The Great Car Crash Con Week In Week Out


The Great Car Crash Con

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They turned out and hit me on the side, the front driver's side. Can

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you confirm the area of damage on your vehicle? I don't know if it is

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front, back whatever. They thought they could beat the system. They

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call and insurance companies out of thousands by faking crashes. Meet

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the Yandells, they ever owned a small garage. All these collisions,

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they are all connected. They are not random, they are all connected. They

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got away with it from years before they got caught by their own CCTV.

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For three years, we have been with the police have a close in on the

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gap. This is the inside story. This lady here is under arrest.

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Please can I help. I have just been attacked by a guy of Blackwood Road.

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He has taken my car. A call recording a theft of a Renault

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Megane is about to kick off an investigation into one of the

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biggest cons Wales has ever seen. The car was in the garage. They

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already suspected that the Garrard, then called easy fix, was a centre

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of a trade in stolen vehicles. Officers responded to the

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information. Doors are closed for the evening solely at the G. Holder

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to turn up, -- key-holder to turn up, a man called Yandell. They found

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a Renault Megane completely stripped. Mr Randall was duly

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arrested. Andy Cullen and his team moved fast. They identified 20

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stolen vehicles. All that remained of some of them were the tax discs.

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The police were about to make an even more important discovery. One

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of these search officers was pulling his way through paperwork. Can you

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have a look at this site, please? On this piece of paper, with the

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effect, "What we say to the insurance company." At that time, we

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had a lot of crash for cash claims. I thought, hang on, we have a a lot

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of cars here in some state, I want every piece of paper. Something else

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got there I ended was to prove the gang's undoing. A hard drive with 21

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days of footage from the Garrard's for security cameras. The gang had

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been caught before they had time to buy it. They put it up for security

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purposes but they were worried about damage to their property and other

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criminals possibly breaking into their yard. Clever if you stay under

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the radar but extremely stupid if you film the criminality you are

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involved in. Four years later, police would be to families who were

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involved in Wales's biggest insurance fraud. Man-mac, owner of

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the garage. His father, Peter. -- Byron Yandell. Michelle Yandell, his

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mother, Rachael, his wife and Gavin... Hello. Ireland's brother.

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And there was another family, the Callaghan 's. Brothers Patrick and

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Anthony and his partner, Jennifer Cosh. What started with a phone call

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about a stolen card and into an conjugated investigation involving

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almost 90 suspects. It you can almost two and a half years to get

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it all through the goals. Leeds United is more than car theft. It

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was a cash for trash can. Police realised. How big, they didn't know.

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Operation Dynamo is in action. -- Operation Dino. Here is Sara Morris

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working particularly with social media like Facebook. This man has

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the onerous task of dealing with CCTV. Finally, DC Jon Parkinson

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speaking to witnesses and gathering evidence from insurance companies

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and identifying the people we need is the issue. There was a suggestion

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that they wanted to steal their CCTV back. Consequently, we have

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everything stolen in our jurisdiction. These boxes contain

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material, exhibits that have been brought to our attention. We have in

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excess of 500 witness statements of over 2500 incidents. Totalling

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hundreds of thousands of pages. The investigation centred on a

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number of things. This is just my memoir, there are about 20 names on

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your. That is a whole vehicle and then you can add to this one that is

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just a tax disc. Lots of money's word here. Lots of people's Rice

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affected as a result. Close buddy of the CCTV revealed all

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kinds of criminal activity. It looked like vehicles were being

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stolen for their parts to repair other cars that are deliberately

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damage or insurance pay-outs. -- close studies. This happened

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10:26am. We see him dismantle the van, removing the bonnet, removing

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the bumper venue from rail, the side doors, the real doors and then the

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engine. This is dismantling of parts they can be use. We have Jonathan

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Fuller in the white, I remind LME -- Byron Yandell any stripy top. Gavin

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and Jonathan are stripping the car down with the owner of the garage

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obviously in the whole project really. By 1244 PM they have removed

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evil engine. You can see they have completely removed from the

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fittings. By 14:20pm, wheels are off and they are on their way to

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whatever scrap or they will dispose of. When you stand the stolen, the

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owner was deprived of his livelihood. Not just the vehicle by

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thousands of pounds of tools within. They always say a picture paints a

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thousand words so it has been invaluable throughout. DC Sara

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Morris look for clues through social media. Police suspected there were

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links between the people who claim their cars had been crashed but she

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had to prove it. In all of these collisions, they are all connected.

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They are not just members of the public, they are all connected, you

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look to the garage or through the Yandell family or to the Callaghan

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family. They denied all knowledge of others involved in the collisions

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but they had pictures on Facebook for all the world to see, showing

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exactly how well they all knew each other. This person here is clear

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Davis. This is our partner who is now deceased. This person here is

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Patrick Callaghan. It shows that he clearly attend this event. This is

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captured from the same event. Here, honestly and again, you've got

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Claire and Ian and this lady here is Jennifer Cosh. What we are saying

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when they say about the associations is that Lorraine Fitzpatrick had a

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collision with Patrick Callaghan, and shows that he clearly attend

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this event. They are friends and associates. So, what are the

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janitors in the crashing into a friend or relative? Quite high if

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you are a Yandell or a Callaghan. DC Parkinson has spent hundreds of

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hours interviewing witnesses. The investigation is uncovering an

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extraordinary number of suspects. The police concentrated on 90

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appeared to have made a false insurance claim is through Easifix.

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We are having to. The eyes and crossed the keys. We are pushing it

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towards the Crown Prosecution Service to think the people before

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the court. So-called crash for cash is an

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insurance fraud and it is a big problem for them. It cost the

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industry ?340 million last year. The insurance industry is always been a

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target for criminals in respect of what is commonly known as crash for

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cash. Vehicles have been driven into each other so there is damage on

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both vehicles. They haven't been driven into each other at the time,

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date and place aged and the people within them were not within them. A

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variety of different people say that they were in the vehicle, injured

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during that collision and make a substantial amount of money on the

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back end of doing so. A false whiplash claim and bridging several

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thousand pounds in your pocket for something that did not happen. Crash

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investigator PC Chris Barnard was brought into the Operation Dino team

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to investigate the collisions. I crashing cars, he said he can work

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out how damage is likely to occur. Those unique marks are left on new

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vehicle so, what was happening at a particular time is written into the

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structure of the damage. It is just a question of reading that damage

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and playing the events backwards to see if they may fit with the

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scenario that was claimed. You can see that there is danger,

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Green paint here, running through the whole scene -- blue paint and

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green paint. We have these horizontal marks that match the same

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height as that, that all makes sense. He was soon to prove that

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hardly any of the Easifix collisions make any sense at all. If any of the

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scammers thought that insurance fraud was a victimless crime, they

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were wrong. That's my little Blue Cross. She mounted the bonnet and

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boost the bonnet up. Corsa --. There is a scratch they are and they

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scratch there. The 70 fraudulent collisions police investigated, one

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stood out. What happened in this car park in Caerphilly four years ago,

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would like a real accident. It started in front of me and I stopped

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behind. Only say, there was someone crossing. I could see this bar would

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in the car. Next thing I knew, she was actually on my bonnet, she had

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reversed back. It frightened the life out of me because I just did

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not expect that at all. When she got out of the car, she was most

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apologetic. No sound. The elves got up from the

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car. I didn't think to go and check. But she had my address, I had her

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address and insurance details. I stood there and I shook. She drove

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off and then I saw her walking in to Morrisons. I drove and found the

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nearest spot and just sat there and cried.

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I advised her to call the police, because, just in case thing happened

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afterwards. Best let the police know so that the police had been

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informed. That call proved to be crucial. What

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Jane did not know yet, at home that night, was that she had got herself

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mixed up with the Easifix gang. And her problems were only just

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beginning. Hundreds of hours of CCTV video

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revealed to the police the disturbing picture of how the gang

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was operating. Byron Yandell's Father Peter was

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co-owner of Easifix, and registered disable. He was claiming disability

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benefits and had a smart BMW, subsidised by the taxpayer under the

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Motability scheme. But DC Adams could see from the CCTV

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that Peter's disability didn't prevent him from lifting stolen car

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parts. We have Peter here carrying what

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looks like a prop shaft or some sort of iron object. He appears to be

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carrying that with no difficulty whatsoever, bearing in mind his bad

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back. It looks quite easy. It is part of an axle. He is able to lift

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it off on the back of a temper. He had also been seriously abusing

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the Motability scheme. Peter Yandell was registered

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disabled. He was in possession of the Motability vehicle, a moped Joel

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BMW. -- a BMW. That BMW was rented out to Patrick Callaghan, breaching

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the rules and regulations of the Motability scheme.

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It got worse. Peter Yandell decided to write off this vehicle in stage

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collision involving a family friend Simon Jones. Jones' van was faulty

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and needed expensive repairs. While the Yandells wanted to make money

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from fake personal injuries. The van was pulling out from a side

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road into the path of the BMW. The BMW claimed it struck the ban as the

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van was pulling out and turning right.

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A number of injuries were claimed. Police think Jones was told to be

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the at fault driver. I turned out and he hit me in the

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front driver 's side. What damage has done to your

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vehicle? The frontside is crushed.

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Was anyone injured in your vehicle? I cut my eye.

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When PC Goddard examined photos from the insurance companies, he could

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see straightaway the damage did not match the claimant's description.

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You would expect the frontside of the BMW to make the first point of

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contact, that was not the case in reality. What actually happened was

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that the entire broadside of the van received damage. Much wider than the

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five series BMW could actually inflict. There was no evidence at

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all that the ban was moving when it received its impact.

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It had to be towed away. OK. Do you know we're vehicle is at the

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minutes? Yeah, bumpy max.

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Simon Jones got ?2200 for his written off van. And popo got ?1100

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for storage of the van. And to people going to be entered, they

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were all lying. -- Easifix got 2200. Jones called the hospital about is

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injuries before the accident, something the insurance company

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could not have known before it paid out.

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On the face of it, a fairly new BMW but you're driving around in, why

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would you try and write it off? The reason being, if you have a

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Motability vehicle, and you are not the artform driver, but ability will

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just give you a new one. It is means for them to make money in that scam

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-- at fault driver. Byron and mutual Randall get some

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part of the referral commission for the recovery of those vehicles.

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Peter Yandell's Motability car was written off and went to the scrap

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dealer. As we will find out later, that was not the end of the story as

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far as this car was concerned. As Operation Dino progressed, and

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evidence of 70 claims over two years were fraudulent. They all seem to

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lead back to Easifix, and at its centre, was Byron and his family.

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They had left behind a digital trail and DC Morris was onto it. She could

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see what they had been up to. This is a game from the wedding,

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captured from Facebook. What I have detailed around it is all the names,

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who they are, and how many claims they had been involved in. Rachel

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Yandell has been involved in three claims. The husband, Byron Yandell,

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four claims. And as you go on, you can see, how many planes just this

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small family unit has made. -- harmony claims. But the family

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had orchestrated dozens more claims by farming at collisions to the

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Callaghans and at least 19 friends and relatives.

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If you look through the collisions, there is a clear divide,

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geographically with the people involved. Easifix is in Blackwood,

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the Yandells M Blackwood. You can see a large proportion of those

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involved in the Blackwood area. Your sad people from Caerphilly and

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Cardiff who get involved which is where the Callaghans the men. If you

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went in the associates, make it bigger, it is less suspect, really.

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If you have people from Caerphilly crashing into people from Blackwood

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Rather than two neighbours crashing into each other. It just adds that

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bit of distance between the two. And then you have the friends and

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more distance family on the outskirts. Thinking, I can jump in

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here, and get 15,000- ?2000 for a quick whiplash. Nolan will know,

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it's OK to do it. -- no one will note.

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Two years into their enquiry, and police acting on a tip-off that

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there is more evidence heading at popo. It has a new name and a new

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owner. He's running a legitimate business, but for safer hemp, the

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inspector still has to call. Evidence heading at bumpy max.

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We are looking for any vehicle identification plates.

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The Operation Dino team think that items dumped on wasteland or in

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cavity walls might give them new leads.

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The search of cavity walls drew a blank, but there were some finds in

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the undergrowth will stop. If we find out whose license this

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was, and we can find out why it was discarded in wasteland next to a

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garage involved in criminality. There are numberplates there, and

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this is a line of enquiry for us to follow.

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Do we believe that other stolen vehicles or answer out there, and

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that means there is a victim of crime out there whose crime has not

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been detected. And they do not have the opportunity to possibly get

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compensated for their loss. So it is important.

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The police were puzzling over the vehicles and collisions. They

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suspected they had not been involved in real accidents, but they looked

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as if they had. How? Where? And when was this happening?

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Two vital bits of footage revealed the answers. It was claimed that a

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collision took place two miles away from Easifix between two Audis.

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Driven by Ross Mazurczak and Lee Evans. Lyn Evans, Lee's mother was a

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passenger and claims for personal injury.

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This was the Audi, Ross' Audi, driven by Ross. They are supposedly

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going to be involved in a collision between that Audi and Lee Evans' red

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Audi at 3pm on the Llanbradach bypass.

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This is Lee now driving his red Audi, which was in the right yard.

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He should be on Llanbradach bypass being involved in an accident at

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this stage. Now at 12 minutes pass, Lee Evans is there, he is not

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injured, his vehicle is not injured the win damaged either.

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This is the 24th, a Sunday morning. Ross in his Audi with no damage to

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the front and whatsoever. But it was written off in a collision on the

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22nd. Here is Ross. And that is Lee Evans. They claim the do not know

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one another. Just to claim the details we have

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the other driver for the third-party?

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Lee Evans. Was there any passengers in the third-party vehicle?

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I think there was a woman, someone in the passenger seat I think. I

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don't know whether it is as partner or mother.

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Again, Lee Evans and Lyn Evans, both allegedly suffering whiplash at this

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moment in time. A couple of the days after the alleged collision. But

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received personal injury pay-outs Jude to the pain and suffering from

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this particular suffering the collision, which is not evident.

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-- Q2. Between the CCTV cameras they have the top, there was a blind

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spot. Police worked out, this is where the cars were damaged.

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There it goes. It is going backwards. But to get the damage on

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the back end of this Audi, and the front end of the other one, they

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reversed this one. You can see, it reverses at speed.

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Out of sight, the two Audis have collided. The next time one is seen,

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the back is damaged. This is the damage now that is

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reported to the insurance company. They maintain it with Rather and 3pm

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on Friday afternoon, but the damage is done on a Sunday afternoon in a

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quiet industrial state in Blackwood. Every possible angle to make money,

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they have used. From thousands of pounds on higher, to PI referrals,

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storage, recovery, personal injury claims themselves. It is just one

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big conveyor belt of money. They are running a business, purely and

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simply, on the proviso that their friends and family are involved in

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car accidents. And one of those moneymaking schemes

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was charging for replacement hire cars that went needed, or sometimes

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didn't even exist. Remember how Peter Yandell was

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hiring at his Motability car against the rules? There was also this

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Astra. We have a higher vehicle which is on

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paper are being rented out to a person involved in a collision, but

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it never leaves the compound. There is even? Whether it can drive on the

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road, because they have to push it back and forward on a trolley jack.

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Syriza question of its mechanical fitness for the road.

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And they claim for hiring to two people at the same time. Lee Evans,

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falling his fake crash in the Audi, and Rachel Yandell call the win,

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following one of horrors. This case cost to insurance companies several

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thousands of pounds between them. Many of the crashes were supposed to

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have happened here, in Blackwood, just around the corner from Easifix.

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Interestingly, for eight company which and own any recovery truck of

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their own, it is quite fortunate that the collisions happen at this

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junction we are about to come up to now. This particular junction,

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members of the Yandell family had collisions at. It is a very busy

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road this. It allegedly had collisions at times of day where

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traffic congestion would have been very, very busy, had there been an

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accident there. But we have had no reports of that.

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In fact, police suspect that none of the crashes happened back there at

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all. And it was the next bit of CCTV footage that was the clincher,

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giving the police the clearest evidence yet that the gang was

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smashing cars themselves. It is 18:35, and the Land Rover that

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allegedly had a collision at 10-2-macro: 30. According to the

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insurance games, Land Rover driven by Roger Phillips collided with a

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silver BMW driven by his nephew, Gavin Yandell.

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Two other people claimed for injury. Collisions expert Chris Goddard was

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deliberately not shown any Easifix CCTV so as not to influence his

0:29:060:29:12

assessment. It was clear that the BMW was stationary because of the

0:29:130:29:16

Mark Sunny side of the door. We don't know what struck the Land

0:29:170:29:24

Rover. That is an Byron Yandell driving the vehicle which is

0:29:250:29:28

completely intact, no damage caused at all but allegedly written off at

0:29:290:29:31

all but allegedly written offer 10:30am. Again, 17 to 146, we have a

0:29:320:29:37

whole host of people around this vehicle. Anthony Callaghan is

0:29:380:29:44

driving it now, Patrick Callaghan, his brother, is looking on. Adam

0:29:450:29:52

Fairclough and Byron Yandell, everybody is around the vehicle and

0:29:530:29:54

it is fair to say that everybody knows what it is about to happen.

0:29:550:29:57

And not the first they have done this. We still don't know why this

0:29:580:30:05

particular half decent looking vehicle was damaged, didn't have a

0:30:060:30:08

mechanical fault? It is now being placed in the blind spot by Byron.

0:30:090:30:16

Now, it is 6:45pm and it is coming into shot. It is now outside

0:30:170:30:23

Easifix, Byron is driving it and Patrick Callaghan is at the bottom,

0:30:240:30:27

Anthony is there. You look at Gavin's reaction, he is really

0:30:280:30:32

wincing, he has just seen something and what he has seen is that Land

0:30:330:30:38

Rover being driven into the BMW. They are not happy with the level of

0:30:390:30:42

damage they have just inflicted there, look at Gavin two into shot

0:30:430:30:50

and only goal again. That is the Land Rover being driven in for a

0:30:510:30:56

second time into a BMW. Now it looks completely undamaged being driven

0:30:570:31:01

back into the back of the yard. It has caused damage to the BMW, we

0:31:020:31:08

never see a BMW only CCTV again. The next time any of us see any footage

0:31:090:31:14

of that, it is actually inside the yard when we do a search.

0:31:150:31:25

Two days later and because the Land Rover has stood up so well to

0:31:260:31:32

punishment, the Easifix gang decide to have another go. With a forklift

0:31:330:31:40

truck. The Land Rover which is outside being driven by Ashley

0:31:410:31:43

Norris into the rear of that damage is further. Driven the Land Rover

0:31:440:31:59

into the back of the forklift. Again, like with the BMW, they are

0:32:000:32:03

not happy with doing it once so they have another goal. A bit further

0:32:040:32:11

back this time. As you can see, the hazard lights have, on and more

0:32:120:32:18

damage now to the front of that. The Lee Evans is back there and you can

0:32:190:32:24

see one of the light has come off. To add yet more damage, Byron

0:32:250:32:30

Yandell attacked it with a hammer. Which is amusing everybody involved

0:32:310:32:37

and Byron himself. Then they set off the airbags. This alone is enough to

0:32:380:32:45

write off the vehicle. You can see the white just coming out of the

0:32:460:32:49

steering wheel there. If the airbags have gone off, certainly on a

0:32:500:32:53

vehicle like this, you can wrap up how fast you are going, therefore

0:32:540:32:57

how injured you are going to be if the airbags have gone off, which

0:32:580:33:02

then could have some sway in what kind of personal injury you get. The

0:33:030:33:09

gang were caught red handed and they had filmed themselves doing it. It

0:33:100:33:12

was just the evidence police needed. And there was more. While this

0:33:130:33:20

vehicle damage was invented, sold to the personal injuries. Time for a

0:33:210:33:25

fictitious passenger to get on the phone to the insurance company.

0:33:260:33:41

The colour is Florence Phillips, Gavin and Byron's grandmother. She

0:33:420:33:46

is pretending to be a passenger in the Land Rover.

0:33:470:34:01

She is clearly be encouraged, you can hear her son, Roger, in the

0:34:020:34:04

background telling her what to say. If you listen to the recording of

0:34:050:35:00

Florence, it's got a free two laps in the office initially to listen to

0:35:010:35:09

it. -- HQ alas. She didn't even know where the damage had been caused.

0:35:100:35:24

When you look back on it now in reflection, and we all set as a

0:35:250:35:32

team, why did they get to involve? She is their grandmother? It

0:35:330:35:36

subsequently turned out she has medical issues and they should have

0:35:370:35:40

never gotten involved in the first place. She is an elderly lady, 70

0:35:410:35:47

years old, ill health, but they used to and that was Byron's own

0:35:480:35:49

grandmother that they dragged into this. Hello, you are free to carry

0:35:500:35:56

at the claims department. Admiral insurance paid Florence for her

0:35:570:36:04

injury, adding ?11,000 more than the gang had written off. The insurance

0:36:050:36:07

company paid out more than 12 hours and bounds. It did not happen anyway

0:36:080:36:13

Google told it happened. Sue Evans is Admiral's head of fraud. You are

0:36:140:36:21

responsible for the accident having pulled out into the path of that

0:36:220:36:25

vehicle. The job claims handle suspect anything at that stage? At

0:36:260:36:28

that stage, no. Absolutely nothing. Those who are processes and,

0:36:290:36:35

although we have quite a robust system sitting behind the phone

0:36:360:36:38

calls and a predictive system trying to identify the fraudulent claims,

0:36:390:36:44

on this occasion, it did not like that there was an issue with this

0:36:450:36:50

particular incident. They were just getting away with people not

0:36:510:36:55

bothering to look into much detail. Police say that if both insurance

0:36:560:37:00

companies involved have asked the claimant 's tough questions,

0:37:010:37:02

fraudulent claims might have been avoided. There was nothing on those

0:37:030:37:09

vehicles that confirms the story at all. The insurance companies were

0:37:100:37:14

not verifying the accounts given with the physical evidence on the

0:37:150:37:24

vehicles. Police say that insurance operators should ask further

0:37:250:37:31

questions. We are trying to read out these fraudsters. We don't want to

0:37:320:37:37

hinder the payment of genuine claims. We need to get them over and

0:37:380:37:41

done with as quickly as possible and get them back on the road. If

0:37:420:37:47

insurance companies did more to prevent fraud, perhaps there would

0:37:480:37:51

be fewer victims like Jane Lawrence. Following the accident in a

0:37:520:37:54

supermarket car park where a range Rover reversed into her Corsa, she

0:37:550:38:04

thought the insurance Company would sort it out. She thought it would be

0:38:050:38:07

all plain sailing because she was not the driver at fault, also she

0:38:080:38:15

thought. I received a summons from a less saying I was being accused of

0:38:160:38:23

I'm due care and attention saying I was driving recklessly around a car

0:38:240:38:27

park. If you have been to Morrisons car park, you know you cannot do

0:38:280:38:31

that. Especially at the tiny incident happened, about 11:53am.

0:38:320:38:38

They were making claims for injuries to her, her mother, and her

0:38:390:38:43

daughter. Stefanie Barwood, the other driver can be seen arriving at

0:38:440:38:48

easy fix a view second after the crash. Here we see her partner, not

0:38:490:38:54

other than Lee Evans. Please worked out who was who from the gang's own

0:38:550:39:01

CCTV. She is now explaining to the that she has been involved in a

0:39:020:39:05

collision. Four and a half hours have gone and she has still not

0:39:060:39:09

reported it to the insurance company yet. Stefanie's version of events is

0:39:100:39:13

that a passer-by left their number on her windscreen in a supermarket

0:39:140:39:23

car park. The independent witness to Stefanie Barwood claims not to have

0:39:240:39:27

seen, that person is William Veall, who is still at the garage now. He

0:39:280:39:33

starts as the goal there, speaks to all concerned, but clearly did not

0:39:340:39:41

leave any well. The story has been concocted at Easifix this afternoon.

0:39:420:39:48

William Veall had already been involved fraudulent collisions. One

0:39:490:39:50

of them when he was on home leave from prison. Now he is colluding

0:39:510:39:55

with his Easifix makes to the accident and that was Barwood's fall

0:39:560:40:02

into some thing that would put the blame on Mrs Lawrence. A woman had

0:40:030:40:10

drove into the back of me. Can I take your name? Stefanie Barwood. I

0:40:110:40:18

was in the car. Were there any independent witnesses? There was a

0:40:190:40:28

man who seem accident and let his name and number. Can I take his

0:40:290:40:39

name? William Veall. V-E-A-L-L. Three weeks down the line, this

0:40:400:40:42

so-called witness turned up out of the blue saying he had witnessed

0:40:430:40:48

everything that happened and, yes, I had drove around the car park so

0:40:490:40:52

that I had little in the back and shunted to follow. There was no way

0:40:530:41:01

a Corsa scan showed a Range Rover followed. I phoned and I spoke to

0:41:020:41:05

someone from the insurance, they did not care. They did not care about

0:41:060:41:09

the affected was having on me. Or other innocent people caught up in

0:41:100:41:20

this. The fraud worked, Barwood got almost ?4000 for personal injury,

0:41:210:41:23

added her mother Maureen. She got ?1000 damage to the baby too.

0:41:240:41:32

Neither has been in the car. It cost Jane's insurers ?16,000 because

0:41:330:41:37

Barwood also exaggerated the damage to her Range Rover. They are very

0:41:380:41:41

tough Eagles match to go anywhere and the idea that minor car parking

0:41:420:41:48

contacts would render the rear suspension to be in... Requiring

0:41:490:41:54

complete repair, that did not include. -- ring true. What helped

0:41:550:42:06

the story was that Jane Ron the police after the crash. Only one

0:42:070:42:11

other person had done so. These things happen these days so I

0:42:120:42:15

thought, just in case, I will fully police and given erected. -- phone

0:42:160:42:23

the police. Give them a record. The people that we pay to help us in

0:42:240:42:30

these situations, literally just turned out that by me. If the police

0:42:310:42:36

had not done their jobs, then we would be in a right state. The

0:42:370:42:39

insurance companies were just useless. If I could not bother with

0:42:400:42:47

insurance, I wouldn't. I do not trust any of them any more. Any of

0:42:480:42:59

them. Direct Line say they repaired the vehicle and got it back on the

0:43:000:43:03

road quickly. Fraudsters can also cause claims made by innocent

0:43:040:43:07

customers to be delayed. They say they will be seeking to make a full

0:43:080:43:11

recovery of their costs, a third party involved. As for Barwood,

0:43:120:43:18

further investigation showed that she was involved in another false

0:43:190:43:23

claim months later. She was driving her Range Rover when it was

0:43:240:43:32

allegedly hit by this Peugeot, driven by this man, who worked as a

0:43:330:43:38

paint sprayer at Easifix. Stefanie's brother, also allegedly a passenger

0:43:390:43:41

claimed personal injury and both cars were written off. The insurance

0:43:420:43:47

company paid out ?15,000. It is just silly and simply down to greed.

0:43:480:43:57

After two years of intensive evidence gathering, police and out

0:43:580:44:03

moving on the wider network. You don't have to say anything, but

0:44:040:44:08

it may harm your evidence if you mention anything that you later rely

0:44:090:44:11

on in court. Anything you do say may be used in evidence. This is a

0:44:120:44:16

convex enquiry relying on suspects who will all be dealt with any, now.

0:44:170:44:20

And when to ask you to sign this document to say that is what I said.

0:44:210:44:26

-- a complex enquiry. This is just another of the false

0:44:270:44:30

claims had been put forward by the Crown Prosecution Service. The

0:44:310:44:35

people who have been arrested today, they had been interviewed and

0:44:360:44:40

question about a collision that occurred in 2011 in the Blackwood

0:44:410:44:45

area. Through the course of the interview, they will be asked to

0:44:460:44:47

account as to whether and not they got any injuries whether they put

0:44:480:44:52

their claimant, and to give an account if they wish to.

0:44:530:45:01

This lady here is under arrest. Rhian Davis was one of those to

0:45:020:45:06

plead guilty to conspiracy to the fraud as the months went by. Police

0:45:070:45:10

have now arrested 85 suspects and there are more to come.

0:45:110:45:17

As the prospect of a big trial drew nearer, police work fast to

0:45:180:45:24

establish accurate timelines for the gang's claim history and how they

0:45:250:45:28

were all connected. Each collision, there were vast

0:45:290:45:35

amounts of money to be made. By looking at the social media networks

0:45:360:45:39

and other aspects of their lives, it became clear that the collisions

0:45:400:45:47

were occurring more frequently when there was a major event coming up in

0:45:480:45:53

that person's lives, such as Rachel and Byron's wedding in April 2000

0:45:540:45:56

ten. Everyone looked fit well and happy.

0:45:570:46:02

Surprising really, because only the day before, Peter and Michelle

0:46:030:46:06

Yandell's for transit was involved in a collision with a Vauxhall

0:46:070:46:10

Astra, supposedly in Blackwood. 9th of April, 2010, a collision

0:46:110:46:16

involving Peter Yandell, Michelle Yandell, Jonathan Cook also

0:46:170:46:22

allegedly collided with a taxi driver. That was the night when

0:46:230:46:27

Byron Yandell went out on his stag do. Peter Yandell went with him,

0:46:280:46:32

this was after the collision. Shell Yandell was allegedly so serious the

0:46:330:46:35

injured she took to her bed for two days. We have footage showing her at

0:46:360:46:44

that wedding, smiling happily. Peter is clearly having a good time

0:46:450:46:48

too, despite a personal injury that was to net him ?2000. The reason he

0:46:490:46:53

was wearing dark glasses was not anything to do with the crash, he

0:46:540:46:58

got a black eye in a fight on Byron's stag night. He was to claim

0:46:590:47:02

criminal injuries compensation for that too.

0:47:030:47:07

And there's more. Two weeks later, Peter and Michelle Yandell went on a

0:47:080:47:14

cruise to Egypt and Turkey. We seized the computers and found

0:47:150:47:16

plenty of photographs that clearly showed she was enjoying herself, she

0:47:170:47:23

was dancing, walking, she was in the sea, in swimming pools. Clearly not

0:47:240:47:28

as injured as sheep trade to the GB or the medical examiner Dr.

0:47:290:47:36

She portrayed to the GP. Receipts show she paid ?1900 for this

0:47:370:47:41

holiday, the exact amount almost that Michelle claimed in a collision

0:47:420:47:43

that never happened. After years of police

0:47:440:47:53

investigations, the trial of the ringleaders finally begins. They are

0:47:540:47:57

accused of conspiracy to the fraud, and are the first of almost 90

0:47:580:48:01

alleged members of the Easifix network to go to court.

0:48:020:48:08

Heads of the can, Peter Yandell, his wife Michelle, their son Byron and

0:48:090:48:12

his now former wife Michelle. Peter's other son Gavin, the

0:48:130:48:17

Callaghans, Jennifer Kosh, Anthony and Patrick who have already pleaded

0:48:180:48:21

guilty. And the wider network were here too.

0:48:220:48:27

I was nervous, I knew we had a lot of evidence against them and

0:48:280:48:29

overwhelming evidence against them. But with any court case you can

0:48:300:48:34

never read a jury, and it depends how it comes across to them.

0:48:350:48:39

The trial lasted seven weeks. With the CCTV, the jury could see what

0:48:400:48:44

the gang had been up to. How stolen cars were laundered, for example.

0:48:450:48:50

This BMW arrived at Easifix bearing strange that familiar numberplates.

0:48:510:48:54

It had once been an Peter Yandells Motability car. The jury was told

0:48:550:48:59

how the Yandells took the numberplates of the crashed car and

0:49:000:49:04

put them on this stolen BMW. Which they planned to sell on.

0:49:050:49:11

And Easifix regulars Dean Cronin, Gareth James, Lee Evans and Robert

0:49:120:49:17

Alexander are seen here helping themselves to some of the property

0:49:180:49:21

they found inside the stolen car. Including a child's car seat.

0:49:220:49:28

As the weeks progressed, more and more of the evidence that was being

0:49:290:49:32

presented, you can see the look of concerns. What change the case

0:49:330:49:39

completely was when Rachel and Byron decided they were going to stand in

0:49:400:49:44

the box and give evidence. The QC, Chris Clee, he then started

0:49:450:49:50

cross-examining them, and it was embarrassing to watch. He tied them

0:49:510:49:54

up in knots. The lies that are coming out, they were just dripping

0:49:550:49:59

themselves up constantly. Byron tried to state all these were

0:50:000:50:05

genuine accidents. He knew people after the collision, got to know

0:50:060:50:08

them. Rachel's defence was, it wasn't me. I'm not involved in the

0:50:090:50:14

business, I am only a barmaid, it's nothing to do with me. And all her

0:50:150:50:20

collisions were genuine. The jury saw the Yandells and others

0:50:210:50:24

bringing in stolen tools. Everyone could see that they were

0:50:250:50:28

lying. Rachel was quite hostile when she started to light. And Byron,

0:50:290:50:35

when it was a blatant lie, would look to the floor. It was very clear

0:50:360:50:39

to see. And whereas I said before you can't read age eight, I think we

0:50:400:50:43

started to read the jury on that occasion. You would look at the

0:50:440:50:50

faces and it was at a disbelief that they were coming out with this.

0:50:510:50:57

Byron and Peter Yandell each got six years. Rachel five years. Gavin

0:50:580:51:05

Yandell and Jennifer Karsh got three years. Anthony Callaghan 27 months,

0:51:060:51:13

and his brother Patrick got 24 months, suspended. Michelle, who had

0:51:140:51:16

taken to a wheelchair at certain points in the trial, got two years.

0:51:170:51:23

Custodial sentences to the majority of people with multiple claims, as

0:51:240:51:26

far as we're concerned, sent out the right message to people that this

0:51:270:51:30

type of crime, it is not a victimless crime, and there for

0:51:310:51:34

hopefully will act as a deterrent to others to not commit those crimes

0:51:350:51:37

again. Police hope the sentences will now

0:51:380:51:41

persuade the dozens of others in the company might network to change

0:51:420:51:45

their pleas to guilty to avoid lengthy court hearings.

0:51:460:51:49

Evidence at the trial raised questions about how easy it seemed

0:51:500:51:54

to be duped the insurance industry. Aviva was one of the worst affected

0:51:550:52:00

by the scam. One crash alone cost them ?38,000 and five more. -- and

0:52:010:52:07

there were five more. The good news is that we have

0:52:080:52:11

invested significantly in the detection of organised fraud since

0:52:120:52:14

then, we have repudiated fraudulent claims worth ?35 million last year.

0:52:150:52:22

The courses there is too much easy Kas and too much financial incentive

0:52:230:52:30

and profit in the system. -- easy cash.

0:52:310:52:35

The UK Government has brought in legislation banning referral fees

0:52:360:52:41

for personal injury claims, and reducing the money lawyers can make.

0:52:420:52:45

It has tightened up on the medical reporting system. It is also just

0:52:460:52:49

announced there will be no condensation from minor whiplash

0:52:500:52:53

claims. The police say there are lots of

0:52:540:52:56

things the insurance industry can do to protect itself and us from the

0:52:570:53:02

spiralling costs of fraud. There were a number of issues we

0:53:030:53:06

identified right to the course of the enquiry. The insurance industry

0:53:070:53:12

themselves, quite easily tackle, in some respects, just the reporting of

0:53:130:53:17

the collision. What was the extent of the damage? Do you have

0:53:180:53:21

photographs? If someone was hurt, was at reported to the police? Under

0:53:220:53:25

the Road Traffic Act, you must report an accident were someone is

0:53:260:53:29

injured. Throughout the enquiry we only identified to collisions that

0:53:300:53:35

were recorded to the police, out of 70. All of them should have been

0:53:360:53:38

reported to the police. The Easifix case repeatedly

0:53:390:53:44

highlighted how easy it was to tell, if you just looked at the pictures

0:53:450:53:47

of the car is involved, that the collisions could not have happened

0:53:480:53:49

the way described. They are not looking at the whole

0:53:500:53:55

incident. It is easy to say that two vehicles have come together. But

0:53:560:53:59

there should be clear evidence to support the fact that they have. But

0:54:000:54:04

currently, the insurance companies just look at one vehicle, and the

0:54:050:54:10

other insurance vehicle will have -- insurance company will look at the

0:54:110:54:13

other vehicle, and not exchange that common thread.

0:54:140:54:18

Two vehicles involved in the same accident will be examined separately

0:54:190:54:24

and not by the same engineer. That means that sometimes that's a link

0:54:250:54:29

that would be obvious to the experience I looking at both

0:54:300:54:32

accidents is lost. It can happen. Sometimes, there

0:54:330:54:37

would be evidence that might not come out, just because there are to

0:54:380:54:42

get sets of eyes looking at it. But our aim is always to get one of the

0:54:430:54:46

engineers to look at both reports, to try and draw the consistency of

0:54:470:54:49

points together. Is that some thing you're likely to

0:54:500:54:52

think more about in the future? Do you take that point from the police?

0:54:530:54:58

Would it be useful? We have always looked at that point, but, surely,

0:54:590:55:02

sometimes, it is not possible to do it. But it is a good point that I

0:55:030:55:06

know the industry has been seeking to adjust.

0:55:070:55:13

By now nearly all of the 87 Easifix suspects had been found guilty

0:55:140:55:20

admitted involvement in the scam. The case against Florence fillets,

0:55:210:55:24

Gavin and Byron's grandmother, was dropped because of bad health. Bank

0:55:250:55:29

worker Stephanie Barwood had pleaded guilty. Her victim, J Lawrence, was

0:55:300:55:34

at court to watch are being sentenced.

0:55:350:55:39

I just could not believe the look on Stephanie Barwood's face, she was so

0:55:400:55:43

nonchalant, she thought you was quite get away with it. The mother

0:55:440:55:46

just sat and stared at me, same as the brother. And then she was

0:55:470:55:53

sentenced and her face dropped. Stephanie Barwood's chin hit the

0:55:540:55:58

floor. And I'm sorry, I wanted to laugh at that point. That was the

0:55:590:56:01

most funny thing about it. I wanted to clap, and I couldn't because I

0:56:020:56:06

was in a court. Barwood was sentenced to three years

0:56:070:56:10

in prison. Her partner, Lee Evans, got 33 months. William Veall, the

0:56:110:56:16

man who lied about being a witness to the crash, got three years and

0:56:170:56:19

three months for that and other fraudulent claims.

0:56:200:56:23

Police think the Easifix scam may have cost insurance is ?30 million.

0:56:240:56:32

They got greedy. If there was a couple of accidents,

0:56:330:56:37

in a few months, they may have got away with it.

0:56:380:56:39

It was sheer greed that got them caught.

0:56:400:56:42

It took four years to investigate and bring to book the company map

0:56:430:56:47

families. By which time Detective Sergeant Andy Cullen had retired.

0:56:480:56:52

Very pleasing when they were all found guilty. Very pleasing when the

0:56:530:56:56

sentencing was received. It meant that the last couple of years of my

0:56:570:56:59

service as a police officer were not in vain.

0:57:000:57:04

Since the trials we have learned that Michelle and Peter Yandell were

0:57:050:57:08

also indicted for benefit fraud. It is alleged they falsely claimed

0:57:090:57:13

nearly ?70,000 for care and mobility allowances between them.

0:57:140:57:18

Get a good shot, make sure it is a good one.

0:57:190:57:21

The case against them was not pursued because they were going to

0:57:220:57:26

prison anyway. But one of the biggest insurance fraud that Wales

0:57:270:57:27

has ever seen.

0:57:280:57:30

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