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, even phantom pets.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29The fraudsters are risking more and 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 > 0:00:36But 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 > 0:00:44Subject out of the vehicle.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46..sophisticated data analysis techniques...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51..and a number of highly-skilled police units.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Police! Stay where you are!
0:00:53 > 0:00:55..they are catching the criminals red-handed.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Just 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 > 0:01:13A serving prisoner's phoney claim is easy to unlock.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17It's not often that you're faced with evidence that's this clear
0:01:17 > 0:01:21that someone has entirely fabricated a claim.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24A man's expensive tastes leads to his undoing.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27He must've had a lot of room service. That's all I'll say.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And an insurance company cries foul, when a footballer attempts to score
0:01:31 > 0:01:33with a claim.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36He also played against a rival during that four-week period,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38in which he scored a goal.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47When insurance fraud is committed against large, private companies,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51it's important there are systems in place to detect it and stamp it out.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Otherwise, it's ultimately the customers that pay the price.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58However, when a fraudulent attack is made on a state-run system,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01it's arguably even more important that it's discovered
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and stopped before any money is paid out
0:02:05 > 0:02:07to avoid a situation where taxpayers -
0:02:07 > 0:02:09that's you and I - are funding fraud.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Foston Hall in Derbyshire is a women's-only prison.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Joanne Riley, a litigation specialist at the prison,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22recalls a case where one of the prisoners
0:02:22 > 0:02:24put in a personal injury claim.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27The initial claim was for an accident
0:02:27 > 0:02:31that she alleged happened in her cell on D Wing.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33She alleged that she was moving a cupboard with a cellmate
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and, whilst moving the cupboard,
0:02:35 > 0:02:40the uneven floor made the cupboard fall and it injured her face.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Her alleged injuries were quite minor. It was nothing
0:02:43 > 0:02:48that required any hospitalisation or any time to see a doctor.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Even so, prisons have a responsibility
0:02:50 > 0:02:52for the wellbeing of their prisoners
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and, with an uneven floor being cited as the cause of the accident,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Foston Hall could well have been liable.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01As with all such claims,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04they began to investigate thoroughly before paying out.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08There didn't seem to be any reason why there would be any problem.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10It was only, in further investigation,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12when I looked to see if there was any reports
0:03:12 > 0:03:15that the floor was uneven that I discovered there was nothing
0:03:15 > 0:03:17logged anywhere with the maintenance
0:03:17 > 0:03:20department to say there had been any problems at any time with
0:03:20 > 0:03:23the flooring on the D Wing room that she was located in.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27By now, the prisoner's solicitors had officially started legal proceedings
0:03:27 > 0:03:30against Foston Hall.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34However, suspicious that the claim wasn't entirely genuine,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Joanne encouraged her supervisor, Carl Davis, to investigate further.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Carl's first port of call was to examine a book called a wing diary.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46It is used by staff to record
0:03:46 > 0:03:48everything that happens at the prison.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52And it immediately revealed an inconsistency.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56The claimant had reported to staff she'd received injuries
0:03:56 > 0:03:59on the 24th of October.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02The staff had reported that to our healthcare department,
0:04:02 > 0:04:07and they had made notes in the wing diary, to that effect.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10When we received notification from the claimant's solicitors,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12the claimant's solicitors were alleging that the incident
0:04:12 > 0:04:15actually took place on the 31st of October.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17That gave us some concern.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21It wasn't looking good for the prisoner's claim.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24However, nothing could have prepared Carl and his team
0:04:24 > 0:04:26for what they found next.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30At Foston Hall, all phone calls made by the prisoners are recorded.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33So, staff at the prison looked through the transcript
0:04:33 > 0:04:37from the phone calls this prisoner had made. And one stood out.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39It was to her father,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and they immediately passed on their findings to Carl.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The claimant was clearly heard to state that she had not received
0:04:46 > 0:04:49the injuries as a result of an accident moving furniture,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52but she had received the injuries as a result of a fight
0:04:52 > 0:04:54with another prisoner.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56During that telephone call,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59the claimant conspired with her father
0:04:59 > 0:05:04to ask the father to contact his solicitors, on her behalf,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07so she could commence making a claim
0:05:07 > 0:05:09against the prison service for injuries
0:05:09 > 0:05:13which clearly had not happened in the way she was describing.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15They had the proof they needed
0:05:15 > 0:05:16that this inmate had made up
0:05:16 > 0:05:19the whole story of how she'd got her injuries.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22They gathered together all the evidence they found
0:05:22 > 0:05:27and handed it over to the GLD, the government's legal department.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Henry Ripley, a deputy director at GLD,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32knew he had a strong case on his hands.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35So, the telephone recording revealed
0:05:35 > 0:05:37that she'd been in a fight with a prisoner,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39that she had sustained injuries
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and, ultimately, that she was looking to pin those injuries
0:05:42 > 0:05:44on the prison
0:05:44 > 0:05:47by bringing a claim that really had no basis whatsoever,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49simply in the hope of securing some compensation.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53It's not often that you are faced with evidence that is this clear,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57that someone has entirely fabricated a claim,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01so our reaction was one of surprise.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Ultimately, we took the decision very quickly this had to be evidence
0:06:04 > 0:06:07which would firmly back up our position
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and enable us to defend the claim.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11And therefore, the step we took next was to alert
0:06:11 > 0:06:14the claimant's solicitors to this crucial piece of evidence,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17with a view to this claim proceeding no further.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19What happened next came as no surprise.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23As a result of the evidence we put to the claimant's solicitors,
0:06:23 > 0:06:24she took the right decision.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26She didn't proceed with her claim and, as a result,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29the public purse was saved from paying compensation
0:06:29 > 0:06:30on a wrongful basis.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32The last thing taxpayers want to see -
0:06:32 > 0:06:34public money spent on compensating
0:06:34 > 0:06:36prisoners for claims that aren't justified.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And so this provides a really positive message
0:06:39 > 0:06:42to the wider public that such claims are being taken seriously,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44investigated properly and action taken, where dubious claims
0:06:44 > 0:06:47are being brought.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59An evil woman puts a 1 million price tag on her husband's life.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Travelling to far-flung corners of the world is now more possible
0:07:18 > 0:07:21than ever, whether you're heading for the plains of the Serengeti
0:07:21 > 0:07:24or the lava fields of Iceland.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26But, of course, your dream holiday you'd been looking forward to
0:07:26 > 0:07:30can quickly become one you would much rather forget,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33if you have an accident or are the victim of a crime.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38You can never be prepared for every eventuality,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42but companies like CEGA provide travel insurance,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45to help out if something awful does happen whilst you're overseas.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Simon Cook, head of special investigations,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51remembers a particularly horrific ordeal
0:07:51 > 0:07:54involving a man who was visiting Tanzania.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58The customer contacted our medical emergency helpline,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02to tell us he had been involved in an armed robbery, unfortunately.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05He had also told us that he had his personal possessions stolen
0:08:05 > 0:08:06in the robbery.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10It must be one of the most frightening things imaginable,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12to be held up at gunpoint. And, what's more,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15the armed robber had physically assaulted the man.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19It sounded like a very violent attack,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22because the customer was an in-patient in hospital
0:08:22 > 0:08:25for two weeks, so he must have been badly injured.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35The man was claiming £1,000 for his stolen possessions
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and £6,000 for his hospital bills.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Simon and his team are experts in international medical provision and,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46to them, this seemed expensive for a Tanzanian hospital.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49They waited for the paperwork to arrive.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The customer only provided three documents for a two-week stay
0:08:53 > 0:08:56in hospital. This just seems a little unusual.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00You would expect to see a lot more documents than that.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03They decided to investigate further and, as standard procedure,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06they contacted the man, to ask him to sign a form,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10giving them permission to examine his claim in more detail.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The customer duly signed the form, but we were concerned to note that,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18when he sent the form back to us, he stated in writing that he had now
0:09:18 > 0:09:21appointed a solicitor to deal with this matter.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24It is very unusual for a customer making a genuine claim
0:09:24 > 0:09:28to make threats of legal action.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31At this point, we were even more concerned with the claim
0:09:31 > 0:09:33that was presented to us.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37When Simon and his team have doubts over a customer's claim,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39they will conduct a full investigation.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42And distance is no barrier.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Due to our concerns with the claim, we decided to appoint
0:09:45 > 0:09:48our on-the-ground investigator in Tanzania,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51just to ensure that the claim presented was, in fact,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54valid and covered by the terms and conditions of the policy.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Yeah, they've got on-the-ground agents everywhere.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And this one wasted no time.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02He headed straight to the hospital,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05where the customer had been laid up for two weeks.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11The first thing that he noted was that the hospital doesn't deal
0:10:11 > 0:10:13in US dollars, which was the currency that the customer
0:10:13 > 0:10:17had claimed he'd paid the hospital in.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Further investigations with the hospital staff revealed that
0:10:20 > 0:10:24the customer's name was not listed anywhere in their official records
0:10:24 > 0:10:27and that he hadn't actually been treated there.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31So, he'd never even been inside the hospital.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The agent was going great guns.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Next, he headed to a hotel where the customer had stayed
0:10:36 > 0:10:40and later submitted the bill to CEGA, as part of his claim.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45We established that the hotel charge a maximum of 35 per night,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48which was obviously concerning for us because the customer
0:10:48 > 0:10:51had paid 135 per night.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53He must have had a lot of room service -
0:10:53 > 0:10:55that's all I would say on that.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57However, it did seem that, at least, this time,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01the customer had connections with the hotel.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04When we questioned the hotel manager,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07we actually established that he was good friends with our customer,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11but he then proceeded to tell us that the customer had provided us
0:11:11 > 0:11:15with a fraudulent invoice and he didn't actually stay at the hotel.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Who needs friends(?)
0:11:17 > 0:11:21I bet that particular friend is off the Christmas card list.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25The Tanzania agent had one final place to go.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28We then proceeded to visit the police station.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31We spoke to one of the officers there who immediately told us that
0:11:31 > 0:11:35the crime reference number provided on the report wasn't in the same
0:11:35 > 0:11:37format as their genuine crime numbers.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Further to this, the police officer that we spoke with said the person
0:11:41 > 0:11:45allegedly who signed the police report didn't, in fact, work at
0:11:45 > 0:11:49the police station and they don't even have a lieutenant as a rank
0:11:49 > 0:11:50within that station.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54As far as CEGA was concerned, it was case closed.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Armed with the evidence that we had obtained through
0:11:58 > 0:12:02our overseas investigation, we contacted the customer by telephone,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06to give him the opportunity to be open and honest with us
0:12:06 > 0:12:07about the actual claim.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'Unsurprisingly, the customer said he had nothing further to add
0:12:11 > 0:12:15'to the situation and he was making a genuine claim.'
0:12:15 > 0:12:19However, the on-the-ground work done by their agent had provided
0:12:19 > 0:12:22irrefutable proof to the contrary.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25It was entirely evident from our investigation that the claim
0:12:25 > 0:12:27was completely fraudulent.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31We weren't satisfied that any aspect of it was genuine.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34As far as we are concerned, the armed robbery simply didn't occur.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Simon and his team stuck to their guns and refused to pay out a penny.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42They never heard from their customer again.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Now, on this show, we look at lots of examples
0:12:54 > 0:12:56of people committing insurance fraud.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58With individual claims, more often than not,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00there is some truth behind the incident.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Say, a bag was stolen, but the contents are a little exaggerated.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Or an accident at work did happen, but the employee
0:13:07 > 0:13:09wasn't as badly hurt as he maintained.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It's all fraud and it is all illegal,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15but at least there was some grains of truth to the story.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Well, the next case we're going to look at involved lies so blatant,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21and told without a care for the consequences,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24that one of the highest legal offices in the land
0:13:24 > 0:13:27felt it necessary to intervene.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Richard Hiscocks works at Aviva, as their Director of Casualty Claims.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Back in October 2013,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36a member of the team received a call to say that one of their
0:13:36 > 0:13:39policyholders had caused a minor accident.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45So, we first became aware of this case when our insured
0:13:45 > 0:13:48had reversed into the claimant in a fast-food restaurant
0:13:48 > 0:13:53drive-through. They'd overshot the place where you speak your order
0:13:53 > 0:13:57into the microphone, reversed up gently and nudged the car behind,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00which was driven by Gary Burnett, the claimant,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03who then claimed that he had shoulder and neck injuries,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07which prevented him from fulfilling his normal life.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Gary Burnett was claiming £2,000 for his whiplash injuries,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14but, from the word go, his story of the accident at the drive-through
0:14:14 > 0:14:17left a bad taste in the mouth.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21We were immediately suspicious because this is what we call
0:14:21 > 0:14:25a low-speed impact. Our customer had told us that the speed at which
0:14:25 > 0:14:29he was reversing was very slight. The vehicle damage supported that
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and, actually, it is most unusual to get injury when the speed
0:14:32 > 0:14:34of the impact is so slight.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38They had photos from their insured driver that showed how little damage
0:14:38 > 0:14:41there was to either vehicle.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43We decided that, in the light of this evidence,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47the claim was spurious and we have a duty, in that case,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51to defend our customers. And, so, we decided we weren't going to pay
0:14:51 > 0:14:54this claim. He then proceeded to litigate against us,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59which meant the claim went to trial, for him to prove that he was injured
0:14:59 > 0:15:02and that we should have been paying him compensation.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Aviva enlisted their solicitors, Horwich Farrelly,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07to fight the litigation against them.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09David Scott represented them.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12So, when Horwich Farrelly got the case,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16we looked at the evidence presented by the insured driver,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19which were some very good photographs taken at the scene,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21which show virtually no damage to either of the cars.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24We also spoke in detail to the insured driver,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27who told us that this was a very, very minor accident.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31He reversed back a small distance into very, very minor contact with
0:15:31 > 0:15:34the front of the claimant's car. So, based on that, we decided
0:15:34 > 0:15:36to investigate this further,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38as we believed it to be a potentially dishonest claim.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Gary Burnett made his living as a window cleaner
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and also played football semi-professionally.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47He maintained that his injuries were affecting his ability
0:15:47 > 0:15:49to earn a living.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52The claimant had told his medical expert
0:15:52 > 0:15:55that the whiplash injuries were pretty severe.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58So they caused him to have time off work as a window cleaner
0:15:58 > 0:16:00and they also stopped him from playing football.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04He went on to say, in an official legal statement,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07that he hadn't been able to train or play for a whole month.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But, unfortunately, for Burnett, a social media search revealed
0:16:11 > 0:16:13that this was a total lie.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18The Twitter account of the claimant was one that was publicly available
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and showed the claimant had played football during this
0:16:21 > 0:16:24four-week period that he said he couldn't play at all.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26# Here we go, here we go, here we go
0:16:26 > 0:16:29# Here we go, here we go Here we go-o... #
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It showed he played against Kendal Town the day after the accident.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35# Here we go, here we go! #
0:16:35 > 0:16:38He'd also played against a rival during that four-week period,
0:16:38 > 0:16:39in which he had scored a goal.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41# Here we go, here we go, here we go
0:16:41 > 0:16:44# Here we go, here we go, here we go
0:16:44 > 0:16:46# Here we go, here we go! #
0:16:46 > 0:16:48He was very proud of his achievements.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Those tweets were to be a game changer.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57FULL-TIME WHISTLE
0:16:58 > 0:17:02They proved undisputedly what Aviva and Horwich Farrelly
0:17:02 > 0:17:06had suspected all along. Gary Burnett had, in no way,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09been injured as a result of the collision at the drive-through.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Once we'd completed our investigations,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18we served all of this evidence on the claimant's solicitors.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21On receiving that, the claimant abandoned his claim.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24He discontinued his claim completely and wanted to walk away.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28We reviewed the case with Aviva and we were happy we had enough evidence
0:17:28 > 0:17:30that - in fact, significant evidence - to show this was
0:17:30 > 0:17:33a dishonest claim, so we decided to take it on and take this case
0:17:33 > 0:17:37to a County Court, to present the case to a district judge,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40to find that this claim was fundamentally dishonest.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Gary Burnett wasn't going to be able to simply walk away from this.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48On the day of the court hearing, perhaps knowing he was beaten,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Burnett decided not to attend.
0:17:52 > 0:17:59The fact that the claimant didn't turn up to the initial civil hearing
0:17:59 > 0:18:01probably did hinder his defence to it,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05but the judge was satisfied that, based on the evidence presented,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08that there was more than enough to find that the claim
0:18:08 > 0:18:11was fundamentally dishonest. The outcome of the civil case
0:18:11 > 0:18:15was that the claim was abandoned completely by Mr Burnett
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and he was ordered to repay Aviva's legal costs of £11,000.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Burnett didn't receive a penny of the £2,000 he had claimed
0:18:23 > 0:18:25from Aviva in compensation.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And he now faces an £11,000 bill.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31It was 1-0 to Aviva,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34but this match wasn't over.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The civil judge, in a bold move, decided to refer this case up to
0:18:37 > 0:18:40the Attorney General's Office.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44The Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47They, along with the Solicitor General,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50work to ensure the justice system is properly served
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and the public interest looked after.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59Within the last 12 months, we have taken in the region
0:18:59 > 0:19:04of 400 cases to trial and this is the first one of those 400 cases
0:19:04 > 0:19:06that was referred to the Attorney General.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10This was a fact that it was such a brazen lie by the claimant to say,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12not only to the medical expert, but also to Aviva,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15also to the court, as well, that he was unable to play football.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18It was a very, very serious lie. The court thought it was serious
0:19:18 > 0:19:21enough to refer that on to the Attorney General,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- to consider prosecution. - The Attorney General's Office
0:19:24 > 0:19:27decided that Gary Burnett was guilty of contempt of court -
0:19:27 > 0:19:29a criminal offence.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Contempt of court is where someone disrespects court proceedings
0:19:33 > 0:19:35and makes a trial unfair by their actions.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Gary Burnett had told one too many lies.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Our Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, explains.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Well, it was very serious. The court that dealt with
0:19:46 > 0:19:50the contempt case made him subject to a four-month sentence
0:19:50 > 0:19:52of imprisonment, suspended for a year.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Because the court viewed it as essential to send a clear message
0:19:57 > 0:20:04to the public at large that this sort of deliberate, systematic
0:20:04 > 0:20:08dishonesty, that was fundamental to the case that he brought
0:20:08 > 0:20:10in the County Court, will not be tolerated,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14because it undermines the integrity of the civil justice system.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19Burnett's blatant attempt to defraud Aviva had left him with a hefty bill
0:20:19 > 0:20:23to pay and now a permanent criminal record.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26This footballer's case had been used to illustrate how committed
0:20:26 > 0:20:30the justice system is to tackling insurance fraud.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35The system of insurance and the costs of insurance premiums
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and the rising cost of premiums, if people make false claims,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41is clearly a matter of public interest.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43And, as a guardian of the public interest,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I think it is incumbent upon this office to get involved,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48where we see such serious cases.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55For Aviva's solicitors, Horwich Farrelly, this was a landmark case,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57which they believe will act as a strong deterrent.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01'We are very satisfied with the outcome of the case.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04'Mr Burnett presented what was clearly a dishonest claim
0:21:04 > 0:21:06'from the outset. This is the first of its kind,'
0:21:06 > 0:21:09where the Attorney General has not only taken on the case,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12but successfully prosecuted the claimant for contempt of court
0:21:12 > 0:21:13and for insurance fraud.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17It shows that the insurance industry now has the backing
0:21:17 > 0:21:19of the government and has the backing of people like
0:21:19 > 0:21:22the Attorney General in prosecuting dishonest claimants,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26regardless of the value of the claim.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36It is extraordinary the lengths serious fraudsters will go
0:21:36 > 0:21:40for financial gain. Most draw the line at causing actual physical harm
0:21:40 > 0:21:44to others, in order to make a buck. The key word there is "most"
0:21:44 > 0:21:47because there are some who will, literally, stop at nothing
0:21:47 > 0:21:49to line their own pockets.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55North Port is an affluent residential district in Florida.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00It was home to Janine Jones and her husband, Matthew Riley Smith.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Janine, who was once a corrections officer at the local county jail,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06was now up to no good herself.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13She and Matthew had a profitable, but totally illegal, scam going on.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16They were renting out abandoned and foreclosed homes
0:22:16 > 0:22:19to unsuspecting tenants across North Port.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The scheme was making them rich. Rich beyond their wildest dreams.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28But there was a problem. Someone had got wind of what they were doing -
0:22:28 > 0:22:32a handyman who worked for them, called John Chamberlain.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34And he was threatening to expose them.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Janine needed a way to make sure John kept quiet
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and decided that the only way to shut him up for good
0:22:42 > 0:22:44was to hire a hit man.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47But Janine didn't stop there.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50She also decided she'd had enough of sharing her ill-gotten gains
0:22:50 > 0:22:53with husband Matthew and she decided she would
0:22:53 > 0:22:55have him executed, as well.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Janine took out a life insurance policy worth 1 million
0:23:00 > 0:23:04on Matthew and prepared to meet with the hit man.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09The meeting was facilitated by a middle woman,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12who'd organised it to take place in a car.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Incredibly, what you're seeing is the actual footage
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- from that first meeting. - Hello.- How you doing?- How are you?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27To start off, Janine shows the hit man a photo of her first
0:23:27 > 0:23:29intended victim, John.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55She appears to have no remorse about the fact she's about to have
0:23:55 > 0:23:56someone's father killed.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01The conversation turns to her husband, Matthew.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21The talk soon gets serious.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24And, extraordinarily, she tells the hit man how she would like
0:24:24 > 0:24:26the first murder to happen.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Just a warning, this does make for disturbing viewing.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09The hit man next asks her how she wants her husband's murder
0:25:09 > 0:25:11to happen.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40There seemed no end to Janine's maliciousness.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44She had now suggested ways of killing two men -
0:25:44 > 0:25:48one her own husband - without showing the slightest emotion.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51In John's case, her motive was to stop him talking to the police
0:25:51 > 0:25:53about her illegal property scam.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And, in her husband's case,
0:25:55 > 0:26:00it was to get a 1 million pay-out from his life insurance.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02This was an evil, greedy woman.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07However, unbeknownst to Janine,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09the middle woman who had organised the meeting
0:26:09 > 0:26:12had, in reality, sold her out to the police.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17So, Janine had just revealed her wicked plan not to a hit man,
0:26:17 > 0:26:18but to an undercover cop.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24The middle woman, who was helping the police, arranged to meet her
0:26:24 > 0:26:27just once more, under the guise of wanting to finalise
0:26:27 > 0:26:30all the details of the first murder.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34This time, they met in a local diner.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36As Janine calmly ate her meal,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39no-one could have imagined what was being discussed.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Fortunately, for her employee John and her husband Matthew,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56this was as far as Janine's hideous plan got.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Waiting outside the diner were several police officers,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02who immediately arrested her.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06In June 2014,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Janine Jones was sentenced to life in prison,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11for trying to get two men killed.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15But there was a menacing twist.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19A few years earlier, Janine's first husband Max
0:27:19 > 0:27:21had died under mysterious circumstances.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25And it had to be more than a coincidence that, when he died,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Janine received a life insurance pay-out for, you guessed it,
0:27:29 > 0:27:321 million.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Max's family and the police believe that Janine had a hand in his death.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39But it's hard to prove, as Janine had Max's body
0:27:39 > 0:27:42quickly cremated after he died.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Whether it's exaggerating real injuries,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53totally making up a story for a dodgy claim,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56or masterminding insurance fraud on an industrial scale,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00insurers are coming down hard on the people who think they can make
0:28:00 > 0:28:03a quick buck with their scams and cons.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06But the fraudsters need to think again, as more of them than
0:28:06 > 0:28:09ever before are being caught in the act,
0:28:09 > 0:28:10and claimed and shamed.