0:00:02 > 0:00:05Insurance fraud in the UK has hit epidemic levels.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It's costing us over £1 billion every year.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11That's almost £3.5 million every day.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18even phantom pets.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23The fraudsters are risking more and more to make a quick killing,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and every year it's adding over £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29But insurers are fighting back,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33exposing just under 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Subject out the vehicle.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..sophisticated data analysis techniques...
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and a number of highly skilled police units...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Police, don't move, stay where you are!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Just don't lie to us.
0:00:51 > 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.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13The Met traffic unit raids a fraudulent claims management
0:01:13 > 0:01:15- company.- The lengths people will go to get some money
0:01:15 > 0:01:17out of the insurance company, you know
0:01:17 > 0:01:21putting themselves at risk. I think it's extremely frightening.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25WATER way to make a false claim for a lost phone.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Whilst these stories and these tales, you know, are mythical,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31they're fairytales, basically.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34And a fake injury claim is dealt a knockout blow.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39The claimant was making up pretty much all of his evidence.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50In recent years, insurance companies have realised
0:01:50 > 0:01:53the importance of working together to combat fraud.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58The Insurance Fraud Bureau, or IFB, was formed to help share
0:01:58 > 0:02:03information, work with the police and stop fraudsters in their tracks.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05They think they're just committing a few frauds
0:02:05 > 0:02:09and it's going to go unnoticed amongst the entire industry.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The reality is that the IFB has in excess of 140 million
0:02:13 > 0:02:16documents from claims and policies across the industry.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18We analyse those and we're looking to find the trends
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and patterns that fraudsters are trying to hide from us.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24One such trend involves claims management companies.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26These businesses process insurance
0:02:26 > 0:02:28claims on behalf of the general public.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Unfortunately, claims management companies are very frequently
0:02:31 > 0:02:33exploited by criminal gangs.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Out of all the alive investigations the IFB currently
0:02:36 > 0:02:39have, around a half of those investigations have a claims
0:02:39 > 0:02:42management company at the core of what they're doing.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44These fraudulent claims management companies make
0:02:44 > 0:02:48money by deliberately causing or inducing accidents.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Induced accidents, being where you take a vehicle out onto
0:02:51 > 0:02:53the road and you don't have an accident, you actually
0:02:53 > 0:02:56purposefully create a collision by stamping your brakes
0:02:56 > 0:02:59on in front of an innocent member of the public.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01This is how it works.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02First, the gang choose a victim.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Then they move their two cars into position in front of the target.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Gang car number one then slams on its brakes. Gang car two
0:03:11 > 0:03:16reacts by braking hard, resulting in a rear end shunt from the victim.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Gang car one then turns off at the next possible turning,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21pretending to be unaware of the crash.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Leaving the victim supposedly at fault for the damage to gang
0:03:25 > 0:03:27car two.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30The fraudulent claims management company then processes
0:03:30 > 0:03:32the claim and exaggerates the amount of damage
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and injury in order to get more compensation.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37But all that's about to change.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41The fact is, with our data on the scale that we have and state
0:03:41 > 0:03:45of the art technology, there is no longer anywhere for them to hide.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49It's not just the IFB who has them in their sights.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53It's frightening the amount that is actually being committed,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56the level, you know, the lengths people will go to get some
0:03:56 > 0:03:59money out of the insurance company. You know, putting themselves at risk.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I think it's extremely frightening.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06DI Dave Hindmarsh heads up the Metropolitan Police's roads
0:04:06 > 0:04:08and transport policing command.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12His team has built a strong reputation for detecting this
0:04:12 > 0:04:14type of organised fraud.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18One of their most notable successes was a North London outfit.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22At around about November 2011,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Kami Claims Management was,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27was flagged to us through intelligence
0:04:27 > 0:04:32policing as a company which was a claims management company and were
0:04:32 > 0:04:37suspected of deliberately causing crashes with innocent road users.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42The company secretary of North London based
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Kami Claim Management Ltd was one Andre Malagiac...
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and, according to the police intelligence, he was using the
0:04:50 > 0:04:52company to rake in big bucks.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58The way Kami Claims were making a financial benefit out of this
0:04:58 > 0:04:59was in a number of ways.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04First of all, they would arrange for the collisions to occur,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06so it would be an induced collision.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11They would then sell the personal injury claims to a solicitor.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Now, at the time, they would then be... They would receive
0:05:14 > 0:05:19a solicitor's referral fee of several hundred pounds per claim.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24They would also submit claims for storage of cars.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Often the cars weren't stored but they'd still submit claims.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But most importantly, the...
0:05:29 > 0:05:31the bulk of the financial benefit was through what's called
0:05:31 > 0:05:36credit hire, which is where the... the innocent party, if it was
0:05:36 > 0:05:40a genuine crash, would be entitled to a like-for-like replacement car.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43So they would purport to hire a car
0:05:43 > 0:05:46when that car was often not hired or didn't even exist.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51The credit hire cars might have been fake
0:05:51 > 0:05:54but the money changing hands was real.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57There is a bog-standard figure of around about, a simple
0:05:57 > 0:06:00collision will cost an insurer around about £60,000.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Dave and his team launched an investigation,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and the results were disturbing.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10We were able to say that specifically two collisions,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12which happened in early 2012,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15were deliberate in that they were
0:06:15 > 0:06:19induced purely for,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23for making money out of third party insurers.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26If, as they suspected, the company was acting as a front for criminal
0:06:26 > 0:06:30activity, the police unit needed to move quickly to shut it down
0:06:30 > 0:06:32and eliminate the risk to the public.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36It moved to the next phase, which would be the search
0:06:36 > 0:06:38and arrest phase.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41We obtained several warrants from the magistrates' court,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45and they were executed on various home addresses
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and the business premises of Kami Claims.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Early one morning, the team struck.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Clear in here.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04DC Rob Eastick managed the search at location one.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Right, so what we're going to do now is have a good search of this
0:07:07 > 0:07:10place, have a good look around, try see if we can find any mobile phones
0:07:10 > 0:07:14or any documents in relation to insurance claims.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19And that's just what they find.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22In the flat, we found quite a lot of documents, a lot of banking
0:07:22 > 0:07:25documents and a lot of documents in relation to accidents.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29I think perhaps that's part of a larger conspiracy. I don't know.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32But there is a lot of stuff we're taking.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Where was that found? Was that...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- Bottom drawer.- ..there's more to come from the search.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40That one is on the list. She says, "Can you take it?"
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And some big pieces of evidence are seized.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47All told, with the searches we did that morning,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52we seized ten motor vehicles that we were able to identify had
0:07:52 > 0:07:54been used in criminality.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06According to Ofcom, 93% of adults own or use a mobile phone in the UK.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12With so many handsets, phone cover is now a significant
0:08:12 > 0:08:14sector of the insurance industry.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Andy Morris is Assurant's chief marketing officer.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Listening to claimants spin yarns is all
0:08:28 > 0:08:32part of the job for the company's fraud investigators.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37Whilst the stories and these tales, you know, are mythical or
0:08:37 > 0:08:40almost made up, they're fairytales, basically.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43What's really clear is these fraudsters are determined
0:08:43 > 0:08:47and focused to attempt to defraud the really good
0:08:47 > 0:08:51customers in the industry over £1 billion each year.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56One claimant recently called to register the loss of his phone
0:08:56 > 0:08:59in particularly unusual circumstances.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04They claimed that they had been involved in a...in a fight.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09They'd fallen into a canal and lost their iPhone.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Ah!
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Sounds like a flight of fancy, or should that should be
0:09:15 > 0:09:17fight of fancy?
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Doubts were flooding in and an investigation was launched.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24We immediately reviewed the case, as we have to,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27on its individual merits and, um,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32the circumstances of the claim flagged with our fraud
0:09:32 > 0:09:34triggers and our fraud team.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Which then resulted in a subsequent call from our fraud team with
0:09:41 > 0:09:43the claimant.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05The call handler's training was key in getting to the
0:10:05 > 0:10:07bottom of the case.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11One of the things that our team is expert
0:10:11 > 0:10:16and skilled in doing is an interview technique with the claimants.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20We ask questions around, you know, did the claimant understand
0:10:20 > 0:10:23the value of the device, or had they sold the device, or
0:10:23 > 0:10:27ultimately just trying to understand a little bit more information.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Doubts were starting to surface that the phone had ever been
0:10:52 > 0:10:55lost at all and they were dealing with a totally false claim.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Further investigation revealed what had really happened.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03We received information through our network
0:11:03 > 0:11:07of partners and our network of data
0:11:07 > 0:11:12that indeed this device had been sold to a recycler
0:11:12 > 0:11:17on the 26th of May, which was the day before they purchased the insurance.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21They had sold the phone, then taken out insurance, then tried to
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- make a claim to get an additional pay-out.- Ah!
0:11:24 > 0:11:26It was time to take the plunge
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and challenge the insured about the sale of the phone.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46The claimant had been caught out,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49but if they had that sinking feeling, they weren't letting on.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51In fact, they went on the defensive.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45But he was totally out of his depth.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48The existence of multiple policies doesn't void them,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51it's only multiple claims that are ruled out.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20At this point, the claim had well and truly sunk and Assurant
0:13:20 > 0:13:22heard nothing more from the man.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26I do think that the fraudsters underestimate
0:13:26 > 0:13:29the amount of information that we have either on them
0:13:29 > 0:13:33or the device itself and what becomes very clear through
0:13:33 > 0:13:39the claims process, is upon presentation of that quite
0:13:39 > 0:13:44hard evidence that the claimants then ultimately will disappear.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49- Or in this case, they'll sink without a trace.- Ah!
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Any business that is accessed by members of the public has to
0:14:01 > 0:14:04have public liability insurance in case anyone suffers
0:14:04 > 0:14:06an injury on the premises.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10But according to figures from the Association of British Insurers,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12so-called slip and trip frauds
0:14:12 > 0:14:15increased by a staggering 75% last year.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Meaning scammers see this type of insurance as a soft target.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Our job is to pay claims when somebody is injured,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28quickly and fairly, and the majority of claims that come in here
0:14:28 > 0:14:30are honest claims where something's happened
0:14:30 > 0:14:32and people are injured, but unfortunately there are a portion
0:14:32 > 0:14:34where they're just made up,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36either injury has happened and it's not our fault,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40not our customers' fault, or nothing's happened at all.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Richard Hiscocks is Aviva's director of casualty claims.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The insurer operates a unit in Bishopbriggs
0:14:47 > 0:14:50which specialises in investigating injuries.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52They recently looked at what appeared to be
0:14:52 > 0:14:54an open and shut case.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57The third party claimed that as he went into a shop doorway,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01the automatic electric doors were malfunctioning and closed on him.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04He said after the doors closed on him, he suffered injuries
0:15:04 > 0:15:07to his head, suffered from dizziness and concussion.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10On the face of it, it sounded like he had sustained a serious
0:15:10 > 0:15:15head injury and this was reflected in the potential value of the claim.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19We put an estimate on of £8,900
0:15:19 > 0:15:21to cover his injuries and his legal costs.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25With such a large amount of money on the line, Richard's team
0:15:25 > 0:15:29put their heads together to work out exactly what had gone wrong.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33When we did the normal investigation, I think
0:15:33 > 0:15:36that's when things began to go awry
0:15:36 > 0:15:40because the witness statements from the people who worked in the shop,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45then subsequently the CCTV footage told a bit of a different story.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47That's putting it mildly.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Maybe the blow to his head was a bit more serious than
0:15:50 > 0:15:55he first thought because the CCTV completely contradicted his account.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58So this is a really interesting piece of video evidence,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01because you'll see that the guy who is a claimant
0:16:01 > 0:16:06comes into the shop, a normal busy shop entrance.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09People passing by on the street and him standing in the doorway
0:16:09 > 0:16:14and nothing happening except the doors are open as they ought to be.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Then you see the guy running behind, crossing the road,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20entering the shop and assaulting our claimant.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27The CCTV evidence dealt the claim a knockout blow.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Although the man had been injured, it wasn't the fault
0:16:30 > 0:16:33of the shop doors, which were in full working order,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35allowing other shoppers to enter.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Very interesting, somebody else comes into the shop from outside
0:16:38 > 0:16:41who just steps over him, obviously keen to get his pint of milk.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45One of the things that occurs to me is, our shop workers are trying to
0:16:45 > 0:16:47look after him and he later then puts in a claim
0:16:47 > 0:16:50which seems entirely unfair.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Unfair and unwise,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54considering that the whole incident was captured on camera.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59The claimant was making up pretty much all of is evidence.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Confident that there was no case to answer,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Aviva shut the door on the claim.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09We sent a letter of repudiation to his solicitors,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13followed it up by sending them a copy of the CCTV footage
0:17:13 > 0:17:16and they very quickly withdrew the claim
0:17:16 > 0:17:20and then declined to represent the claimant any more.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Richard's team had successfully headed off the false claim
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and they never heard anything more from the man.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Well, I hope this gives a strong message that
0:17:28 > 0:17:31if you put in a spurious claim, we will defend
0:17:31 > 0:17:34the interests of our customers and will take it as far as we need to.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Some people seem to think that what goes on tour stays on tour.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55But when it comes to travel insurance fraud,
0:17:55 > 0:18:00a false claim is a false claim, no matter what language it's made in.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03CEGA is a company that provides global emergency assistance
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and travel and medical claims services.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Good afternoon, CEGA Special Investigations, how can I help you?
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Simon Cook is the head of special investigations and he recently
0:18:13 > 0:18:16dealt with a claim from a traveller who'd experienced a theft.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24The customer told us he was travelling within India by road
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and he's pulled over to have a much-needed break.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34When the customer got back to his car, he realised the car had
0:18:34 > 0:18:37been broken into and his personal possessions
0:18:37 > 0:18:38and cash had been stolen.
0:18:41 > 0:18:46The victim was far from being a stereotypical broke backpacker.
0:18:46 > 0:18:52The customer was claiming for £3,000 worth of personal possessions.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57And £1,000 in cash, so the combined total of the claim was £4,000.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03A substantial sum for a travel claim and doubt soon crept in.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06We had some initial concerns with the claim
0:19:06 > 0:19:10because the customer was claiming for £1,000 in cash
0:19:10 > 0:19:14when he only had four days left of his 30-day trip within India.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20We would certainly have to question why he had that much cash
0:19:20 > 0:19:24left on him at the end of his trip and why it was in sterling.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Not to mention why you would leave that much cash unattended in a car.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Other issues meant the claim was struggling to get out of first gear.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38We also required a police report to have some independent
0:19:38 > 0:19:42evidence to support that the incident did in fact occur.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Further evidence was provided about the damage to the car.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50He later provided us with an invoice from an auto repair shop
0:19:50 > 0:19:54to confirm that the car window had in fact been replaced.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57But doubts remained and at this point, Simon's team decided
0:19:57 > 0:20:01to park the claim until they had spoken to the insured.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05We decided to conduct a telephone interview with the customer.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And in the interview the customer provided inconsistent information
0:20:08 > 0:20:13about the circumstances, he also provided inconsistent information
0:20:13 > 0:20:17about when and how he'd reported the matter to the Indian police.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19The claimant had done little to accelerate his case
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and with concerns still mounting, CEGA requested more evidence.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Bye-bye.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34He later provided us with two additional police reports...
0:20:35 > 0:20:38..which was very strange for a theft that would occur in India.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42You would only expect to really receive one police report.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46This brought the total up to three completely different reports.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49There was me thinking police officers hated extra paperwork.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53The first one was just confirming that an incident had occurred.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56The second one, there was additional information
0:20:56 > 0:20:58about where the bag was stored within the vehicle.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00And the third one was confirming
0:21:00 > 0:21:03that a window had in fact been smashed in the car.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Due to the inconsistent information
0:21:07 > 0:21:10the customer actually provided to us, we were concerned
0:21:10 > 0:21:12whether the incident had occurred
0:21:12 > 0:21:15in the manner he had described, if at all.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Some people might have thought that with the incident
0:21:18 > 0:21:22happening thousands of miles away, there was nothing much to be done.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25But Simon was prepared to go the extra mile.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30We decided to appoint one of our overseas investigators
0:21:30 > 0:21:34to go out to the police station to validate the three police reports,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36and also to go to the auto repair shop
0:21:36 > 0:21:39to see whether that invoice was, in fact, genuine.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42What he found meant it almost certainly wasn't.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Our overseas investigator spent about an hour canvassing the area,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49trying to find the actual auto-repair shop,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51but it was nowhere to be found.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54He then decided to speak with local residents and shop owners,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and no-one had ever heard of this auto-repair shop.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02But the key line of inquiry was into the multiple police reports.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Our overseas investigator
0:22:04 > 0:22:06interviewed the police officer in charge,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09who confirmed that the first police report was genuine.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11The officer in charge
0:22:11 > 0:22:14then looked at the second and third police reports.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18And he said he's never seen any police report
0:22:18 > 0:22:20such as that in his life
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and they didn't originate from that police station.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28It was arresting evidence that something was seriously wrong with the claim and CEGA took action.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32We formally repudiated the claim and invoked the fraud condition
0:22:32 > 0:22:35that's outlined in his insurance policy.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37We didn't hear anything further from the customer,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39which I think says a lot.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Not only did the claimant go away empty handed,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44there will be potentially serious consequences
0:22:44 > 0:22:46if he ever returns to India.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Due to the fact that the customer provided two false police reports,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52the officer in charge did, in fact,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55then issue a warrant for the customer's arrest.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57So next time he returns to India,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59the police are going to be after him.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Right.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Previously, DI Dave Hindmarsh of the Met began a search on a property
0:23:20 > 0:23:23connected to Kami Claim Management Ltd in North London,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26a claims management company he suspected
0:23:26 > 0:23:28was behind two induced collisions.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Clear in here.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35We forced entry, because we got a search warrant,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and we're just in the process of
0:23:37 > 0:23:39searching the premises for any evidence.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Decide on one person searching one room, I think.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44The warrant's for downstairs as well.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49But the raid is about to move up a gear
0:23:49 > 0:23:53as Dave heads over to the second location, the main company office.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57We will meet one of the directors, who's been arrested this morning,
0:23:57 > 0:24:03and we'll...we'll do a search looking for...relevant evidence
0:24:03 > 0:24:05relating to what we're investigating.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08That man was Andre Malagiac,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10the company secretary behind Kami Claim Management.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Do you use that one for business as well?
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Erm, nothing gets done on it.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27What we were looking for was evidence of criminality.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30That'll be fraudulent insurance claims,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34evidence of cross-credit hire.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37We were looking for any other evidence that would suggest
0:24:37 > 0:24:40that they were involved in other fraudulent claims.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45And it wasn't long before that evidence was forthcoming.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Went for the pencil.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Where was that found? Was that...?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Bottom drawer.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57We found a quantity of cash,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01we found evidence of claims that had been altered
0:25:01 > 0:25:04in order to facilitate more fraudulent claims.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Satisfied with the haul from the Kami office...
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Dave headed back to the first location
0:25:11 > 0:25:14where the search wasn't just focused on paperwork,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17they were after much bigger pieces of evidence, too.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19We've got two vehicles
0:25:19 > 0:25:23that we believe have been used in this particular crime,
0:25:23 > 0:25:30and as such we're going to seize them...as evidence.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33In addition to these two vehicles, another gentleman's been arrested.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Yeah, a good result. A good result at the moment.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46All told, with the searches we did that morning,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48we seized ten motor vehicles
0:25:48 > 0:25:52that we were able to identify had been used in criminality.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56That one is on the list. She says, "Can you take it?"
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Those cars have clearly been obtained through fraud,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07so we need to get rid of those cars, take them off the criminals.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And not only that, they're evidence.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11We're able to prove that these cars
0:26:11 > 0:26:14were in the possession of the organised gang
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and they were later used as decoy cars,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18or cars that were being crashed into.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Andre Malagiac was taken away
0:26:22 > 0:26:24for questioning at a local police station.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Later in the investigation,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29his associate Ion Vaduva was also arrested.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Eventually, a date was set at Southwark Crown Court.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40All of the evidence that we had uncovered
0:26:40 > 0:26:42was presented to the judge,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46which ultimately led to early guilty pleas.
0:26:46 > 0:26:52Malagiac was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The other male, Ion Vaduva, was sentenced
0:26:55 > 0:26:59to four months' imprisonment for his role in the scam.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Malagiac had been the company secretary
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and was instrumental in arranging the collisions.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Vaduva had a much lesser part in the fraud,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11but his sentence sent out a strong message.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14He handed over his car to the gang to be crashed into.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I think that's quite significant that he went to prison,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20because it shows how the courts are taking these matters seriously.
0:27:20 > 0:27:26And what I would say, is if you hand over your car in these circumstances,
0:27:26 > 0:27:32if you are convicted, then you must expect that you will receive a custodial sentence.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Ultimately, this type of fraud affects all of us.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Every single person who has an insurance premium
0:27:41 > 0:27:44will pay a little bit extra because of these frauds.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46That's the financial impact.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49It's actually more serious than that, because these people
0:27:49 > 0:27:52are deliberately causing crashes on the roads.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Now, they don't know what the outcome's going to be,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58someone could be seriously injured or killed.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01So, it is really, really important to stop these people
0:28:01 > 0:28:04who are doing these type of frauds.