:00:00. > :00:00.Now the inside story on how police uncovered the biggest car insurance
:00:00. > :00:37.fraud in the UK. This call is about to trigger an
:00:38. > :00:42.investigation into one of the biggest frauds Wales has ever seen.
:00:43. > :00:52.Gwent Police got a phone call to the effect that the stolen Megane was in
:00:53. > :00:58.a garage. They already suspected that this garage was that the centre
:00:59. > :01:01.of the trade in stolen vehicles. Uniformed colleagues responded to
:01:02. > :01:08.the information on the premises were locked in the evenings so they asked
:01:09. > :01:12.for the key-holder to come along. The shutters will put up and inside
:01:13. > :01:28.was the Megane, completely stripped. My colleagues responded accordingly
:01:29. > :01:36.and the owner was arrested. After the arrest things moved fast and the
:01:37. > :01:39.garage was searched for three days identifying 20 stolen vehicles, all
:01:40. > :01:43.that remained of many of them with a tax discs. Yet police were about to
:01:44. > :01:47.make an even more important discovery. One of the search
:01:48. > :01:51.officers was going through paperwork, comes over, could you
:01:52. > :01:55.have a look at this? On this piece of paperwork words to the effect,
:01:56. > :02:03.what to say to the insurance company. At that time there was a
:02:04. > :02:06.lot of interest in crash for cash and false insurance claims. We
:02:07. > :02:11.thought, wait a minute, we've got a body shop with cars in all sorts of
:02:12. > :02:15.states, I want every piece of paper that there is, out. Something else
:02:16. > :02:26.caught their eye and it was to prove the gang's and doing. A hard drive
:02:27. > :02:29.with 21 days of footage from the garage's four security cameras. The
:02:30. > :02:33.gang had been caught on their own CCTV and the police had got to it
:02:34. > :02:36.before they had had had time to wipe it.
:02:37. > :02:39.They put it up for security purposes but they were worried about damage
:02:40. > :02:41.to their property and other criminals possibly breaking
:02:42. > :02:47.Clever if you stay under the radar but extremely stupid if you film
:02:48. > :03:02.Four years later, police brought to book families who were involved
:03:03. > :03:11.Byron Yandell, co-owner of the garage.
:03:12. > :03:36.And there was another family, the Callaghans.
:03:37. > :03:43.Brothers Patrick and Anthony and his partner, Jennifer Cosh.
:03:44. > :03:46.What started with a phone call about a stolen card
:03:47. > :03:50.What started with a phone call about a stolen car
:03:51. > :03:55.and into an investigation involving almost 90 suspects.
:03:56. > :04:08.Police realised it's more than car theft.
:04:09. > :04:27.Here is Sara Morris working particularly with social
:04:28. > :04:35.This man has the onerous task of dealing with CCTV.
:04:36. > :04:37.Finally, Jon Parkinson speaking to witnesses and gathering evidence
:04:38. > :05:10.from insurance companies and identifying the people we need
:05:11. > :05:14.DC Sara Morris look for clues through social media.
:05:15. > :05:16.Police suspected there were links between the people who claim
:05:17. > :05:20.their cars had been crashed but she had to prove it.
:05:21. > :05:23.In all of these collisions, they are all connected.
:05:24. > :05:27.They are not just members of the public, they are all
:05:28. > :05:30.connected, you look to the garage or through the Yandell family
:05:31. > :05:38.They denied all knowledge of others' involved in the collisions
:05:39. > :05:41.but they had pictures on Facebook for all the world to see,
:05:42. > :05:51.showing exactly how well they all knew each other.
:05:52. > :05:54.So, what are the chances in the crashing into
:05:55. > :06:00.Quite high if you are a Yandell or a Callaghan.
:06:01. > :06:06.The investigation is uncovering an extraordinary number of suspects.
:06:07. > :06:10.The police concentrated on 90 who appear to have made a false
:06:11. > :06:26.It cost the industry ?340 million last year.
:06:27. > :06:28.Vehicles have been driven into each other so there is damage
:06:29. > :06:39.They haven't been driven into each other at the time,
:06:40. > :06:43.date and place stated and the people within them were not within them.
:06:44. > :06:45.A variety of different people say that they were in the vehicle,
:06:46. > :06:48.injured during that collision and make a substantial amount
:06:49. > :06:53.of money on the back end of doing so.
:06:54. > :06:56.Crash investigator PC Chris Barnard was brought into the Operation Dino
:06:57. > :07:05.By crashing cars, he said he can work out how damage
:07:06. > :07:10.Those unique marks are left on new vehicle so,
:07:11. > :07:13.what was happening at a particular time is written into
:07:14. > :07:23.It is just a question of reading that damage and playing the events
:07:24. > :07:26.He was soon to prove that hardly any of the Easifix collisions
:07:27. > :07:37.Of the 70 fraudulent collisions police investigated,
:07:38. > :07:43.What happened in this car park in Caerphilly four years ago,
:07:44. > :08:19.Next thing I knew, she was actually on my bonnet, she had reversed back.
:08:20. > :08:32.But she had my address, I had her address and insurance details.
:08:33. > :08:43.I advised her to call the police, because, just in case thing
:08:44. > :08:47.Best let the police know so that the police
:08:48. > :08:57.What Jane did not know yet, at home that night, was that she had
:08:58. > :09:00.got herself mixed up with the Easifix gang.
:09:01. > :10:01.And her problems were only just beginning.
:10:02. > :10:03.But the family had orchestrated dozens more claims by farming
:10:04. > :10:19.at collisions to the Callaghans and at least 19 friends and relatives.
:10:20. > :10:26.This injunction here now, members of the family allegedly had collisions
:10:27. > :10:31.at times of day where traffic congestion would have been very very
:10:32. > :10:40.busy had been an accident but we had no reports of that. Police suspect
:10:41. > :10:45.none of the crashes happened there at all. And it was the next bit of
:10:46. > :10:48.CCTV footage that was the clincher. Giving the police the clearest
:10:49. > :10:56.evidence yet the gang was smashing up cars themselves. The Land Rover
:10:57. > :11:03.he allegedly had a collision with is coming into shot. Outside the front
:11:04. > :11:11.of Easifix. According to the claims, Land Rover collided with a silver
:11:12. > :11:15.BMW driven his nephew, Gavin. Two other people claimed for personal
:11:16. > :11:30.injury, alleged passengers Dean and Florence. Collisions expert Chris
:11:31. > :11:35.God was not shown any CCTV so was not influenced by the assessment.
:11:36. > :11:39.The BMW was stationary because of the marks on the side of the door.
:11:40. > :11:48.We don't know what struck the Land Rover. Seven minutes past five,
:11:49. > :11:52.Byron is driving the vehicle which is completely intact, no damage at
:11:53. > :12:02.all being caused but allegedly written off at 10:30am. Again, here
:12:03. > :12:08.we have a host of people around this vehicle, Anthony Callaghan is
:12:09. > :12:13.driving now. Patrick Callaghan is looking on. Gavin is allegedly
:12:14. > :12:21.involved in the collision, Adam and Byron. It has been placed on a blind
:12:22. > :12:29.spot by Byron. The Land Rover is coming into shot. Outside the front
:12:30. > :12:33.of Easifix. Byron is driving it. You can see Patrick Callaghan on his
:12:34. > :12:39.phone and Anthony is there. If you look at Gavin's reaction, he has
:12:40. > :12:45.seen something of what he has seen is the Land Rover being driven into
:12:46. > :12:52.the BMW. He looks completely undamaged, the Land Rover driven
:12:53. > :12:58.back into the back of the yard. It has caused damage to the BMW, we
:12:59. > :13:03.never see the BMW on the CCTV again. The next time any of us see footage
:13:04. > :13:13.of that it is inside the yard and we do a search. Two days later, and
:13:14. > :13:19.because the Land Rover has stood up so well to punishment, the gang
:13:20. > :13:26.decides to have another go with a forklift truck. The Land Rover is
:13:27. > :13:36.outside will be driven by Ashley Morris into the rear of that to
:13:37. > :13:42.damage it further. The hazard lights have come on. More damage now to the
:13:43. > :13:51.front of that, one of the lights has come off. To add more damage, Byron
:13:52. > :13:58.attacks it with a hammer. It is amusing everybody involved and Byron
:13:59. > :14:05.himself. They then set off the air bags. This is often enough to write
:14:06. > :14:09.the vehicle off. If the airbags have gone off, you can ramp up how fast
:14:10. > :14:14.you were going there for how injured you are going to be which then could
:14:15. > :14:19.have some sway in how much personal injury you get. The gang were caught
:14:20. > :14:27.red-handed. They filmed themselves doing it! It was just the evidence
:14:28. > :14:32.police needed. And there was more... This vehicle damage was invented but
:14:33. > :14:35.so too with a personal injuries. Time for a fictitious passenger to
:14:36. > :14:50.get on the phone to the insurance company.
:14:51. > :14:54.The caller is Gavin and Byron's grandmother. She is pretending to be
:14:55. > :15:13.a passenger in the Land Rover. She's been coached. You can hear the
:15:14. > :16:04.sun in the background telling her what to say.
:16:05. > :16:12.If you listen to the recording of Florence it brought a few laughs
:16:13. > :16:16.from the office initially to listen to her and realise what are you
:16:17. > :16:35.doing question what she did not know whether damage had been caused.
:16:36. > :16:41.When you look back on reflection and we have said as a team why did they
:16:42. > :16:48.get her involved question what she is their grandmother. It turns out
:16:49. > :16:53.she has got medical issues and they should never have got her involved.
:16:54. > :17:04.She is an elderly lady, 70, ill-health but they used her and
:17:05. > :17:09.that was Byron's own grandmother. Admiral insurance paid Florence as
:17:10. > :17:12.thousands pounds for her made up injury adding 11,000 more for cars
:17:13. > :17:17.the gang claimed were written off and insurance company paid out more
:17:18. > :17:21.than 12,000. Everything seemed clear cut. He was responsible for the
:17:22. > :17:28.accident having pulled out into the path of the vehicle. Did your claim
:17:29. > :17:32.handler suspect anything? At that stage, no, absolutely nothing. It
:17:33. > :17:38.went through the processes and all though we have a robust system
:17:39. > :17:43.sitting behind the phone calls with predictive system to identify the
:17:44. > :17:51.fraudulent claims, on this occasion it did not flag there was an issue
:17:52. > :17:55.with this incident. If insurance companies did more to prevent fraud,
:17:56. > :18:01.perhaps there would be fewer victims like Jane. Following the accident in
:18:02. > :18:05.a supermarket car park where a range Rover reversed into her course, she
:18:06. > :18:10.thought the insurance company would sort it out. It would all be plain
:18:11. > :18:16.sailing, especially as she was in the driver at fault. Also thought. A
:18:17. > :18:26.week or so later I received them from their solicitors basically a
:18:27. > :18:31.summons saying I was being accused of undue care and attention, they
:18:32. > :18:38.were making claims for injury to her, her mother and the daughter.
:18:39. > :18:54.I was in the car park and a woman drove into the back of me. Was there
:18:55. > :19:00.any witnesses? Yes,... Three weeks down the line, this so-called
:19:01. > :19:05.witness turns up out of the blue saying he had witnessed everything
:19:06. > :19:09.that had happened and yes, I had driven around the car park so fast
:19:10. > :19:16.that I had hit her in the back and shunted her forward. The fraud
:19:17. > :19:21.worked, Barwood got ?4000 for personal injury as did her mother
:19:22. > :19:28.Maureen. She got ?1000 damage for the baby. Neither had been in the
:19:29. > :19:32.car. The case cost the insurers ?16,000, Barwood also exaggerated
:19:33. > :19:36.the damage to her range Rover. They said they will seek to make a full
:19:37. > :19:48.recovery of their costs from the third parties involved. After two
:19:49. > :19:55.years of intensive evidence gathering, police are now moving on
:19:56. > :20:03.the wider network. It may harm your defence if you later rely on in
:20:04. > :20:08.court... A busy day today, this is another claim put before the CPS for
:20:09. > :20:15.them to decide upon. They'll be asked how they went about the claim
:20:16. > :20:21.and give an account if they wish. This lady is under arrest. Rhian
:20:22. > :20:26.Davies pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud. Police have arrested 85
:20:27. > :20:39.suspects and there are more to come. As the prospect of a big trial grew
:20:40. > :20:42.nearer, police worked fast to establish accurate timelines for the
:20:43. > :20:50.claims history and how they were connected. Each collision, there was
:20:51. > :20:54.vast amounts of money to be made. By looking at the social media networks
:20:55. > :21:00.and other aspects of their life it became quite significant that the
:21:01. > :21:06.collisions were occurring more frequently when there was a major
:21:07. > :21:14.event coming up in a persons life such as a wedding in April 20 ten.
:21:15. > :21:18.Everyone looked fit and well and happy, surprising because every day
:21:19. > :21:26.before Peter and Michelle Ford transit was involved in a collision
:21:27. > :21:30.in a car supposedly in Blackwood. Michelle was allegedly so seriously
:21:31. > :21:36.injured she took to her bed for two days. We got images shown she was at
:21:37. > :21:44.the wedding smiling happily. And there's more. Two weeks later, Peter
:21:45. > :21:50.and Michelle went on a cruise, and all-round crews to Egypt and Turkey.
:21:51. > :21:54.The police discovered they paid ?1900 for the holiday. As it
:21:55. > :21:55.happens, it was the exact same amount Michelle won in damages for
:21:56. > :22:09.her collision which never happened. After years of police
:22:10. > :22:14.investigations, the trial of the ringleaders finally begins. They are
:22:15. > :22:19.accused of conspiracy to defraud and the first of 90 alleged members of
:22:20. > :22:25.the network to go to court. With CCTV, the jury can see what the gang
:22:26. > :22:28.were up to. As weeks progressed, more and more of the evidence being
:22:29. > :22:36.presented come you could see the look of concern. What's changed the
:22:37. > :22:44.case completely was when Rachel and Byron decided they would stand in
:22:45. > :22:49.the box and give evidence. The QC then started cross-examining them
:22:50. > :22:59.and it was embarrassing to watch. He tied them up in knots. Byron and
:23:00. > :23:06.Peter each got six years, Rachel five years, Gavin and Jennifer got
:23:07. > :23:12.three years. Anthony Callaghan 27 months and his brother Patrick got
:23:13. > :23:15.24 months suspended. Michelle who took to a wheelchair at certain
:23:16. > :23:21.times during the trial got two years. Evidence raised questions
:23:22. > :23:27.about how easy it seems to be to dupe the insurance industry. Aviva
:23:28. > :23:34.was one of the worst affected by the scam. One crash alone costs ?30,000
:23:35. > :23:39.and there were five more. The good news is that we have invested
:23:40. > :23:45.significantly in the detection of organised fraud since then and we
:23:46. > :23:51.repudiated fraudulent claims worth millions last year. The root causes
:23:52. > :24:00.there is too much easy cash and too much financial incentive and profit
:24:01. > :24:04.in the system. The UK government has brought in legislation banning
:24:05. > :24:08.referral fees for personal injury claims and reducing the money
:24:09. > :24:12.lawyers can make. It is tightened up on the medical reporting system and
:24:13. > :24:22.has announced they will be no compensation for minor whiplash
:24:23. > :24:26.claims. By now, nearly all of the 87 suspects were found guilty or
:24:27. > :24:30.admitted involvement in the scam. The case against Florence Phillips,
:24:31. > :24:36.Gavin and Byron's grandmother was dropped because of bad health.
:24:37. > :24:42.Stephanie Barwood pleaded guilty and her victim was at the Crown Court to
:24:43. > :24:49.watch her being sentenced. I could not believe the look on Stephanie
:24:50. > :24:54.Barwood's face. She was so nonchalantly to she thought she
:24:55. > :25:00.would get away with it. And then she was sentenced and her face dropped.
:25:01. > :25:05.Barwood was sentenced to three years in prison. A partner Lee Evans got
:25:06. > :25:09.33 months. The man who lied about being a witness to the crash got
:25:10. > :25:14.three years and three months for that and other fraudulent claims.
:25:15. > :25:21.Police think the scam might have cost insurers up to ?2 million. They
:25:22. > :25:27.got greedy. Whereas if they did one of two accidents, couple of months,
:25:28. > :25:33.it was in three for a month and it was she agreed the got caught. It
:25:34. > :25:37.took four years to investigate and bring to book the friends and
:25:38. > :25:42.families by which time Detective Sergeant Andy Kalam had retired.
:25:43. > :25:48.Very very pleasing. They were found guilty. It was pleasing with the
:25:49. > :25:53.sentences as well. It meant the last couple of years of my service as a
:25:54. > :25:57.police officer were not in vain. Since the trials we have led
:25:58. > :26:03.Michelle and Peter were also inducted for benefit fraud. It is
:26:04. > :26:09.alleged they falsely claimed nearly ?70,000 for care and mobility
:26:10. > :26:13.allowances between. Get a good shot. Make sure it's a good one. The case
:26:14. > :26:18.was pursued because they were going to prison anyway. One of the biggest
:26:19. > :26:21.insurance frauds Wales has ever seen.