Gang sentenced after claiming £95,000 of fake refunds on insurance policies

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Gang of 13 bought motor cover using fake bank cards, then got the refunds paid onto real ones

A gang has been sentenced for conspiracy to defraud an insurance company and money laundering after it claimed refunds on several motor insurance policies which were originally bought on fake bank cards.

Following an investigation by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), with assistance from the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and insurance company 1ST CENTRAL, all 13 people pleaded guilty in October 2017.

The alarm bells first went off when acquirers for 1^st Central found two large refunds for two policies paid by Amjad Mughal, 39, both of which were bought with a fake bank card.

It notified the insurer, who then discovered 32 other policies that were bought using fake cards.

Further investigations revealed that a few days after the policies were purchased, each person then bought additional cover for the policy, but this time using a different, legitimate bank card belonging to them.

The person claiming to be the policyholder then requested for the policy to be cancelled and the full refund made onto the legitimate bankcard, which was used to purchase the additional cover.

In total, over £95,000 worth of insurance policies were refunded into bank accounts in the names of the 13 people involved.

The 13 people were sentenced to the following:

Mohammed Shoaib, 22, Rochdale – 21 months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud.

Waqaas Jabbar, 25, Rochdale – 16 months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 250 hours unpaid work.

Amjad Mughal, 39, Rochdale – six months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 220 hours unpaid work.

Zenab Asif, 23, Manchester – five months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 210 hours unpaid work.

Aqeel Ashraf, 34, Rochdale – five months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 210 hours unpaid work.

Mohammed Mushitaq, 24, Rochdale – five months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months and 210 hours of unpaid work.

Abdul Mobeen, 27, Rochdale – five months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 200 hours unpaid work.

Hamza Matloob, 21, Rochdale – five months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 200 hours unpaid work.

Faiza Arshad, 21, Rochdale – three months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud, suspended for 12 months, and 190 hours unpaid work.

Mohammed Abbas, 23, Rochdale – two months imprisonment for money laundering.

Arfan Ajaib, 28, Rochdale – six weeks imprisonment for money laundering, added to 13 months imprisonment for previous driving offences.

Andrew Marlow, 24, Rochdale – 12-month community order for money laundering, and 160 hours unpaid work.

Yasmin Ali Murphy, 27, Accrington – 12-month community order for money laundering, and 120 hours unpaid work.

A spokesperson for IFED said:

“This is a fantastic result – the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department’s hard work, in this case, has helped bring these fraudsters to justice and stopped them from stealing thousands of pounds.

“Recognition must also be paid to 1ST CENTRAL Insurance and the Greater Manchester Police, who both provided vital assistance throughout the investigation.

“This should hopefully serve as a warning to anyone else who is participating in this type of criminal act – you will get caught and you will be dealt a fitting punishment.”

A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Police said:

“GMP is committed to working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute individuals who seek to profit from crime – an excellent result.”

Andy James, UK chief executive at 1ST CENTRAL said:

“The outcome of this case is an example of the excellent and successful collaborative work of IFED and the 1ST CENTRAL counter fraud team, in detecting and pursuing insurance fraudsters. We take an uncompromising stance towards fraudsters at 1ST CENTRAL, underlining our commitment to protecting genuine customers from the impact of fraud.”