Crash for cash scheme lands Bradford man in prison for two years

A man has been sentenced by Leeds Crown Court for attempting to defraud his insurer by making a false insurance claim worth £59,987, linked to a fake car collision in the US.

In early 2019, Bradford-based Jack Higgins submitted a motor insurance claim, alleging that he swerved to avoid an animal on the road while driving a hired Range Rover on holiday in California, only to then crash the vehicle into a wall.

The claim was initially supported by documentation Higgins provided, including alleged reports from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), photos of the damaged vehicle and bank statements.

However, Higgins’ insurer received an anonymous tip off in August 2019 that questioned the claim’s validity, suggesting that Higgins was in the UK on the alleged accident date. This led to a detailed investigation by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (Ifed).

Ifed detective constable Stuart Osbourne explained: “Higgins thought he could take his insurer for a ride and defraud it out of a significant sum of money. Fraudulent claims like this push up the cost of insurance premiums for honest policyholders.”

Ifed’s investigation revealed that Higgins had in fact been in the UK at the time of the alleged collision and that he had provided fabricated evidence to support his insurance claim. Officers discovered that the photos of the damaged Range Rover were taken from an online vehicle auction website, for example.

Additionally, the SR-1 collision report form, which Higgins had submitted as part of his claim, was found to be a forgery, with the California Highway Patrol confirming to Ifed that the LAPD would not have been involved in investigating collisions on Interstate 110, the road where the crash was said to have occurred. Furthermore, the SR-1 form was never formally submitted.

Crash for cash

The investigation uncovered further forged documents, including bank statements, while voice analysis linked Higgins to phone calls made to his insurer.

Ifed arrested Higgins in July 2020. He pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Leeds Crown Court on 4 March 2025.

On 4 April 2025, Higgins was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to repay the £59,987 he received from his insurer, cover £6,000 in investigation costs and complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

Osbourne added: “The major pitfall for Higgins was the indisputable evidence against him. We worked with authorities in California to confirm the falsification of documents and the fabricated nature of his claim. We will continue to work alongside the insurance industry to ensure that fraudulent claims like this are not allowed to go undetected.” 

Two separate crash for cash fraud schemes have recently resulted in legal repercussions. In January 2025, an organised crime group was found guilty of orchestrating a fraudulent operation that netted over £320,000 from false insurance claims for non-existent road traffic collisions.

Meanwhile, three men were convicted in December 2024 for a 2018 plot involving an Aston Martin, which sought to defraud LV= General Insurance out of £102,827.