-old professional Laurie Turner

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was one of the lucky few that got to ply his trade

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on the greens and fairways of Yorkshire,

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whilst helping local golfers improve their game.

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Unfortunately for Mr Turner, a debilitating knee problem

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threatened to put paid to his ideal vocation,

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and saw his golf career heading straight for the bunker.

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The claim was that he was

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unable to work, which involved teaching golf

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and also playing golf on the pro circuit.

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Luck was on his side. Turner had done the sensible thing

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and already had income protection insurance.

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Very soon after notifying insurers of his injury, he started to receive

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monthly compensation payments.

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The insurance company grew suspicious

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because they received information that Mr Turner had been

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working at a golf club and giving lessons to members of the public.

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The insurance company called in a private investigator,

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who promptly dusted down his clubs, picked up the phone

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and booked himself in for an actual lesson with Mr Turner.

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Despite the fact that Laurie Turner had a knee injury,

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you can see that he's able to stand, swing a golf club

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and it shows him receiving money at the end of the lesson.

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With the lesson ended and his golf swing vastly improved,

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the investigator passed the conclusive evidence

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directly to IFED, the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department

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at the City of London Police.

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It was found that Laurie Turner was playing golf on the

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Professional Golf Association Northern and Yorkshire Tours

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and receiving money for entering and playing in tournaments

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when also claiming on his insurance policy.

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With the weight of the evidence stacking up against him,

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Turner was well and truly in the rough.

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IFED arrested Laurie Turner at a golf shop he was working at,

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and he was prosecuted and charged with fraud by false representation.

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Pleading guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court, he was ordered to carry out

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140 hours of unpaid work and to repay over £8,000

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that he had fraudulently claimed.

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This type of insurance policy, income protection,

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is really important for people if they should fall ill

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and be unable to work, if they can't pay their mortgage.

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Unfortunately, Laurie Turner abused this policy by continuing to

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work and play golf and give golf lessons whilst receiving

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money from the insurance company.

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As any unlucky driver knows,

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being left without a car after an unfortunate smash,

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can leave you stuck indoors with the kids or unable to get to work.

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Thanks to legislation for insurance policy holders,

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a complimentary hire car is a real silver lining.

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The main business of Accident Exchange is to provide hire

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vehicles for people involved in non-fault accidents.

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If you're involved in an accident that is not your fault,

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Accident Exchange can provide you with a like-for-like replacement car.

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Unfortunately, what's great news for motorists can also be

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good news for fraudsters on the lookout for a free ride.

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Within Accident Exchange, the Asset Protection Unit, or APU, help

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keep a watchful eye on the fleet.

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We have about 3,000 vehicles, mainly prestige vehicles,

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and APU's main role is protecting those assets.

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Once the client's vehicle is repaired and sent back,

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they must return the replacement hire vehicle to the legal owners.

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99% of customers give the vehicle back and there is no problem.

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There's just the 1% where we need to take significant action.

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When a customer fails to return the car and starts ignoring calls,

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Neil is on placed on red alert.

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If they continue to drive, they'll be breaking

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the law, as the insurance is now invalid.

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There's an increased chance the vehicle may go missing or be

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passed to a third party.

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If I think that there is a danger that vehicle might be stolen,

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then I will authorise a snatch-back, which is two of my staff

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go in to physically go and get the car back.

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Snatch-backs are when the car's legal owners use a spare key to

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take the vehicle back directly from its location.

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Used as a last resort, this type of operation always carries

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an element of risk.

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It's 6am.

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It's been a very early start for APU's Matt Sperryn

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and his colleague Erin Sims, who set off from HQ

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at 3 o'clock this morning.

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They're making their way to the family home of a client,

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who hasn't returned a vehicle to Accident Exchange.

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The hire company who have let the vehicle out,

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they've been trying to communicate with these people for quite

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some time to get the vehicle back.

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Their period of hire has ended but now they've got to the

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point where they can't communicate with clients.

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They've been trying to call them, there's no answers,

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they won't reply to voice mails, e-mails, letters, texts

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or whatever else has been sent to them.

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So the only option that has been left to them

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to protect their assets, is to recover the vehicle.

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They've given us the basic details where these people are,

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we've done some background checks

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and it's felt that the safest and easiest and best way to

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resolve the situation is to get the vehicle back in a covert manner,

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hence the reason that we've got the spare keys.

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We can use technology within the vehicle to see where it's

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parking overnight, to see what sort of time it's started to be moved

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in the morning.

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Should they be true to form, the vehicle should be parked there now,

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when we get there. Hopefully it won't be in a gated property

0:19:460:19:49

and we'll be able to just get in it and scoot away.

0:19:490:19:52

As well as the all-important spare key,

0:19:540:19:56

Matt has some clever tracker technology at his disposal.

0:19:560:20:00

Using a smartphone app, he pinpoints the vehicle's exact location.

0:20:000:20:04

It's only a very small side street, so...

0:20:070:20:10

Matt doesn't know what to expect when he attempts to snatch

0:20:130:20:15

the car back from the client's drive.

0:20:150:20:18

Yes, it's this right, here, just behind this van.

0:20:190:20:22

With an eyeball on the vehicle,

0:20:240:20:25

it's important they position themselves for a quick getaway.

0:20:250:20:30

Go in there, turn round and you can just sit in the entrance here,

0:20:300:20:32

ready to go and you can see down there.

0:20:320:20:35

I can see the vehicle there.

0:20:350:20:36

You'll be able to see me get into it. There.

0:20:380:20:42

Matt's finally located the car, and snatch-back is go, go, go.

0:20:440:20:48

The vehicle is parked up this side street opposite us now.

0:20:490:20:53

It seems fairly open, it's not gated.

0:20:530:20:55

We may have to reverse so I don't think we're going to get time

0:20:550:20:58

to do a three-point turn, so we're just going to get in there,

0:20:580:21:01

get in as quick as we can and get on the main road and get away.

0:21:010:21:04

Time is of the essence.

0:21:130:21:14

Now he's in, the last thing he wants to do is stall it!

0:21:170:21:21

Matt has to be careful not to wake the client,

0:21:210:21:23

who's sleeping like a baby.

0:21:230:21:25

He has to be quick, and discreet.

0:21:260:21:28

Snatch-back complete!

0:21:330:21:35

Successful recovery.

0:21:350:21:36

It's always difficult when we're getting vehicles

0:21:360:21:38

back from a side road, side street, you've got to manoeuvre something

0:21:380:21:42

out, and this is quite a big vehicle,

0:21:420:21:43

so managed to get out there. No damage.

0:21:430:21:45

This is probably, what? £30,000 worth of someone's hard-earned money

0:21:460:21:51

and if it was 30 grand in cash in a bag,

0:21:510:21:54

we'll all be jumping up and down trying to get it back.

0:21:540:21:56

It's the same principle for me, to be honest.

0:21:560:21:58

They might not care about it, it might not be their vehicle,

0:21:580:22:01

but it is someone's vehicle.

0:22:010:22:02

It's the livelihood of the business who owned the vehicle

0:22:020:22:05

and it's in everybody's best interest to get it back unscathed.

0:22:050:22:09

One of the common hazards of the job is being pulled

0:22:090:22:12

over by the boys in blue for suspected car theft.

0:22:120:22:15

Once he's a safe distance from the location of the recovered

0:22:150:22:18

vehicle, Matt contacts the police in case the clients report

0:22:180:22:21

the vehicle as stolen.

0:22:210:22:23

It's just to let you know that we do now have possession of that vehicle.

0:22:240:22:28

If somebody does ring up enquiring about it, if they could be directed

0:22:280:22:31

to ring the main office number, that would be fantastic, thank you.

0:22:310:22:35

Matt gives the car a once-over...

0:22:370:22:39

..noting the vehicle's condition and making a photographic record

0:22:420:22:45

of the contents.

0:22:450:22:47

The car itself is in a complete state.

0:22:530:22:56

There are sweet wrappers everywhere, drinks bottles, crisps.

0:22:560:22:59

It obviously hasn't been cleaned inside or out.

0:22:590:23:03

There is a lot of property in the boot,

0:23:030:23:06

which tends to suggest two things.

0:23:060:23:09

One, that they weren't bothered about the vehicle, it's not theirs,

0:23:090:23:12

they don't want to treat it like it was their own, and that generally

0:23:120:23:15

they didn't have any intention of handing the vehicle back.

0:23:150:23:19

Unfortunately for Accident Exchange, the costs are still rising.

0:23:190:23:23

Despite recovering their valuable asset, the car needs petrol to

0:23:230:23:27

get to HQ, and they'll still have to pay to return the car's

0:23:270:23:30

contents to the client.

0:23:300:23:32

I think they feel it's a victimless crime.

0:23:320:23:34

They look upon hire companies or credit hire or whoever

0:23:340:23:37

they've had the vehicle from and they'll look at the business,

0:23:370:23:40

especially if it's a large national company or international company,

0:23:400:23:43

and they'll say, "Well, they've got hundreds and thousands of cars.

0:23:430:23:46

"It doesn't matter to them."

0:23:480:23:49

Whereas the truth of the matter is it is valuable to someone, it is

0:23:490:23:53

£30,000 worth of vehicle, it does make a business,

0:23:530:23:57

however many pounds a day on rent,

0:23:570:24:00

and they can't do that whilst people like this are holding on to it.

0:24:000:24:04

The absent-minded customer will soon have their property returned,

0:24:040:24:07

but their free ride at the insurer's expense is over.

0:24:070:24:12

It's really rewarding to get a vehicle back.

0:24:120:24:15

It's got financial implications for the people that own the vehicle.

0:24:150:24:19

We've helped save them a lot of money, hopefully.

0:24:190:24:22

We've got back a valuable asset for them

0:24:220:24:25

and at the end of the day,

0:24:250:24:27

it's quite a nice feeling to know that we might have

0:24:270:24:29

inconvenienced the client somewhat,

0:24:290:24:32

which is actions they brought on themselves, at the end of the day.

0:24:320:24:35

Insurance fraud comes in all shapes and sizes.

0:24:410:24:44

It's committed by a whole variety of people,

0:24:440:24:46

regardless of background or profession.

0:24:460:24:48

From labourers to doctors and from lawyers to footballers,

0:24:480:24:52

it's always surprising to hear who's on the take.

0:24:520:24:55

Even more shocking is when it happens from within the very

0:24:550:24:57

area of business trying so hard to stamp it out,

0:24:570:25:01

the insurance industry.

0:25:010:25:03

Mr Clegg was employed by one of the main insurers as an insurance

0:25:040:25:08

claims manager.

0:25:080:25:09

His day-to-day role would have been examining claims that

0:25:090:25:12

come into the company and sorting those out,

0:25:120:25:15

ones that should be paid out

0:25:150:25:16

and ones that perhaps require a bit more scrutiny before they get paid.

0:25:160:25:20

Now firmly established as the head of the claims team, it didn't

0:25:210:25:25

take long before Michael Clegg abused his position of trust.

0:25:250:25:28

He was soon turning his daily toil in the office to his own

0:25:280:25:31

financial advantage.

0:25:310:25:32

Mr Clegg recruited three of his friends and got them

0:25:330:25:37

to submit three separate fraudulent claims,

0:25:370:25:40

each for medical disabilities and incidences.

0:25:400:25:43

He oversaw each one through the system

0:25:430:25:45

and made sure that claim was paid out back to his friend.

0:25:450:25:49

Fraudster Clegg cooked the books

0:25:490:25:51

so that three separate claims were paid out over a five-month period.

0:25:510:25:56

The whole scam depended on Mr Clegg being in the position within

0:25:560:25:59

the company that he was, and him overseeing the checks and balances

0:25:590:26:03

that would have kicked in, and making sure the claims were paid out.

0:26:030:26:07

This happened once, twice, three times. Total amount that was

0:26:070:26:11

stolen from the company, £34,000, of which Mr Clegg himself pocketed

0:26:110:26:17

14,000 and the remaining 20,000 was split between his three friends.

0:26:170:26:22

His employer soon noticed the irregular payments,

0:26:220:26:25

and got on the phone to IFED,

0:26:250:26:27

the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department

0:26:270:26:30

at the City of London Police.

0:26:300:26:32

It wasn't long before Mr Clegg received the famous knock on the door

0:26:320:26:35

from IFED and his skulduggery was uncovered.

0:26:350:26:39

Within weeks, IFED made in-depth enquiries and began to investigate

0:26:390:26:43

the fraudulent claims.

0:26:430:26:45

The enquiry quickly uncovered the motive behind Mr Clegg's criminality.

0:26:450:26:50

Mr Clegg clearly found himself in a vulnerable

0:26:500:26:52

position, in the fact that he had £10,000 worth of gambling debts, and

0:26:520:26:56

rather than work out a plan to pay them back as any normal person would,

0:26:560:26:59

he thought differently and invented this scam,

0:26:590:27:02

roping in three of his friends to defraud his own employers of £34,000.

0:27:020:27:10

As Clegg soon found out, fraud is never the easy solution to clearing

0:27:100:27:15

a string of bad debts.

0:27:150:27:16

Unfortunately for Mr Clegg, this grand plan fell flat on its face

0:27:160:27:21

and led to Mr Clegg being arrested along with his three friends.

0:27:210:27:26

Michael Clegg and his accomplices soon found themselves

0:27:260:27:30

on trial at Manchester Crown Court.

0:27:300:27:31

Clegg pleaded guilty to fraud and was given

0:27:310:27:34

a two-year suspended sentence.

0:27:340:27:36

His three fraudulent friends were given community orders

0:27:360:27:39

of over 100 hours each for their part in the scam.

0:27:390:27:42

I deal with all types of insurance fraud - big,

0:27:420:27:44

small, from organised criminals to one-off opportunistic offenders.

0:27:440:27:48

However, it is disappointing when we do occasionally come

0:27:480:27:52

across what we call an internal fraud.

0:27:520:27:54

It's someone from within the company that is supposed to be helping us

0:27:540:27:57

prevent and detect insurance fraud, are actually doing it themselves.

0:27:570:28:00

Fortunately, it's quite rare, but when it does happen,

0:28:000:28:03

IFED, along with the insurer, will take the necessary action.

0:28:030:28:06

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