IFB and police catch head of 24/7 Direct Claims
An accident management boss was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday for leading a cash-for-crash scam.
Asif Mallu (pictured) pretended to run a respectable claims management firm called 24/7 Direct Claims, but in fact he used the business to process fraudulent claims before finally being caught by AXA and the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).
The scam was carried out by an accomplice called Mohammed Patel who deliberately caused collisions. At least 10 fraudulent claims were organised between May and December 2005.
Patel would earn a fee for driving the cars, and the claimants would earn compensation, but the biggest windfall went to Mallu.
He made money from solicitors’ referral fees, courtesy car hires, and the storage and recovery of cars involved in the collisions, which on many occasions were never even needed.
Patel was eventually snared after AXA investigated a number of claims and tipped off Greater Manchester Police.
Guilty plea
In October 2008, Patel admitted to being the driver in more than 90 forced collisions between 2005 and 2008, all of which led to exaggerated and fraudulent insurance claims. He was eventually sentenced to four-and-a-half years.
Patel’s conviction lifted the lid on Mallu’s scam, and yesterday he was finally brought to justice after pleading guilty at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court to conspiracy to commit fraud.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, it was heard that he benefited from his criminality by £12,107.50. Mallu has been ordered to pay a Confiscation order of £7,250 and has been given 28 days in which to pay.
The police and IFB worked together under Operation Contact, a joint-partnership clamping down on insurance motor fraud.
Chief inspector Mark Dexter said: “Mallu’s company was registered under the terms of the Ministry of Justice, with a visible business premises in Bolton, and yet this was all a front for fraud. A long and complex investigation has proven that he profited significantly from the scam.
“This result sends a clear message to others that if they intend to defraud insurance companies the consequences are severe.”
Operation Contact in action
IFB director Phil Bird said: “Today’s verdict concludes this landmark joint-operation between Greater Manchester Police and the IFB, sending a clear deterrent message to fraudsters targeting the insurance industry - you will be caught, and you will face the consequences of a criminal record, heavy fines and imprisonment.”
As a result of Operation Contact, 50 people have been convicted.
Operation Contact has also led to the conviction of Rezwan Javed and Rehan Javed, both of Burnley, Lancashire, who were found guilty after a trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of conspiracy to defraud and possession of an article for use in fraud. Rezwan Javed was sentenced to six years in prison and Rehan was sentenced to five years in prison.
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, it was heard that they each benefited from the scam by £995,915.27 and were ordered to pay £156,000.
The Javed brothers ran North West Claims Centre, a Burnley company which managed insurance claims. They organised fraudulent claims following collisions deliberately caused by other members of an organised crime group, including Mohammed Patel.
How did accident management boss Asif Mallu get caught?
In 2005, workers at an office block at the Eden Point roundabout on the A34 in Cheadle became suspicious at the alarming regularity with which collisions were taking place at the same spot on the roundabout. They noticed the collisions were always at low speed, and often, the same man was driving.
Operation Contact found that Asif Mallu processed five of the Eden Point roundabout claims and a further five at nearby roundabouts. The company used an engineer to examine the cars involved in the collisions. To back up the claims, reports from the engineer exaggerated, and in some cases made up, the damage that was caused.
An examination of 24/7’s finances showed the company attempted to make thousands of pounds from these claims.
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