0:00:05 > 0:00:09Insurance fraud has reached epidemic levels in the UK.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14It's costing us more than £1.3 billion every year.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17That's almost 3.6 million every day.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, and even phantom pets.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29The fraudsters are risking even more to make a quick killing,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33and, every year, it's adding around £50 to your insurance bill.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36LIFT CHIMES But insurers are fighting back,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39exposing just under 15 fake claims every hour.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Armed with covert surveillance systems...
0:00:41 > 0:00:44That's the subject out of the vehicle.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48..sophisticated data analysis techniques...
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Police!
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..and a number of highly-skilled police units...
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Police! Don't move! Stay where you are!
0:00:53 > 0:00:55..they're catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Just don't lie to us.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01All those conmen, scammers and cheats on the fiddle
0:01:01 > 0:01:04are now caught in the act and claimed and shamed.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Today, the wheels come off a bus driver's claim for compensation...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17He's doing all of the things he said he couldn't do.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20If he's driving cars around a busy carwash,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22anything could happen.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26..a thrill-seeking holiday-maker sees his case crash and burn...
0:01:26 > 0:01:29The customer then started to tell us that
0:01:29 > 0:01:30he couldn't remember what happened.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41..and an elaborate "crash for cash" con hits a bump in the road.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44- BRAKES SCREECH - He was simply reading the script.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47He had a piece of paper with all of the details on.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Whether you phone-bash all day in a call centre,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55or break bricks on a construction site,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58it is an employer's legal obligation to make
0:01:58 > 0:02:01your working environment a safe one.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03If you have an accident at work that could have been prevented,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07you have the right to seek fair compensation.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Lee Ingram is the claims team manager for First Group Transport
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and found himself facing just such a case
0:02:13 > 0:02:17involving one of their bus drivers back in 2007.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21The claimant alleges he was asked by his manager to bring some signs in
0:02:21 > 0:02:22from the car park,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26and, as he's carrying them through to the understairs area,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30he slipped on a plastic, sort of, wallet or folder on the floor
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and he alleged he's fallen backwards and struck his head on the floor
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and knocked himself out.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39SIREN WAILS This was a potentially life-shattering accident.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43He's claiming that he's sustained some quite serious injuries.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47He's alleging that he's prone to blackouts and dizzy spells now.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49He's claiming he's got no memory of the incident, and so he's got
0:02:49 > 0:02:53post-traumatic amnesia for some hours after the incident.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Bearing in mind this chap could potentially black out at any time,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01he's a bus driver, so this does have some quite serious ramifications for
0:03:01 > 0:03:03his future employment.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05With such severe injuries,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08the claimant's days ferrying passengers from A to B
0:03:08 > 0:03:11had come to a grinding halt... WHEELS SCREECH
0:03:11 > 0:03:14..as well as his ability to make a living.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17First Group were head-on for a colossal pay-out.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19By the time we got to the stage
0:03:19 > 0:03:21where he was ready to put his claim forward in
0:03:21 > 0:03:26its entirety, we'd moved up to round about £650,000.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29A large element of that was for loss of earnings.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Obviously, he's a bus driver, so, with the potential blackouts,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35he's not going to be driving a bus any more.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Also, he's got a potential care element -
0:03:39 > 0:03:42over £250,000 he was claiming for that.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44So, it's not an insubstantial claim.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And, on top of that, you've always got the ever-present legal fees -
0:03:47 > 0:03:50around about £150,000 for those.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54With a whopping £650,000 on the line,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Lee had to be sure that the details of the claim submitted were genuine,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and that First Group were in fact liable for the claimant's injuries,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06but there were a few issues authenticating the facts.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Initial investigations in this case were complicated by the fact that
0:04:09 > 0:04:14the premises where the incident had happened were demolished.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20We can't go back a look at the scene and check the mechanics
0:04:20 > 0:04:22of the incident itself.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24But this didn't stop Lee examining
0:04:24 > 0:04:28what information was available to him in forensic detail.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32He analysed the claimant's original hospital report,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36which turned up some rather head-scratching evidence.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38He's gone to A&E shortly after,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and they have found no blemishes, no lumps,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44no marks, no bruising...
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Now, for a head injury of this magnitude,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49to knock someone out and cause them a loss of memory
0:04:49 > 0:04:52for a number of hours, you would have thought that there would have
0:04:52 > 0:04:55been some sort of bruise, but they found nothing.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57His Glasgow Coma Scale,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00which is the reading of how someone's conscious state reads,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04he was 15 out of 15, which is fully awake.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06A 3 rating would be dead or in a coma,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09so you would expect him to be somewhere in between.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12So, the medical evidence would suggest the claimant was
0:05:12 > 0:05:15firing on all cylinders.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19But it was his treatments that really gave cause for concern,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21or rather, the lack of it.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24He refused to take a lot of the medication.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27He was very difficult to pin down for appointments.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Not the action of someone who wants to get better,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33but rather someone who's trying to hide the fact that
0:05:33 > 0:05:35maybe there there's nothing wrong with him.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37First Group had serious concerns that the claimant
0:05:37 > 0:05:40wasn't as impaired as he was professing.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Lee needed proof to back up his suspicions.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Following the number of irregularities,
0:05:46 > 0:05:47and the claimant's strange behaviour,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50we decided to seek authority to undergo a series of
0:05:50 > 0:05:53surveillance so that we could actually film the claimant
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and see what he was up to.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Well, if you're prone to random blackouts,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59need around-the-clock care,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and are battling bouts of post-traumatic memory loss,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05you might imagine very little, wouldn't you?
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Looking at the footage, it's showing the claimant being allowed to walk
0:06:12 > 0:06:16around quite freely on the family business, which is a small carwash.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20It's quite clear that the impairments he's alleging...
0:06:20 > 0:06:23He's doing all of the things he said he couldn't do.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26You can see him driving cars.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30If he's driving cars around a busy carwash, anything could happen.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35He could drive into pedestrians, into his fellow employees...
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Well, at least he's got his family around to keep a close eye on him.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43He's allowed to cross the road on his own with no real concerns that
0:06:43 > 0:06:45he could black out at any moment.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Or maybe not.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52He visits the bank on a couple of occasions for 20 and 25 minutes,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54assumingly to carry out some financial transactions.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57The surveillance footage suggested the claimant was living
0:06:57 > 0:07:01what appeared to be a very normal and surprisingly active life,
0:07:01 > 0:07:06and his next task would leave his £650,000 claim all washed up.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10He's seen to be cleaning some of the dirty elements of the car,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13the wheel trims and the lower side of the car.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16He's also seen to be giving supervisory advice.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19He's managing people, to a respect, as well.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And to cap it off, a spot of DIY.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Later on in the day, he can actually be seen moving a rather large piece
0:07:26 > 0:07:29of fencing, or a gate, quite near to the carwash.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31And, yeah, this is...
0:07:31 > 0:07:33I think it's with his son, that's helping him do it.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36So, you wouldn't really trust your dad to be moving that
0:07:36 > 0:07:38if he was as ill as he says he is.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43When I first saw the surveillance footage, I thought,
0:07:43 > 0:07:49"This doesn't look like the actions of a person who is
0:07:49 > 0:07:51"needing chaperoning on a 24-hour basis."
0:07:51 > 0:07:54This is someone who can black out at any time.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57With the claimant looking compos mentis,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00his case for compensation was about to take a real blow.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04With all of the inconsistencies that we had in this claim,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06we just weren't happy paying anything out,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10so we went back to the claimant and told him we had concerns,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and that we weren't going to pay him any money,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15leaving him with very little option to either drop his claim
0:08:15 > 0:08:18or take us to court, and he chose to go down the court route.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Despite being quite agile day to day,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24when the case got to court,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26the claimant didn't have a leg to stand on.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29When the judge had viewed the surveillance footage,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33he'd said that he would have expected to see someone drive
0:08:33 > 0:08:35this gentleman to the family business,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38escort him from the car under supervision,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42take him to maybe an office and leave him in there,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44seated, without expecting him to be wandering around,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47carrying out aspects of work.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Once the claimant was shown to be more limber than laid up,
0:08:51 > 0:08:52his case collapsed.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The outcome of the case was that the judge simply didn't believe
0:08:55 > 0:08:58the level of impairment that the claimant was alleging
0:08:58 > 0:09:01matched the surveillance footage that we had.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05He felt that parts of the claim had been put in with an intention
0:09:05 > 0:09:08to try and deceive us, and therefore,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12because part of the claim was found to be predominantly not true,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14he wouldn't allow any of the claim through,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17so the whole thing was struck out as an abuse of the process.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20It was a just result for Lee and the First Group claims team
0:09:20 > 0:09:24and proof that any suspicious cases will be investigated.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27First will fight these claims to trial.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32We do often take these sorts of cases on and we will normally win.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36A particularly satisfying element of this claim is that we had a rather
0:09:36 > 0:09:40large bill of costs that the claimant was ordered to pay us.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43He's going to have to wash an awful lot of cars to pay that one off.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Still to come,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54a first-class postal fraud is detected by Royal Mail...
0:09:54 > 0:10:00Checks revealed that Mr Mohammed had set up three online auction accounts
0:10:00 > 0:10:02in the space of three minutes.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05..and a group of pretend passengers' personal injury claims
0:10:05 > 0:10:06come under scrutiny.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08That's fundamentally inconsistent,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10and meant that we had to doubt
0:10:10 > 0:10:12whether or not the claims were genuine.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Going on holiday, whether you're a sun-worshipper,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21a culture vulture or thrill-seeker,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24is most people's chance to get away from the stresses and strains
0:10:24 > 0:10:26of everyday life.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Holiday insurance is something you hope you will never have to use,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33but if your great escape turns into a bout of tourism trauma,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37then having the right level of cover in place can be a life-saver.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Simon Cook is head of special investigations
0:10:41 > 0:10:43for holiday insurers Cega.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47His team received one particular call from a distressed holiday-maker
0:10:47 > 0:10:48in a desperate situation.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54The customer contacted our medical emergency helpline to explain that
0:10:54 > 0:10:56he had fallen whilst trekking in Morocco.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00With such a serious accident,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Simon's team didn't waste any time getting to grips with the claim.
0:11:04 > 0:11:05As part of our service,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08we contacted the hospital to obtain a medical report,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12so we could see the injuries the customer had sustained.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14It sounds like it was a serious fall,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17because the customer had sustained a fractured vertebra,
0:11:17 > 0:11:18ankle and wrist.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22The value of the claim was just over £50,000.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25The claims handler passed the medical report over to
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Cega's specialist team, as is standard practice,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32which revealed a rather major discrepancy.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35What rang alarm bells for us was that the medical report,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38which did, in fact, contain limited information,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41stated that the customer had been involved in a paragliding accident,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45which was completely different to what he initially told us happened.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47In case your French is a little rusty,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51this translates as "victim of a paragliding fall",
0:11:51 > 0:11:56ie gracefully riding pockets of air at heights of up to 18,000 feet.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Just a tad different to a mosey through the Moroccan hills,
0:12:00 > 0:12:01as he originally reported.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05We asked the customer to clarify why the circumstances were different on
0:12:05 > 0:12:09the medical report to what he actually had told us when he first
0:12:09 > 0:12:11contacted us.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14A claims handler from Simon's team gave the claimant a call
0:12:14 > 0:12:15to clarify the details.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04So, the claimant was now adamant he had not paraglided,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07but that wasn't the only thing that didn't add up.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Cega's experts had been taking a close look at the medical report.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14For the customer to have sustained these type of injuries,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17he would have had to have fallen from a significant height.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20A significant height.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30A couple of metres?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33The claimant's injuries were more consistent with a fall
0:13:33 > 0:13:35from a much greater height -
0:13:35 > 0:13:39I don't know, maybe those sustained from a paragliding accident.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42With his story starting to feel like a flight of fancy,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45the team dug a little deeper.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46On the back of the initial call,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49we did some background searches on the internet
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and found some videos that heavily affiliated the customer
0:13:53 > 0:13:56with paragliding and paramotoring.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58This information was put to the claimant.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27MUSIC: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
0:14:34 > 0:14:36It's about now that the claimant should be reaching
0:14:36 > 0:14:41for his parachute, as his story is set to crash and burn.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45He has now admitted to paragliding in the past, albeit a long time ago,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48but is claiming not to be active any more.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Let's see what other grains of truth the claims handler can extract
0:14:51 > 0:14:53on this call.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Determined to ground the claimant's version of events for good
0:14:56 > 0:14:58and get to the bottom of this case,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01investigation turned towards the scene of the accident
0:15:01 > 0:15:03in search of new evidence.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07As we knew the precise location where the incident occurred,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09we managed to obtain the telephone number
0:15:09 > 0:15:11for a local paragliding company.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The person that we spoke with at the paragliding company confirmed
0:15:15 > 0:15:18that, at the same day and at the same time, he had in fact
0:15:18 > 0:15:22attended to someone who had had a paragliding accident.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49On the balance of probability,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52the fact that the incident had occurred at the same time,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55the same day and the same location,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58it would certainly suggest that this could well be our customer.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Between the discrepancy in the initial medical report,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04the nature of the claimant's injuries,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06his affiliation to paragliding,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and the eyewitness account from the scene of the accident,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13his version of events really started to nosedive.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16As the call went on and we disclosed the evidence we had,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19the customer then started to tell us that he couldn't remember
0:16:19 > 0:16:22what happened, which we thought was extremely odd.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44The claimant has developed a sudden and very convenient case of amnesia,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46but playing dumb wouldn't help his cause.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51Due to the fact that the customer was still denying that the incident
0:16:51 > 0:16:53was as a result of paragliding,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55we explained to him that we were going to have to
0:16:55 > 0:16:57complete on-the-ground inquiries in Morocco,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and we required him to sign an authority form for us.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34It may have taken a while, but the truth had at last landed.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37We firmly believe that the customer knew that he didn't have the right
0:17:37 > 0:17:41level of insurance cover, and that's why he provided us false information
0:17:41 > 0:17:43from the outset of the claim.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46We had no option but to decline the claim in full
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and there was no appeal from the customer.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Having an accident abroad and finding yourself uncovered
0:17:53 > 0:17:55is stressful enough,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58but, by lying about the circumstances of his accident,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02the claimant could have added an attempted fraud prosecution
0:18:02 > 0:18:03to his problems.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06We certainly appreciate the situation the customer
0:18:06 > 0:18:10found himself in, because the claim value was over 50,000,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14but this doesn't mean that you can provide false information to obtain
0:18:14 > 0:18:15insurance cover.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Holidays can be expensive,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21and extreme sports can bump up a travel insurance premium,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23but trying to save a few quid here or there
0:18:23 > 0:18:25could cost you thousands later
0:18:25 > 0:18:29should something go wrong and you're not appropriately covered.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31We're still unsure why such an experienced paraglider
0:18:31 > 0:18:35wouldn't have taken out the right level of cover prior to travelling.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41You do need to have the right level of insurance cover when you travel,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44especially when you're going to take part in extreme sports
0:18:44 > 0:18:46such as paragliding.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Abraham Lincoln once famously said,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Now, I'm no history teacher, but Honest Abe certainly had a point.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04In essence, all fraud begins with a lie.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Modern-day fraudsters continue to come up with ever more sophisticated
0:19:08 > 0:19:10scams to defraud insurers.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14But ultimately, the complexity of their deception is usually
0:19:14 > 0:19:15their undoing.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Staging elaborate road traffic accidents known as "crash for cash"
0:19:19 > 0:19:22has long been seen as easy money by fraudsters.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Mihir Pandya is the fraud manager for insurers Allianz,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and recently dealt with one particular case that appeared to be
0:19:30 > 0:19:32an everyday accident.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37This claim first came to light when we received a claim
0:19:37 > 0:19:41from an individual who had been involved in an accident
0:19:41 > 0:19:45in a hire car which belonged to one of our customers.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48With two cars involved, one of which was a hired vehicle,
0:19:48 > 0:19:49and multiple passengers,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52this was a complex, high-value claim.
0:19:53 > 0:20:01All in all, we received claims valuing up to £75,000
0:20:01 > 0:20:05and this consisted of seven personal injury claims,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08a hired vehicle which was apparently needed,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12and replacement cars, as both cars were damaged.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17An accident with this many claimants generates a lot of paperwork -
0:20:17 > 0:20:20however, it was going through their version of events
0:20:20 > 0:20:22that gave cause for suspicion.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27We had no concerns with our actual customer, our policy holder,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29which was the vehicle hire company,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33but there were certain inconsistencies within
0:20:33 > 0:20:36the claimant's statements of what actually had occurred.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40The main concern centred around the cause of the accident.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43In their initial version of events,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47the hirer had told us that a cyclist had swerved in front
0:20:47 > 0:20:50of the car in front, which had braked suddenly,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52and unfortunately he didn't have time to stop and went
0:20:52 > 0:20:54into the rear end of the car.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Two months later,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00he said it was a dog that ran out in front of the car in front.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Now, having any type of accident can be distressing
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and could affect the way we recall events.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08But confusing a dog and a cyclist -
0:21:08 > 0:21:11well, that's just too big a stretch of the imagination to ignore.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14The driver of the fault car had really slipped up here,
0:21:14 > 0:21:20and given Mihir's team a strong reason to question the entire claim.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Having identified this inconsistency,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29we took the decision to investigate the claim further.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Even more anomalies to do with the alleged circumstances of
0:21:32 > 0:21:34the accident were revealed,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37which wasn't good news for the claimants.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40On the basis of the information and evidence that we had,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43we rejected all the claims,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and all bar one were dropped.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50But one of the parties decided to take us to court.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54At this point, specialist insurance solicitor Sarah Hill
0:21:54 > 0:21:56was instructed to handle the case.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59On the face of it, the claim looked legitimate.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It looked like a genuine road traffic collision,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04but when we started to investigate,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08it was quite clear that this wasn't a legitimate claim.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Mihir's team had already established major inconsistencies
0:22:11 > 0:22:13in the cause of the accident,
0:22:13 > 0:22:18which had suspiciously changed from a rogue cyclist to a runaway dog,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20and Sarah didn't have to look far
0:22:20 > 0:22:22before she found further discrepancies.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26The passengers in the first vehicle, that was the non-fault vehicle,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29said that the weather was sunny and dry.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Unfortunately, erm,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34the passengers in the fault vehicle said it was
0:22:34 > 0:22:36wet and raining at the time.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Now, while microclimates do exist,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42it is a meteorological miracle for two to occur
0:22:42 > 0:22:44over one accident location.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47It was starting to seem like the accounts of the accident
0:22:47 > 0:22:49were works of fiction.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Part of our investigations included looking at
0:22:52 > 0:22:54whether the parties knew one another,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57so we looked at the backgrounds of the individuals
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and we looked on social media.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Quite stupidly, some of the profiles of the individuals had been
0:23:04 > 0:23:07left open and we were able to establish, prior to the accident,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12some quite beefy conversations going on between the parties of
0:23:12 > 0:23:15the two vehicles that allegedly didn't know one another.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18So, it appeared to be one big happy family,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21and, with so much communication, you'd think they'd all be in
0:23:21 > 0:23:23agreement over the events of the accident.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Next to be called into question were the navigation skills
0:23:26 > 0:23:28of one of the drivers.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The policyholder had said that he had gone to collect his son
0:23:31 > 0:23:35at a local pub, but when we plotted the route,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38it just wasn't a direct route to his home address and it didn't
0:23:38 > 0:23:42really make much sense in terms of why he'd take that route.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44When the questions were asked around that,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47there was no reasonable response for why that route was taken.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51All the evidence strongly suggested the event had been fabricated
0:23:51 > 0:23:53between the two parties involved,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55but they haven't got their stories straight
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and were reading from two very different scripts,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01as the driver of the hire vehicle's next act proved.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03He went into the vehicle rental company
0:24:03 > 0:24:05that he'd hired the vehicle from,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09and gave an account over the phone to the insurance company,
0:24:09 > 0:24:14and it appeared to the proprietor that he was simply reading a script.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17He had a piece of paper with all of the details on.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Well, how else are you meant to remember your lines?
0:24:19 > 0:24:22But the less-than-Oscar-winning performance
0:24:22 > 0:24:23would make no difference.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Once we have gathered all of the evidence together,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29we entered a defence with the court,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33which pleaded that we felt the accident was fraudulent,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35that it had been staged, due to the evidence
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- of all the inconsistencies. - BRAKES SCREECH AND CAR SMASHES
0:24:38 > 0:24:40We felt, based on the evidence,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43that the individual had hired the vehicle
0:24:43 > 0:24:46purely to set up this accident to claim compensation.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48With a trip to court on the horizon,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51the claimant developed a severe case of stage fright.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54This case never actually went to trial
0:24:54 > 0:24:57because, when we served the defence, pleading fraud,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59the claimant decided not to progress the claim
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and she discontinued her claim,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08so it was quite clear that there was a real intention to try it on,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10and that, once faced with the evidence,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13the claimant wasn't prepared to go all the way to trial.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Insurance investigators will use any and all means at their disposal to
0:25:17 > 0:25:20expose suspected fraudulent claims.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23We find a lot of liars through looking at what
0:25:23 > 0:25:26they've posted openly on their social media accounts.
0:25:32 > 0:25:38Later, a sickening fraud that duped an entire American city is exposed.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54The Royal Mail has been collecting, carrying and delivering all packages
0:25:54 > 0:25:57great and small for over 500 years,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01so, if something fails to arrive at its intended destination,
0:26:01 > 0:26:02it's a big deal.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Customers are always compensated for any genuine losses
0:26:05 > 0:26:06or damaged items.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It's a fact that insurance cheats have cottoned on to
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and are exploiting -
0:26:11 > 0:26:15commonly submitting false claims for lost or unreceived items.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Diane Matthews is a fraud manager for Royal Mail,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and it's her job to identify and investigate
0:26:27 > 0:26:29any suspected fraudulent claims.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31She was passed one case which involved their
0:26:31 > 0:26:33premium delivery service.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Royal Mail customer services received a complaint from
0:26:37 > 0:26:41a customer that a special-delivery item was delivered
0:26:41 > 0:26:42without the contents.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46There's nothing more frustrating than receiving an empty package,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and it's a matter Royal Mail takes very seriously.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52The contents of the special-delivery item were said to be
0:26:52 > 0:26:56a gift card of £260, so, obviously, quite valuable,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59and a loss to Royal Mail of quite a significant amount.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03These cases are always investigated, and it's standard practice
0:27:03 > 0:27:06to look into the claims history of the customer.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Checks were made as to the recipient,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and it was found that they'd made three similar claims
0:27:12 > 0:27:14in the space of six weeks.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Mr Mohammed, the claimant,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19was actually stating that there was gift cards inside
0:27:19 > 0:27:23each and every one of them envelopes, and, on each occasion,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26the envelope was delivered to him empty.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29The chances of that are, I would say, slim to none.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34With the gift cards mysteriously disappearing,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37but the actual packages being successfully delivered,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41it was one of Royal Mail's employees who first came under scrutiny.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44The finger of suspicion fell on the postman
0:27:44 > 0:27:46that was due to deliver that item,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and, when we went further into the case
0:27:49 > 0:27:53and found out this was one of several claims, obviously,
0:27:53 > 0:27:58our impression changed and we then started looking at Mr Mohammed.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02And they didn't have to look far to see an alarming pattern.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04It was found that, over the 14-month period,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08he'd made numerous claims for loss,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11mainly small electronic items and mobile phones,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15latterly going on to the gift cards that he'd bought.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17To further this investigation,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I started to look a bit more closely at the gift cards.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24With such a high number of claims over a short period,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27the spotlight of suspicion was now fixed on Mohammed.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Diane and her team turned their attention to
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Mohammed's online activities.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37Checks revealed that Mr Mohammed had set up three different
0:28:37 > 0:28:42online auction site accounts in the space of three minutes,
0:28:42 > 0:28:47and on each one, it was used to facilitate a purchase.
0:28:47 > 0:28:52On each occasion, he told the seller that they had not been delivered.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Royal Mail had sussed out Mohammed's MO.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00The evidence suggested he was buying discounted gift cards online under
0:29:00 > 0:29:03different guises, and claiming to both the vendor and Royal Mail
0:29:03 > 0:29:06that his purchases had never been received.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10The seller was contacted and they forwarded details of the card,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13which allowed us to go to the various stores
0:29:13 > 0:29:16and find out the transactions,
0:29:16 > 0:29:21and also to ascertain if any CCTV evidence of them transactions
0:29:21 > 0:29:23was still available.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Each gift card has a unique identity number,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29making them easily trackable when purchases are made.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30With this information,
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Diana was able to zero in on specific store locations where
0:29:34 > 0:29:37the supposedly-lost gift cards had been used,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41and, most importantly, check their CCTV recordings.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47When the CCTV footage was viewed,
0:29:47 > 0:29:52we identified Mr Mohammed as being the person spending
0:29:52 > 0:29:55the £260 gift card on several occasions,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58as well as being used by a family member.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Mohammed had been caught red-handed on camera.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04It was the crucial evidence Royal Mail needed to prove
0:30:04 > 0:30:06the fraudulent activity.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09He'd also passed the gift card to an unknowing relative,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12who had also been using it in good faith to make purchases,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16therefore implicating an innocent family member in his crime.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23At this point, we had enough evidence to arrest Mr Mohammed,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25so we sought assistance from Greater Manchester Police,
0:30:25 > 0:30:27who assisted us with that.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Diane and her investigative team had worked hard to crack this case,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35and were determined to be there when justice was delivered.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Myself and my colleagues from Royal Mail investigations
0:30:37 > 0:30:42accompanied the police on a search of Mr Mohammed's home address.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Evidence was then seized from his bedroom that matched
0:30:45 > 0:30:49the identical cards that were reported as not being received,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52and at that moment you knew that the right person had been caught.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Mohammed was given an opportunity to explain why the gift cards
0:30:59 > 0:31:01were found at his property.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Mr Mohammed was subsequently interviewed by officers of
0:31:04 > 0:31:09Royal Mail and he chose to answer no comment to all of our questions.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12But by the time the case reached court,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Mohammed had changed his tune.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Mr Mohammed pled guilty at court to two charges of fraud,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22and he received a six-month community service order
0:31:22 > 0:31:24and also a curfew.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28No matter how big or how small attempts to defraud Royal Mail are,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31they will always be met with the same response.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34The actual value of this claim is irrelevant to Royal Mail.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38The modus operandi of this is fraud and therefore it needs to be
0:31:38 > 0:31:39investigated and stopped.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Now, in recent years,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51the UK has acquired the catchy title of the whiplash capital of Europe,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56with an estimated 2.7 claims made for every reported accident.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Now, while many of those claims are genuine,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01the injury has long been seen by potential fraudsters
0:32:01 > 0:32:04as an easy, low-risk way to make a few quid.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Whether it's otherwise honest individuals making
0:32:07 > 0:32:10a one-off exaggerated claim from a real accident
0:32:10 > 0:32:13or organised gangs masterminding calculated
0:32:13 > 0:32:16"crash for cash" cons, it is all fraud.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26The Government was so concerned by this systemic crime that they set up
0:32:26 > 0:32:29the Insurance Fraud Taskforce to investigate.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32It's chaired by former Law Commissioner David Hertzell.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37The Government sent the Insurance Fraud Taskforce out
0:32:37 > 0:32:38for three reasons.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41First of all, they were worried about the cost of fraud increasing
0:32:41 > 0:32:43the cost of premiums for honest policyholders.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48Secondly, they were worried about fraud becoming morally acceptable -
0:32:48 > 0:32:52people thinking it was OK to just increase or exaggerate their claim
0:32:52 > 0:32:53a little bit here and there.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56And the third thing they were worried about was
0:32:56 > 0:32:58the link between organised crime and insurance fraud
0:32:58 > 0:33:01and difficult areas such as terrorism.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05The Taskforce's findings showed an alarmingly complacent
0:33:05 > 0:33:07public attitude towards this crime.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Opportunistic fraud. By that, we mean people who might just,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15on the spur of the moment, add an item to their claim.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17So they claim for an iPad they've never had,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20they might claim for a camera they didn't have, etc, etc.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24And so it's people who would otherwise be completely honest
0:33:24 > 0:33:26on the spur of the moment thinking it's OK to
0:33:26 > 0:33:27be dishonest with an insurer.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30And these opportunistic scammers continue to think that they can
0:33:30 > 0:33:32get away with it.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35There is a perception out there that something very much happens.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38In fact, the courts are quite tough on fraud.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43Axa's head of fraud Richard Davies is no stranger to these of claims.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48His team received one particular case from an Axa customer
0:33:48 > 0:33:51which involved multiple third-party passengers.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56Our customer told us that they'd collided with another vehicle -
0:33:56 > 0:34:00as a result, five whiplash claims were submitted to us.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04They were meant to involve three male passengers -
0:34:04 > 0:34:07one of 60, one of 40 and one of roughly 20 -
0:34:07 > 0:34:12- and two younger Caucasian females. - BRAKES SCREECH AND CAR SMASHES
0:34:12 > 0:34:15So, three boys and two girls in the car during the accident -
0:34:15 > 0:34:17seems pretty clear.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21There was a really big problem with this claim.
0:34:21 > 0:34:27Our customer had told us there were three males and two females
0:34:27 > 0:34:28in the car.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31However, when the claims came in,
0:34:31 > 0:34:35there were two males and three females in the car.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39That's fundamentally inconsistent and meant that we had to doubt
0:34:39 > 0:34:41whether or not the claims were genuine.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45Aside from one of the passengers mysteriously morphing into a woman,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48there's also the matter of the two female occupants who were reportedly
0:34:48 > 0:34:52Caucasian, but now seem to be hailing from an Asian background.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58It was a discrepancy that brought the case to an emergency stop.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00We rejected all of these claims,
0:35:00 > 0:35:05which were at that point valued at around £23,000.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07The claimants, however, refused to accept that
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and decided to take us to court,
0:35:10 > 0:35:15and we estimated that it would cost around about £200,000
0:35:15 > 0:35:17to defend those claims.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22That's over ten times the amount of the original claim.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Confident that this was a classic case of an opportunistic attempt
0:35:25 > 0:35:28at fraud, Axa weren't prepared to back down.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31The claimants came across very badly in court.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34When they were cross-examined, they changed their story,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37they changed the circumstance of the accident
0:35:37 > 0:35:41and the judge held that they just weren't credible witnesses.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44So far, it may have looked like a game of "Guess Who?",
0:35:44 > 0:35:47but there was no mistaking the identity of the claimants when
0:35:47 > 0:35:49the final judgment was passed.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52The judge threw all five claims out of court.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57He said that the people weren't in the car and he made an order
0:35:57 > 0:36:00against them to pay Axa's legal costs.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03These individuals clearly thought, win or lose,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06there would be no consequences to submitting a false claim,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09but they were gravely mistaken.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12We think that the claimants were motivated just by money.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16They thought that they could get away with £23,000 from an insurance
0:36:16 > 0:36:21company simply by submitting five fake claims.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23When we know that a claim is false,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27we will defend it and we will take those claimants through the court
0:36:27 > 0:36:30system to make sure they are shown to be criminal.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34And it's the honest policyholders who ultimately pay the price.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38It cost us £200,000 to defend them.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Those costs are paid on to genuine customers
0:36:41 > 0:36:46and is the reason why £50 is added to each premium that we pay
0:36:46 > 0:36:47for each policy we own.
0:36:52 > 0:36:53If you live in the UK,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56the NHS provides free and comprehensive health care,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59covering you for anything from a minor injury to life-threatening
0:36:59 > 0:37:02illnesses like cancer,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05but, in America, they operate a private health care system
0:37:05 > 0:37:08with all citizens required to buy health insurance
0:37:08 > 0:37:09out of their own pocket,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12much like you'd buy car insurance over here,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14and where there's insurance, there's fraud.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Michigan State, located in the north-east of America -
0:37:20 > 0:37:22the car capital of the US.
0:37:25 > 0:37:2790 miles north of Detroit,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Sara Ylen is sentenced by St Clair County Court.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43She received five years' imprisonment.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46This is just one part of a jaw-dropping story,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50which follows a fraud worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52an entire community deceived,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54and an innocent man jailed.
0:37:59 > 0:38:0211 years earlier, in 2003,
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Sara Ylen claimed to have contracted
0:38:04 > 0:38:06a sexually transmitted disease,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08which developed into cervical cancer,
0:38:08 > 0:38:12after allegedly being attacked by James Grissom,
0:38:12 > 0:38:13who was subsequently jailed.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Sara would call upon her health insurers,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22who footed what would be extensive medical bills.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28They received regular invoices from a hospice for Sara's in-home care.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Medical records, which looked to have originated from
0:38:33 > 0:38:34a Michigan cancer centre,
0:38:34 > 0:38:38showed that Sara's cancer had tragically spread,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41and she was now suffering with the debilitating bone cancer,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43multiple myeloma.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Every day, Sara would rely on the support of care from nurses,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51who helped her with everything from household chores
0:38:51 > 0:38:54to bathing and dressing.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57The bills for this level of daily in-home care quickly ran into
0:38:57 > 0:38:59tens of thousands of dollars.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04She would make frequent trips to hospital to receive treatments
0:39:04 > 0:39:07and could commonly be seen coming and going in a wheelchair,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09wearing a tightly-wrapped headscarf.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Sara's future appeared bleak.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20In 2011, the health insurance claims team received
0:39:20 > 0:39:23a disturbing anonymous tip-off.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28A caller claimed that Sara Ylen did not have multiple myeloma,
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and in fact had never suffered from any form of cancer.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36On examination of Ylen's medical records,
0:39:36 > 0:39:40her insurers determined that they were in fact forgeries.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Ylen had simply downloaded X-rays of genuine multiple myeloma sufferers
0:39:48 > 0:39:53on her home computer, and had been passing them off as her own.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56When the doctors she had named were interviewed about
0:39:56 > 0:39:59her supposed disease, they had never heard of her.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05With this shocking discovery, her health insurance was terminated.
0:40:07 > 0:40:13By this point, Ylen had claimed 122,000 worth of medical care
0:40:13 > 0:40:15from her insurers.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18With her cancer scam exposed and her cash flow cut off,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20you'd expect Ylen to call it quits,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23but this only launched her into an even more heinous deception,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26which would encompass her entire local community.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Lexington is a quaint, family-orientated suburb
0:40:31 > 0:40:35of Michigan - the kind of place where everyone knows everyone -
0:40:35 > 0:40:39so, when news circulated that one of their own was fighting a supposed
0:40:39 > 0:40:41heroic fight against cancer,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44big-hearted locals responded with a flood of support.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49Neighbours would visit Ylen daily, bringing food, mowing the lawn,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53cleaning her house and handing over their hard-earned cash in the belief
0:40:53 > 0:40:56that she was bravely battling a terminal illness.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Ylen's local church group held various fundraising days
0:41:03 > 0:41:06on her behalf, which she would attend.
0:41:06 > 0:41:12They raised over 10,000, which she pocketed without hesitation.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14Ylen had been successfully deceiving a hospice,
0:41:14 > 0:41:20her medical insurers and an entire community for years.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23She also had an innocent man jailed for allegedly assaulting her,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27from which she claimed to have contracted her fictitious cancer.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32SIREN WAILS In May 2013, Michigan State police
0:41:32 > 0:41:34arrested Ylen on six felony counts,
0:41:34 > 0:41:38including fabricating an assault report and health care fraud.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43In January 2014,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Sara Ylen stood trial for claiming two men had attacked her
0:41:46 > 0:41:48in her own home.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52She had faked the injuries supposedly sustained
0:41:52 > 0:41:54during the attack.
0:41:54 > 0:41:55When she sought treatment,
0:41:55 > 0:41:58her cuts and bruises simply wiped off with gauze.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11At trial, she was found guilty.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13The figure visible behind her is that of
0:42:13 > 0:42:16the recently-freed James Grissom,
0:42:16 > 0:42:21who she had falsely sent to prison for her alleged attack back in 2003.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26James Grissom had spent ten years behind bars for
0:42:26 > 0:42:29a completely fabricated crime,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32victim to Ylen's manipulative lies.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41She was sentenced to five years for fabricating a sexual assault,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43and a month later was sentenced to an additional year
0:42:43 > 0:42:45for health care fraud,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48taking her total prison term to six years.
0:42:48 > 0:42:54She was also ordered to pay back the 122,000 she had illegally obtained
0:42:54 > 0:42:56from her health insurers.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Insurance fraud hits all of us in the pocket,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07but more and more of these scammers and conmen
0:43:07 > 0:43:10are being claimed and shamed.