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Insurance fraud has reached epidemic levels in the UK. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:09 | |
It's costing us more than £1.3 billion every year, | 0:00:09 | 0:00:14 | |
that's almost 3.6 million every day. | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries, | 0:00:19 | 0:00:23 | |
even phantom pets. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:24 | |
The fraudsters are risking more and more | 0:00:26 | 0:00:28 | |
to make a quick killing | 0:00:28 | 0:00:29 | |
and, every year, it's adding around £50 to your insurance bill. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:33 | |
But insurers are fighting back, | 0:00:33 | 0:00:35 | |
exposing just under 15 fake claims every hour. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
Armed with covert surveillance systems... | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
Subject out of vehicle. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:44 | |
..sophisticated data analysis techniques... | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
..and a number of highly skilled police units... | 0:00:49 | 0:00:51 | |
Police! Don't move. Stay where you are. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
..they're catching criminals red-handed. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
Just don't lie to us! | 0:00:55 | 0:00:57 | |
All those conmen, scammers, and cheats on the fiddle | 0:00:57 | 0:01:01 | |
are now caught in the act and claimed and shamed. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
A pedestrian's claim | 0:01:10 | 0:01:11 | |
that he was clipped by a car wing mirror. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
is caught on camera. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:16 | |
What we decided to do was take a look at the CCTV footage | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
from lots of different angles, | 0:01:19 | 0:01:20 | |
just to make sure that we hadn't missed the impact. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:23 | |
But it was nowhere to be found. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:26 | |
And the muzzle is off when a woman's doggie deception is exposed. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:31 | |
It was very clear that the puppy had damaged herself | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
four hours before the policyholder had taken the policy out. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:39 | |
And, in America, a father confesses to killing his son | 0:01:44 | 0:01:48 | |
in a shocking life insurance scam. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
Now, if any aspect of an insurance claim is falsified, | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
then that's fraud. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:12 | |
Pretty straightforward, you'd reckon. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:15 | |
While scammers often think that providing fake details | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
to allow an innocent third party to make a claim will protect them | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
but they're wrong | 0:02:21 | 0:02:23 | |
because it is still fraud, pure and simple, | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
and insurers will pursue these cheats at all costs. | 0:02:25 | 0:02:29 | |
Whether you are hiring a car, bike, or cement-mixer, | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
these things will all be covered by insurance, should anything happen. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
Scott Clayton is a fraud and investigations manager for Zurich, | 0:02:40 | 0:02:44 | |
and it's his job to deal with suspicious claims. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
He was asked to review one case | 0:02:47 | 0:02:49 | |
where a hire company had leased professional camera equipment | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
to a customer travelling abroad to make a movie. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
The claim we got was that Mr Kakaie | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
had put this video equipment into four holdalls | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
and checked them in on a flight from Aberdeen to Istanbul, via Heathrow, | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
and the bags had been lost somewhere in transit between the two places. | 0:03:08 | 0:03:12 | |
The value was quite significant | 0:03:12 | 0:03:14 | |
because it was very expensive camera equipment. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
So, in total, it was approximately £189,000. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
With such a massive loss, all eyes were on the airline. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:23 | |
However, lost luggage isn't unheard of. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
It does usually turn up somewhere. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
It's not very often that you get a suggestion that bags | 0:03:29 | 0:03:33 | |
have been completely lost, | 0:03:33 | 0:03:35 | |
with all the technology the airlines have tracking bags, etc, | 0:03:35 | 0:03:38 | |
so to suggest that four bags were lost between these airports | 0:03:38 | 0:03:43 | |
was quite suspicious, in its own right. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:45 | |
So, obviously, that prompted the investigation. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
And there was one very obvious first port of call | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
for Scott's investigation. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
We took steps to contact the airline because, | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
with the technology the airlines have these days | 0:03:56 | 0:03:58 | |
tracking bags through airports, | 0:03:58 | 0:04:00 | |
we wanted to find out exactly what records they had. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:02 | |
And as it turned out, the airline in question | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
was able to provide some very revealing information. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
We were pleasantly surprised to learn | 0:04:09 | 0:04:11 | |
that the bags had actually been X-rayed | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
as they passed through the airport. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
So, the images were clearly of significant interest to us. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
But no-one could have predicted what these X-rays would - | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
or rather would not - show. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
We were quite shocked to see that, instead of having £189,000 worth | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
of camera equipment, they had nothing in them. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:30 | |
This was crucial evidence, | 0:04:31 | 0:04:33 | |
as it competently disproved Kakaie's account, | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
which stated the camera equipment | 0:04:35 | 0:04:37 | |
had been checked in t the airport to begin with, | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
and strongly suggested foul play. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:43 | |
At this point, we're thinking | 0:04:43 | 0:04:45 | |
this is clearly somebody who's tried to claim that | 0:04:45 | 0:04:48 | |
he's lost all this camera equipment, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
when he's probably kept it for himself | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
and even used it, sold it, whatever. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
So it was a fraud. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:56 | |
And we were obviously keen to get the bottom of it. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
At this point, it was looking likely that Kakaie had submitted | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
a completely made-up insurance claim to the hire company | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
in order to steal the camera equipment he had hired. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
Clearly, when we got the X-ray images | 0:05:09 | 0:05:11 | |
showing that the bags were empty, this was the gotcha moment, | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
because the evidence was compelling and, armed with that, | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
we could then look to refer the matter to the police. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:20 | |
The case was passed on to the City of London Police's | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
where it was handled by DCI Oliver Little and his team. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
When we received the case, it was clear to us | 0:05:30 | 0:05:33 | |
that what we needed to do was go and see Mr Kakaie, | 0:05:33 | 0:05:35 | |
get his account, and find out if there's any property | 0:05:35 | 0:05:39 | |
linking him to that missing equipment at his home address. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:42 | |
Armed with a search warrant, IFED detectives paid Mr Kakaie a visit. | 0:05:42 | 0:05:47 | |
When we got to Mr Kakaie's address, we did a thorough search. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:51 | |
We were able to find five of the batteries of the cameras | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
that were supposedly stolen during this theft. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:57 | |
It was the hard evidence that detectives were hoping to find. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
Kakaie was arrested and charged with theft | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
and fraud by false representation. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
But when he was questioned, he refused to deviate from his script. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:12 | |
We interviewed Mr Kakaie on two occasions. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
On the first occasion, he stuck to his version of events. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
He put the items in the bags, as described, and they'd been stolen. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:24 | |
On the second interview, faced with the overwhelming evidence, | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
he didn't cooperate, he didn't speak, he just turned around. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
His sudden stage fright would do him no good | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
as, by this point, IFED detectives | 0:06:33 | 0:06:35 | |
had secured all the proof they needed | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
that Kakaie was starring in his own criminal caper. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:41 | |
Taking all the evidence into account, | 0:06:41 | 0:06:44 | |
it was quite clear that Mr Kakaie had attempted | 0:06:44 | 0:06:47 | |
a fairly major fraud here. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
He was after well over £100,000 for this camera equipment. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
So, we put that through to the Crown Prosecution Service | 0:06:52 | 0:06:56 | |
and prosecuted him in the court. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
The case proceeded to trial at the Old Bailey. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
Taking it all together, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:02 | |
the evidence we presented to the court was compelling. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:06 | |
We had some of the items that he reported as being stolen | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
in his home address, | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
and his account of how they had moved | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
through the airports just wasn't true. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
The evidence of the scanner was a critical part of the case. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
After a six-day trial, Kakaie was found guilty | 0:07:21 | 0:07:24 | |
of two counts of fraud by false representation | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
and one count of theft. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
And the penalty for his crimes would be severe. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
After trial, at which Mr Kakaie | 0:07:32 | 0:07:34 | |
again tried to protest his innocence, he was found guilty | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
and convicted to a sentence of imprisonment for two years. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:41 | |
A hefty punishment for this movie-making fraudster, | 0:07:44 | 0:07:47 | |
which may have been reduced if he'd come clean. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:50 | |
I think the level of sentence reflects the amount of money | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
that he was trying to defraud, so the greed of Mr Kakaie, | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
and the fact that he never, ever admitted | 0:07:56 | 0:07:59 | |
that what he'd done had been wrong. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
He never held his hands up. He kept sticking to his story. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
This was a brazen attempt at fraud and, like so many others, | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
it's got them absolutely nowhere but in prison. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
A man claiming he's too injured to work | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
appears to be fighting fit. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:23 | |
They were able to find video evidence of a claimant | 0:08:23 | 0:08:27 | |
fighting in a kick-boxing competition, | 0:08:27 | 0:08:30 | |
only five weeks after the accident. | 0:08:30 | 0:08:33 | |
And a serial scammer's bogus travel insurance claims are unravelled. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:38 | |
I do believe, at this point in time, | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
he was fully aware that we were onto him | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
and other insurers were requesting reimbursements of their funds. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:46 | |
Now, we've all had near misses, | 0:08:57 | 0:08:59 | |
whether it's not looking before crossing a road, | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
or using quick reflexes to avoid a falling object. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
While most of us are just relieved to be unscathed, | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
there are some people who see a near miss | 0:09:08 | 0:09:10 | |
as a chance to collect a juicy pay-out they don't deserve. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:15 | |
Cars, buses, trains, cyclists, angry dogs and rogue runners | 0:09:16 | 0:09:22 | |
are just a few everyday hazards that could cause you harm | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:29 | |
BLM lawyer Sarah Hill, instructed by insurers Direct Line | 0:09:29 | 0:09:33 | |
to handle one personal injury case that appeared legitimate. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:37 | |
The circumstances surrounding the claim was that | 0:09:37 | 0:09:40 | |
the policyholder was leaving his employment | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
and he was on his way out of the business park in his vehicle | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
when he came across an obstacle. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
There was a car with a pedestrian by the side of it, | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
another employee, | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
and the driver had to overtake to pass him to leave. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:57 | |
This doesn't sound good. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
In doing so, it's alleged that he didn't leave enough room | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
between his vehicle and the pedestrian, and that his | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
wing mirror clipped the lower back of the pedestrian, | 0:10:08 | 0:10:11 | |
causing him injury. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
The claim in total was around about £18,000. | 0:10:13 | 0:10:17 | |
It may have just been the car's wing mirror, | 0:10:17 | 0:10:20 | |
but it had clipped the claimant good and proper. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
The injuries were serious enough for him to say that it impacted upon his | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
life for a period of seven months, and for four months in particular, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
he was unable to do anything that was normal | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
in his life, such as gardening or going to the gym | 0:10:33 | 0:10:37 | |
or even undertaking his normal working duties. | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
The report suggested this claimant had really been through it, | 0:10:41 | 0:10:45 | |
but any sympathy for his case would soon disappear. | 0:10:45 | 0:10:48 | |
On the surface, it looked like a genuine claim, | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
that is until evidence started to come in. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
A crucial piece of evidence that we obtained was | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
a copy of the CCTV footage for the business park. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
Clearly, what you can see from the CCTV footage is that there was | 0:11:02 | 0:11:06 | |
no impact between the wing mirror and the lower back, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:10 | |
and there actually was enough room between the two, | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
and the claimant was clear of any overtaking manoeuvre. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
Yeah, not the faintest of feather touches, but let's double-check. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:22 | |
We were quite surprised, actually. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
What we decided to do was take a look at the CCTV footage from | 0:11:27 | 0:11:31 | |
lots of different angles just to make sure that we hadn't missed... | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
erm, the impact. But it was nowhere to be found. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:39 | |
It may have been close, | 0:11:39 | 0:11:41 | |
but the claimant's roadside shimmy had saved him. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:44 | |
And how would you expect someone who's just been hit by a car | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
to be feeling? | 0:11:47 | 0:11:49 | |
Rather bizarrely, the claimant, A, doesn't hold his back, | 0:11:49 | 0:11:52 | |
doesn't look as if there's been any impact, | 0:11:52 | 0:11:54 | |
he's certainly not crying | 0:11:54 | 0:11:56 | |
and he's walked away from the vehicle smiling. | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
But what about the claimant's reported injuries | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
and chronic pain? | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
He went to see a physiotherapist 12 days after the alleged impact | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
and he told the physiotherapist | 0:12:10 | 0:12:13 | |
that he was well, that his movement was fine. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:16 | |
The physiotherapist couldn't see any sign of injury in the lower back, | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
in the lumbar spine, | 0:12:20 | 0:12:22 | |
yet that completely conflicted with what he told the medical expert. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
Miraculous... | 0:12:26 | 0:12:27 | |
considering he'd alleged to have suffered for seven months | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
following the accident. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
Given the weight of evidence, the claim was repudiated. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
What happened next was that the claimant issued legal proceedings, | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
which was quite a surprise, | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
given that the claimant had actually seen the CCTV footage at this stage. | 0:12:42 | 0:12:47 | |
But even conclusive video evidence wouldn't deter this claimant. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:52 | |
With all the evidence, the claimant decided to try his luck in court | 0:12:52 | 0:12:57 | |
and present his evidence to a judge. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
He upheld the fact that, actually, there hadn't been an impact | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
and that the claimant hadn't told the truth | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
through the course of the proceedings. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:09 | |
The claimant may have had a near miss with the wing mirror, | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
but he would regret his brush with the law. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
The outcome was the judge dismissed the claim on the basis that he found | 0:13:14 | 0:13:18 | |
that no impact had occurred, so no injury could've been sustained | 0:13:18 | 0:13:22 | |
and to penalise the claimant, the claimant was ordered to pay costs. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:27 | |
He's now facing a hefty bill of nearly £12,000 for his efforts. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:33 | |
And despite Sarah's experience, | 0:13:33 | 0:13:35 | |
she's still amazed by the behaviour of insurance chancers. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:39 | |
I am surprised at the extent and the level and the nature that | 0:13:39 | 0:13:44 | |
people will go to, in light of really strong evidence, | 0:13:44 | 0:13:49 | |
still to progress what in fact is a lie. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
Pet insurance can give you the peace of mind that if your furry friend | 0:13:57 | 0:14:01 | |
needs treatment, you won't be left facing huge vet bills. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:05 | |
But there are some scammers who think that taking out | 0:14:05 | 0:14:07 | |
a policy AFTER an incident has happened is acceptable. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
Well, it isn't. It is in fact insurance fraud. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
Whether you've got a mischievous moggy or a troublesome terrier, | 0:14:16 | 0:14:20 | |
there'll be an insurance policy to cover your pet against | 0:14:20 | 0:14:23 | |
unforeseen illnesses and accidents. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
Agria are a specialist in this field, and their managing director, | 0:14:25 | 0:14:29 | |
Simon Wheeler, has a keen nose for spurious claims. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:34 | |
His team received an everyday enquiry from a potential customer | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
considering taking out one of their policies. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
The first time we heard from the policyholder | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
was when she called for a quote on 8th February, | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
and she wanted quotes for two dogs. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
So these two pooches were reported to be in tiptop condition. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:17 | |
When we give quotations and sell people policies, | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
we go through a number of questions, we take a lot of details, | 0:15:20 | 0:15:23 | |
and one of the things that we ask | 0:15:23 | 0:15:25 | |
is for the owner to confirm that the dog is fit and healthy. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
And there's a very good reason for that, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
which the call-handler relays to the customer. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
In this incident, the owner confirmed that both dogs | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
were fit and healthy. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:51 | |
Once the quoted had been received, | 0:15:51 | 0:15:53 | |
the woman was eager to put the policy in place. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
The next time we heard from the policyholder was only | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
a couple of hours later, so she called back on the same day | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
and took out policies for both dogs, they were both puppies, | 0:16:02 | 0:16:06 | |
and we insured them, but part of that process was again to go through | 0:16:06 | 0:16:10 | |
the same questions, that there was nothing wrong with the dogs. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:13 | |
In this instance, yet again, she told us, yes, | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
both dogs were fit and healthy. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:34 | |
By this point, Agria had gone to great lengths to establish | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
that both dogs were in good health, and so the policy was taken out. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:43 | |
But it wasn't long before they heard from her again. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
The next time we heard from the policyholder was two days later, | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
when she rang us and asked for a claim form, | 0:16:51 | 0:16:53 | |
and she explained that the day before, | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
so 9th February, the West Highland white puppy | 0:16:55 | 0:16:58 | |
had fallen out of her car and damaged one of its hind legs. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:02 | |
The woman was claiming the accident involving one of the Westie puppies | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
happened just one day AFTER taking out the policy. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
Possible, but rather suspicious. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
When the puppy was first presented to the vet, it was limping | 0:17:12 | 0:17:16 | |
quite badly on one of its back legs. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
The vet examined it and probably diagnosed | 0:17:18 | 0:17:21 | |
a fairly straightforward strain and suggested that the owner | 0:17:21 | 0:17:26 | |
didn't walk the dog too aggressively and just rest the dog. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:31 | |
But it seems a bit of bed rest wouldn't be enough | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
to get this pup back on its feet. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
Later that same day, the dog was in front of the vet again, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
and it couldn't put any weight on that leg, | 0:17:41 | 0:17:43 | |
so the vet X-rayed the puppy and | 0:17:43 | 0:17:46 | |
an operation followed, because the dog had completely separated | 0:17:46 | 0:17:51 | |
the stifle joint at the top of the tibia, so a broken leg. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:57 | |
A nasty injury and a very costly operation. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
In order to make a prompt payment, | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
Simon's team were keen to get their paws on the dog's medical records. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:07 | |
When we receive a claim, as part of our normal checks, | 0:18:07 | 0:18:11 | |
our normal processes, we start to look at the veterinary history and | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
the vet's sequence of events and report on what had happened. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:20 | |
And at that point, we started to see that perhaps some of the dates | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
didn't quite line up with the story the policyholder had told us. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
In fact, her story was starting to look as lame | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
as her unfortunate pooch. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:33 | |
When we delved into the veterinary records | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
and we looked at the point at which the policy had been taken out, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:40 | |
it was very clear that the puppy had damaged itself | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
four hours before the policyholder had taken the policy out, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:48 | |
and two hours before they'd even got a quotation for the policy. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:52 | |
This is where our claimant's puppy plot starts to unravel. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:55 | |
She's previously stated the accident happened on 9th February, | 0:18:55 | 0:18:59 | |
the day after the policy was purchased, but the vet's records | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
clearly showed that the injured dog was first examined | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
on 8th February, four hours BEFORE the policy ever existed. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:11 | |
Potentially confusing facts, but a simple truth - the insurance cover | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
had been taken out AFTER the dog was injured, making this a false claim. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:21 | |
Faced with the conflicting dates, | 0:19:21 | 0:19:23 | |
we wrote to the policyholder and asked her if she could shed | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
some light on to the discrepancies between the story she'd told us | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
and the history that the vet had supplied to us. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
Once that correspondence was received by the claimant, | 0:19:34 | 0:19:38 | |
she got straight on the dog-and-bone to Agria's claims team. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:43 | |
And the claimant had an interesting explanation in response | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
to Agria's concerns. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
Her response was that at the time that she saw the vet | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
with the puppy, the vet had said there was nothing wrong with the puppy | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
and, again, we pointed out that very clearly from the veterinary records | 0:20:25 | 0:20:29 | |
the dog was limping and the dog wasn't well, | 0:20:29 | 0:20:32 | |
which is why it had been taken to the vet in the first place. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
Well, the veterinary records clearly stated | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
there WAS something wrong with the puppy | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
but, crucially, they also showed | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
that the claimant had taken the puppy | 0:21:11 | 0:21:13 | |
to the vet's with a suspected injury before taking out the policy. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:17 | |
Faced with the discrepancies in the dates, the policyholder | 0:21:17 | 0:21:21 | |
at that point decided that she would cancel both policies. | 0:21:21 | 0:21:25 | |
This type of claim never is, | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
and she really was barking up the wrong tree with this doggy deceit. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:44 | |
In this incident, I think we had a policyholder who felt that | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
the insurance company would just pay the bill. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
It's very frustrating | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
when policyholders think that they can get away with it, | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
because the chances are they just don't. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
Now, if you've ever had an accident, | 0:22:04 | 0:22:05 | |
you may have been contacted by a claims management company | 0:22:05 | 0:22:08 | |
telling you that you're entitled to compensation and that making | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
a personal injury claim is easy and hassle free. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
What they might not tell you is that making | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
a false or exaggerated claim is fraud, | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
and if your case is found to be bogus in any way, | 0:22:20 | 0:22:23 | |
then you alone are 100% responsible. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
The days of submitting a cheeky whiplash claim for | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
a guaranteed pay-out are long gone, as insurance companies like Esure | 0:22:31 | 0:22:35 | |
now have a zero-tolerance attitude towards this type of activity. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:40 | |
Any suspicious claim received by Esure is investigated | 0:22:40 | 0:22:44 | |
and, if need be, referred to a specialist insurance law firm, | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
Horwich Farrelly. | 0:22:48 | 0:22:50 | |
Partner Ronan McCann recently handled an all-too-common case. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:54 | |
This was a claim for a personal injury | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
as a result of a road traffic accident, | 0:22:57 | 0:22:59 | |
so roughly £2,000. There was also a claim for vehicle repairs, | 0:22:59 | 0:23:04 | |
which cost around £500. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
And it was Esure's policyholder who was at fault in one of the | 0:23:07 | 0:23:11 | |
most everyday accident scenarios on the road. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:15 | |
The circumstances to this accident was that it was after work. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:20 | |
The defendant was travelling home. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:22 | |
In front of him, in very heavy traffic, was a claimant. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:26 | |
No prizes for guessing where this is going. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:29 | |
The defendant assumed the claimant was going to move forward | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
and he moved off at very low speed. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
Unfortunately, the claimant didn't move, | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
and there was a slight kissing of the vehicles. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
And this coming together really was a fleeting peck | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
on the claimant's rear end. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:48 | |
This accident was the most minor of impacts. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:51 | |
The defendant described it as a "touching of the vehicles". | 0:23:51 | 0:23:55 | |
The damages to both cars might have been minor, | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
but the same couldn't be said for the claimant. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
The allegation from the claimant was that he sustained | 0:24:02 | 0:24:04 | |
a whiplash-type injury to his neck lasting four months. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:08 | |
And the claimant's first port of call after the accident | 0:24:11 | 0:24:15 | |
wasn't where you might expect. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:17 | |
The chronology after the accident was suspicious. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
The claimant did not first attend upon his GP | 0:24:21 | 0:24:25 | |
to complain about his injuries | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
but instead went first to see solicitors to pursue | 0:24:27 | 0:24:31 | |
a personal injury claim. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:33 | |
So it seemed as if the claimant had money on his mind | 0:24:33 | 0:24:36 | |
rather than his health. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:37 | |
This immediately rang alarm bells. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
Why would anybody first attend upon solicitors | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
to pursue a personal injury claim as opposed to attending | 0:24:43 | 0:24:47 | |
upon a GP to get their treatment for their injuries? | 0:24:47 | 0:24:52 | |
Good question, especially when you consider this guy's hobby. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:57 | |
The claimant, who was a keen amateur kickboxer, | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
suggested that he couldn't partake in any sports | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
during the period that he was injured. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:08 | |
Well, that's a given. Or so you'd think. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:11 | |
But the claimant's bid for compensation was about to take | 0:25:11 | 0:25:13 | |
a real body blow as Esure did some digging online. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
They were able to find video evidence of the claimant | 0:25:17 | 0:25:21 | |
fighting in a kickboxing competition | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
only five weeks after the accident. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
This showed the claimant taking kicks and punches to the head | 0:25:27 | 0:25:31 | |
and for Esure, this clearly suggested to them | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
that it was a fraudulent claim. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
A quite amazing feat, considering the claimant | 0:25:36 | 0:25:40 | |
was reportedly suffering with chronic neck pain | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
as a result of the accident. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
Only two weeks before the fight, | 0:25:47 | 0:25:49 | |
the claimant had attended upon a medical legal practitioner | 0:25:49 | 0:25:52 | |
and described that he was suffering from severe injuries. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:57 | |
In no way could somebody with severe injuries to the neck | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
take part in such a kickboxing fight. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:03 | |
Well, considering it's one of the most ferocious forms | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
of fighting, you'd assume not. | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
When the medical records were reviewed, | 0:26:09 | 0:26:12 | |
it seemed completely inconsistent that the claimant first | 0:26:12 | 0:26:16 | |
mentioned to the GP initially that his only injuries were to his neck. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:22 | |
It seemed to us that he invented the suggestion that his head | 0:26:22 | 0:26:26 | |
and knee injuries were as a result of the road traffic accident. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:31 | |
Ronan's team had all the evidence they needed to take action. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:35 | |
As a result, we took the view that we would disclose the video footage | 0:26:35 | 0:26:39 | |
and invite the claimant to discontinue. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
But instead of throwing in the towel, | 0:26:42 | 0:26:45 | |
the claimant opted to go toe to toe with Horwich Farrelly in court. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:50 | |
When this case got to trial, the video footage was crucial. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:54 | |
When that was considered by the judge against | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
the inconsistencies in the chronology, in the evidence, | 0:26:58 | 0:27:01 | |
the judge could not accept a word that the claimant had said. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:05 | |
And when it came to deciding a verdict, | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
the decision didn't take long. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:10 | |
The judge dismissed the claimant's case | 0:27:10 | 0:27:13 | |
and looked at the video evidence and commented that the claimant | 0:27:13 | 0:27:17 | |
looked perfectly fit and healthy. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:19 | |
The judge found that the claimant was fundamentally dishonest, | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
and was ordered to pay approximately £8,000. | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
The kickboxer's claim had hit the canvas | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
and he'd ended up with a whopping court bill | 0:27:31 | 0:27:34 | |
for both solicitors' costs. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:36 | |
In my view, these individuals are convinced to bring claims | 0:27:36 | 0:27:41 | |
by accident management companies or claimant solicitors | 0:27:41 | 0:27:45 | |
who explain to them that they are extremely straightforward. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
The result in this case shows the risks of anyone who believes that. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:53 | |
Although, the claimant in this case has a significant cost order, | 0:27:53 | 0:27:57 | |
he was very lucky that he didn't spend some time in prison. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
A woman secretly records her husband in an attempt | 0:28:09 | 0:28:12 | |
to get the truth about her son's death. | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
Insurance cheats often think that just because they've got away | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
with it once, they can do it again and again and again. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
Well, they might get away with it once, maybe even twice, | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
but in the end, insurers will identify those scammers. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
Collinson Group offers a range of travel services. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
Mathew Crawford-Thomas is their fraud manager, and his speciality | 0:28:54 | 0:28:57 | |
is dealing with bogus insurance claims. | 0:28:57 | 0:29:00 | |
He was asked to investigate one case | 0:29:00 | 0:29:02 | |
from a customer who'd reportedly suffered some tourism trauma. | 0:29:02 | 0:29:06 | |
We received a claim from our insured | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
for a rather harrowing experience that he had | 0:29:09 | 0:29:11 | |
whilst in a market in Cambodia. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:13 | |
He'd had over £3,000 worth of valuable items | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
stolen from his lap whilst he was on a tuk-tuk. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:19 | |
The items our insured was claiming for was a rather large | 0:29:19 | 0:29:23 | |
amount of high-end camera equipment and including an Apple iPad. | 0:29:23 | 0:29:28 | |
The high-value and location of this claim were instant red flags. | 0:29:28 | 0:29:33 | |
So Matt used a handy tool at his disposal. | 0:29:33 | 0:29:36 | |
The insurance fraud investigators' database is full of individuals | 0:29:36 | 0:29:40 | |
that are either suspected of fraud and/or proven fraud. | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
Our insured person did not appear on that database. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:47 | |
With a seemingly unblemished insurance history, | 0:29:47 | 0:29:51 | |
Matt's team began processing the claim. | 0:29:51 | 0:29:54 | |
But then there was an interesting development. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
I happened to have a chance conversation with a fellow | 0:29:58 | 0:30:01 | |
fraud professional at another insurance company. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
She advised me that she'd also received a claim | 0:30:04 | 0:30:07 | |
for a similar circumstances for our insured. | 0:30:07 | 0:30:10 | |
Matt's good fortune would soon turn into hard luck | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
for the claimant, as fraud investigators | 0:30:13 | 0:30:16 | |
don't believe in coincidence. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:18 | |
After the chance conversation, I ran his details through | 0:30:18 | 0:30:22 | |
the database again and, lo and behold, I found a match. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:25 | |
This insurers' resource is continually updated | 0:30:25 | 0:30:29 | |
and another insurer registered the claimant as a fraud risk shortly | 0:30:29 | 0:30:34 | |
after Matt had initially checked it. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:36 | |
After putting my own alert out on an industry-wide database, | 0:30:36 | 0:30:40 | |
it subsequently transpired that this individual had made 12 claims | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
with nine insurers since 2012. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
I then proceeded, under the Data Protection Act, | 0:30:47 | 0:30:50 | |
to secure the documents to see whether or not | 0:30:50 | 0:30:53 | |
the items claimed were in fact the same. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:55 | |
The evidence suggested Matt had a potential serial scammer | 0:30:55 | 0:30:59 | |
on his hands, which was supported by the next revelation. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:03 | |
Once we'd received all 12 claims, it transpired | 0:31:03 | 0:31:07 | |
that this individual had in fact sent the same receipts | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
to four different insurance companies over a six-month period. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:15 | |
The claimant was attempting to repeat the same claim | 0:31:15 | 0:31:18 | |
for the same items with multiple insurers. | 0:31:18 | 0:31:22 | |
Eager to get his hands on the cash, | 0:31:22 | 0:31:24 | |
the claimant was soon back on the phone. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:27 | |
Nope. Only when claims are suspected to be false, | 0:31:39 | 0:31:43 | |
and he's right to sound nervous. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
I do believe at this point in time, he was fully aware | 0:31:45 | 0:31:48 | |
that we were on to him, and other insurers | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
were requesting reimbursement of their funds. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
With his claim collapsing, one last call came in. | 0:31:53 | 0:31:57 | |
The last call from our insured was 20 minutes | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
after he had originally rang requesting an update. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
It was in this call that he decided to retract his claim. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
Regardless of the fact that our insured had retracted | 0:32:23 | 0:32:25 | |
his claim, to me he had still attempted | 0:32:25 | 0:32:28 | |
to commit fraud by false representation. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
I then made a report into IFED and asked them whether or not they would | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
take the case on. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:36 | |
Officers at the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department were happy to oblige. | 0:32:36 | 0:32:42 | |
After lengthy investigations by IFED, | 0:32:42 | 0:32:45 | |
it was finally referred to the CPS. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
The CPS have decided, due to his previous good character, | 0:32:47 | 0:32:50 | |
a conditional caution was given, at which point | 0:32:50 | 0:32:53 | |
he had to repay insurers £18,000. | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
To date, all funds have been returned. | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
Despite the payment order, | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
the claimant was still lucky to avoid further criminal prosecution, | 0:33:01 | 0:33:04 | |
and with people like Matt on the case, fraudsters beware. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:09 | |
Anybody that's attempting a fraud of this nature | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
want to be careful. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:14 | |
If they're submitting a claim with my company, | 0:33:14 | 0:33:17 | |
trust me, I will catch you. | 0:33:17 | 0:33:19 | |
We've all seen how far UK scammers will go to collect | 0:33:23 | 0:33:26 | |
an insurance pay-out, but fraudsters are an international problem. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:30 | |
In fact, our American cousins have it just as bad, with cases | 0:33:30 | 0:33:34 | |
that will shock you to your very core. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:38 | |
The rural farming town of Varick in Upstate New York | 0:33:45 | 0:33:48 | |
was home to the Karlsen family farm. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
In 2008, 23-year-old Levi | 0:33:52 | 0:33:55 | |
was fixing his father's pick-up truck in the barn | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
when something went horribly wrong. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:02 | |
Tragically, Levi had been killed. | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
Father Karl and stepmother Cindy | 0:34:37 | 0:34:39 | |
had left Levi working alone earlier that day. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:42 | |
It appeared that he'd been trapped underneath the truck for hours. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:47 | |
At the time, investigators determined the event | 0:34:49 | 0:34:52 | |
just to be an awful accident. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:55 | |
The Karlsens appeared to be a grieving family, | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
trying to deal with the tragic loss of their son. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:01 | |
That was until an anonymous family member contacted the police | 0:35:03 | 0:35:07 | |
with an unbelievable allegation. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:10 | |
They claimed Levi's death was no accident | 0:35:11 | 0:35:14 | |
and that he was the victim of a ruthless insurance fraud | 0:35:14 | 0:35:19 | |
perpetrated by his own father. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:22 | |
It was alleged Karl Karlsen had engineered Levi's fatal | 0:35:27 | 0:35:30 | |
accident in a plot to cash in on his son's life insurance policy. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:34 | |
As a result of this call, | 0:35:34 | 0:35:37 | |
the sheriff's office reopened the investigation into Levi's death. | 0:35:37 | 0:35:41 | |
Investigations revealed that Karl had persuaded Levi to take out | 0:35:43 | 0:35:47 | |
a life insurance policy worth 700,000 just 17 days | 0:35:47 | 0:35:52 | |
before his son's death. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
Karl had also convinced Levi not to disclose a serious throat | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
condition he suffered from in fear that the policy might be rejected, | 0:35:58 | 0:36:03 | |
meaning this 700,000 insurance policy | 0:36:03 | 0:36:07 | |
had been obtained fraudulently. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:09 | |
Levi was required to have a full physical by his insurers. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:16 | |
Karlsen knew if the undisclosed condition was discovered, | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
the policy would have most likely been voided. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
Levi was due to attend his physical the day after he died. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
Karlsen came under further suspicion as he had also persuaded Levi | 0:36:31 | 0:36:35 | |
to write a will on the morning of the day he died, making his | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
father the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:42 | |
Investigators were convinced that this was far more than coincidence | 0:36:42 | 0:36:47 | |
but as compelling as it was, the evidence was circumstantial. | 0:36:47 | 0:36:51 | |
They would need further proof. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:53 | |
So detectives turned to Karl's wife | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
and Levi's stepmother, Cindy Karlsen. | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
In 2012, Cindy was contacted by investigators. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:05 | |
To their surprise, she also had growing suspicions | 0:37:05 | 0:37:08 | |
that Levi's death was no accident. Six months after Levi's death, | 0:37:08 | 0:37:13 | |
Karlsen received over 700,000 from the life insurance policy. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:18 | |
Cindy explained how her husband went on a cash-feeding frenzy | 0:37:18 | 0:37:22 | |
as soon as he had the money. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:24 | |
Cindy hired a private investigator to dig into her husband's life. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:29 | |
The PI discovered a terrifying fact. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
Without her knowledge, Karl had taken out various insurance | 0:37:34 | 0:37:37 | |
policies, which meant that in the event of Cindy's death, Karlsen | 0:37:37 | 0:37:42 | |
would be the sole beneficiary of assets and pay-outs | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
totalling 1.2 million. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:48 | |
Worried for her own life, | 0:37:50 | 0:37:52 | |
Cindy left Karlsen and they were officially separated. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
However, Cindy agreed to co-operate with investigators and wear | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
a wire in the hope she could record her husband | 0:38:00 | 0:38:03 | |
confirming suspicions about Levi's death. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:06 | |
She arranged to meet Karl in a diner under the guise | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
of reconciling their marriage. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
Remember, Karl previously claimed | 0:38:34 | 0:38:36 | |
to have had no knowledge of the accident | 0:38:36 | 0:38:39 | |
until he returned home with Cindy to find Levi underneath the truck. | 0:38:39 | 0:38:43 | |
He has just admitted he was present during his death. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:48 | |
A concerning statement. Karl starts to talk about Levi. | 0:39:03 | 0:39:07 | |
Cindy then asks Karl about the truck radio being turned on. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
This statement implies the noise of the radio was intended | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
to disguise the sound of the truck collapsing on his son, | 0:39:39 | 0:39:43 | |
suggesting any actions were premeditated. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:47 | |
The conversation Cindy covertly recorded | 0:39:48 | 0:39:52 | |
was far from a full confession but Karlsen did admit | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
he was there and in fact caused the alleged accident, | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
which contradicted everything he'd said to date. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:01 | |
Investigators now had all they needed to arrest | 0:40:01 | 0:40:05 | |
and interrogate Karl Karlsen. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
Karlsen was interviewed for over nine hours, | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
in which he repeatedly denied planning to kill his son. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:15 | |
Initially, Karlsen stuck to his original story - | 0:40:28 | 0:40:31 | |
that he had returned home with his wife and found his son dead. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:36 | |
He then admits that he was there and, in fact, | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
caused the truck to fall on Levi. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:42 | |
Karlsen maintains this was a genuine accident | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
and due to the shock, | 0:40:58 | 0:40:59 | |
he was overwhelmed and was unable to help his trapped son. | 0:40:59 | 0:41:03 | |
While Karlsen acknowledged being responsible | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
for Levi's death, he was insistent it wasn't | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
a deliberate act to kill him. | 0:41:36 | 0:41:38 | |
Despite this, investigators had enough evidence. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:42 | |
Karl Karlsen was charged with second-degree murder | 0:41:42 | 0:41:45 | |
and insurance fraud. | 0:41:45 | 0:41:47 | |
Karlsen was so anxious to get his hands on the 700,000 | 0:41:47 | 0:41:50 | |
from his son's fraudulently obtained life insurance, | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
he'd done the unthinkable. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
In 2013, the case went to court, where, | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
faced with the overwhelming evidence against him, | 0:41:58 | 0:42:02 | |
Karlsen at last told the truth. | 0:42:02 | 0:42:04 | |
He admitted to intentionally knocking the pick-up truck | 0:42:04 | 0:42:07 | |
off its jack and leaving his son underneath to die. | 0:42:07 | 0:42:12 | |
Karl Karlsen pleaded guilty to murder. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
In his closing statement, | 0:42:14 | 0:42:16 | |
the judge told Karlsen he was not fully human and said, | 0:42:16 | 0:42:19 | |
"You belong in prison and you belong there until you die." | 0:42:19 | 0:42:23 | |
Karl Karlsen was sentenced | 0:42:23 | 0:42:25 | |
to between 15 years and life behind bars | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
Karlsen had facilitated a 700,000 insurance fraud | 0:42:28 | 0:42:33 | |
and murdered his son to make sure he was paid every penny of that money. | 0:42:33 | 0:42:38 | |
He could now spend the rest of his life behind bars. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:42 | |
From people chancing their luck by exaggerating their injuries to | 0:42:47 | 0:42:50 | |
organised criminal gangs, insurance fraud hits all of us in the pocket. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:55 | |
But instead of getting away with it, | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
more and more of these fraudsters are being claimed and shamed. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:03 |