Two brothers, Rezwan Javed, 34 and his older brother, Rehan Javed, 36, were jailed after being involved in the biggest insurance scam in Britain.
Police say that the duo made £995,915 from defrauding insurers. For this, they were sentenced to jail at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester. They were found guilty at an earlier trial of conspiracy to defraud and possession of an article for use in fraud.
The brothers would get their partners in crime to drive about in roundabouts. The drivers would then suddenly step on the brakes, causing a collision with the car behind them. The other driver would have been too busy looking right for an opening for him to exit.
They would then make false claims for repairs, storage costs, as well as write offs. They also claimed that there were three people in the car when it was hit from behind. Every false claim got them about £3,000. They hoped that their relatively cheap car insurance claim would not be noticed.
Rezwan was sentenced to six years imprisonment, while his older brother will have to spend 5 years. They were also fined £156,000, and were given 6 months to pay the amount.
When he was passing the sentence, Judge Bernard Lever said, “This is not a victimless crime either in financial or human terms. Some of the targeted occupants were elderly and children. Many lost their no claims bonus and had to pay greatly enhanced premiums. Some suffered trauma and nervous shock.”
Greater Manchester Police sergeant Mark Beales said, “This result sends a clear message to others that if they intend to defraud insurance companies the consequences are severe. However, we also want to make it clear that while insurance companies are victims, the innocent drivers involved in these collisions were made to feel as though they were in the wrong.”
Another member of this gang, Mohammed Patel, was jailed in 2008, after he admitted to being involved in more than 90 of such collisions between 2005 and 2008. All of these led to overstated claims.
