Four sentenced in ghost broking scam

Four men in Birmingham have been sentenced after a ghost broking scam was uncovered by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

Mohammed Aquil, along with Amjad Hussain, Alwyn Snape and Anees Ahmed, conspired together to defraud insurance companies by providing false details and forged documents to get cheaper premiums for their motor insurance.

Aquil, 29, of Welligton Road, Handsworth – described as the main ghost broker and architect of the scam – was sentenced today (10 February) at Birmingham Crown Court to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to carry out a nine-month rehabilitation order, pay £500 in costs and pay a £100 victim surcharge.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and possession of articles for use in fraud.

Hussain, 36, of Gilbert Road, Smethwick was sentenced to wear an electronic tag for one month with a curfew. Snape, 50, of Long Street, Birmingham and Ahmed, 43, of Trinity Road, Birmingham were both sentenced to 40 hours of unpaid work.

Hussain, Snape and Ahmed were also ordered to pay £220 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

The three had all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Aquil got cheaper car insurance deals for his clients by changing key information on the applications, such as the home address, dates of birth, or no-claims details.

He would then charge his clients between £250 and £500 for brokering the deal. But these people were holding invalid insurance because Aquil had provided false details to the insurance companies.

The scam was uncovered when investigators at insurer Ageas noticed that three separate motor insurance policies had been taken out for Snape, Hussain and Ahmed. Common to all three policies was that their home address was in Birmingham, but the address where the vehicles were being stored overnight was stated as being at a holiday cottage in Somerset.

Police staff investigator Abdelkader Rezkallah, from IFED, who investigated the case said: “Aquil was making money by opening up insurance policies that contained false details and from the templates we found on his computer, it was clear he was doing this for a number of people and not just as a one-off.

“Snape, Hussain and Ahmed were also fully aware that they were providing false details to get cheaper insurance deals and as a result they all now have criminal records.”