Fraudster sentenced for multiple car hire claims scam

A fraudster who cashed in on the accidents of hire car customers and claimed his mother crashed the vehicles has been sentenced.

Ahmed Khatib, aged 24 of Berberis Close in Leicester, received a suspended prison sentence for 18 months and 100 hours community service at Leicester Crown Court last Thursday after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.

An investigation the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department found Khatib would hire cars to members of the public in the Leicestershire area with a temporary insurance policy. 

However, when the hirer had a genuine crash while in the vehicle, Khatib would make them pay for part of the repair costs by asking for the ‘excess’ contribution. When Khatib was asked to provide proof of the excess amount that was owed, he never did, but the hirer still paid him. 

On top of getting the money from the customers, Khatib also attempted to make a financial gain by making false insurance claims with Aviva. He did this by incepting insurance policies on behalf of his mother for two cars, which included fully comprehensive cover, and then when a customer had a crash when driving one of the cars he would make a false claim against his mother’s policy. By claiming on his mother’s policy he could keep his no claims bonus.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Hussey of IFED, said: “Khatib used his mother’s policy to take advantage of people involved in genuine crashes for his own financial gain. 

“Car insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. Claims like those made by Khatib are responsible for the increasing insurance premiums for innocent members of the public.”

Insurer Aviva had been contacted by Leicestershire Police following a crash in April 2015. The crash involved a vehicle registered to Khatib’s mother at the junction of Ethel Road and Wakerley Road, Leicester.

Khatib claimed for £12,000, alleging that his mother was the sole occupant of the insured vehicle at the time of the crash, but, suspicious of the claim, Aviva referred the case to IFED. He was voluntarily interviewed by IFED about this crash claim on 5 November 2015.

When Aviva initially referred this case to IFED, they also provided information about another suspicious claim Khatib had made for £19,350 in September 2014 for a collision at the junction of Abbey Lane and Abbey Park Road in Leicester - again he alleged his mother was the driver at the time of the crash. Research by Aviva established clear similarities between the circumstances of both claims.

They then provided even more details in April 2016 about this claim which helped IFED examine it further. Following their investigation into the second claim, Khatib was interviewed voluntarily by IFED about this crash on 23 August 2017.

Carl Mather, Special Investigation Unit Manager, Aviva, said: “This case shows that the police and insurers are working very closely to detect and prevent insurance fraud. As Mr Khatib now knows, insurers are not a soft target for fraud. The sentence handed down reflects the seriousness of his actions and the commitment by Aviva to uncover and present all available evidence to law enforcement partners.

“On top of his criminal record, Mr Khatib now faces the prospect of repaying the proceeds of his fraudulent actions, which should serve as a clear warning to others that insurance fraud will not be tolerated by police, insurers or the courts.”