Jay Martin Solder has been ordered to repay £37,000 to Hiscox, Columbus Direct and Atlas Direct within 14 days or face 12 months in jail
A former insurance company employee who made six bogus claims for designer goods and gadgets to fund trips around the world has been handed a 21-month jail term suspended for two years.
Earlier today at the Old Bailey, Jay Martin Solder of Thomas’s Road in North London was ordered to repay £37,000 to Hiscox, Columbus Direct and Atlas Direct within 14 days or face 12 months in jail.
He was also ordered to pay £1,000 court costs and a £100 victim surcharge and must complete 160 hours unpaid work.
Solder’s trail of deceit
Solder had previously admitted making four fake travel insurance and two exaggerated household claims worth £42,000 between January 2013 and March 2014, following an investigation by IFED.
Solder had claimed on two travel insurance policies with Columbus Direct, one with Ageas and another with Atlas Direct, stating he had lost a jacket and its contents on a flight back from holidays in Italy, Slovenia, Australia and Denmark.
He then submitted claims ranging between £1,000 and £4,500 for belongings including; a Burberry jacket, Sony digital camera, HTC mobile phone, Louis Vuitton wallet, iPad Mini, Montblanc pen, Mulberry bag and currency.
He also claimed twice on a household insurance policy with Hiscox, each time reporting that his flat had been burgled and valuables including a Rolex watch, MacBook Pro, Mulberry bag and Omega watch stolen.
Solder provided an assortment of documentation in support of all six claims including receipts, bank statements as well as loss and burglary reports to police.
His deception was discovered when Columbus Direct and Ageas brought in the same claims handling firm, Intana, to manage Solder’s claims.
Intana noticed that there were similarities in the circumstances surrounding the claims.
The claims were made in different names, but other personal details were identical.
Intana referred the matter to IFED for investigation in April 2014 and two months later Solder was arrested at his flat.
When officers searched his flat they found £6,000 in his wardrobe, the Rolex that Hiscox provided as a replacement after the first burglary and that Solder said had been stolen in the second burglary.
They also found documents on his Atlas Direct claim and a camera that was identical to the one that Solder had repeatedly reported as lost on flights.
Detectives also subsequently linked Solder to the travel insurance claim made in a different name using fingerprint analysis.
City of London Police detective constable Aman Taylor said: “Solder was living beyond his means and so repeatedly targeted the industry he worked within to make quick cash to fund the lifestyle he thought he deserved.
“A young man, the world was Solder’s oyster but he is now a fraudster with a criminal record.”
The details of the insurance company Solder previously worked for was not released in court.
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