Chickens come home to roost for fraudster over false ‘gunpoint’ claim after shop fire

An Allianz policyholder who claimed he had been held at gunpoint before a fire at his chicken shop has been jailed for fraud.

Mohammad Suleyman was convicted after providing a false statement about his involvement in the fire, which occurred in Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, in 2018.

The 34-year-old, who lived in Handsworth, Birmingham, at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to fraud after appearing at Birmingham Crown Court on 19 March 2024.

His brother Mohammed Yusuf, who is 33 and lived in Hockley, Birmingham, when the incident happened, pled guilty to arson.

The case

Allianz said that following Suleyman’s claim submission, which was estimated at £280,000 in late September 2018, concerns were raised over the validity of the claim and the cause of the fire.

This was because both Suleyman and Yusuf had visited hospital, with burn injuries to Yusuf, on the date of the fire.

Allianz were also managing the landlord’s claim, where a forensics report had been requested for their comments surrounding the cause of the fire.

After reviewing the forensic report, which stated that the fire was ‘almost certainly started by perpetrators who broke in’, further investigations into the events were instigated by Sedgwick.

Suleyman’s witness statement regarding the events leading up to the fire included being held at gunpoint, with Sedgwick being advised that Yusuf sustained the burn injuries from working on a vehicle.

Both Sedgwick and West Midlands Police believed that Suleyman’s version of events and motives were of concern.

And with enough evidence in hand, charges were brought against both Suleyman and Yusuf.

Sentence

Sentencing took place on 2 April 2024 – Suleyman was sentenced to three years and seven months for fraud by giving a false statement. Yusuf was sentenced to four years and six months.

James Burge, head of counter fraud at Allianz Commercial, said: “This is a fantastic result for us.

“The collaboration between Sedgwick, the police and us, brought Suleyman to justice and it highlights the lengths that dishonest claimants will go to – and the hard work that we continue to do to bring them to account.”

Ian Carman, director and head of forensic and investigation services at Sedgwick, added: “This case demonstrates that there really is no hiding place for insurance fraudsters.

“The combined investigative efforts of Allianz, our commercial investigations team and the West Midlands Police evidence how seriously insurers take their duty to tackle the dishonest minority. I’m pleased that our deployment of highly specialised investigative resource was able to produce such a positive result for the industry and their honest customers.”