IFED investigation leads to jail time for serial travel insurance fraudster

A fraudster has been jailed after he lied about being ill or injured to make several fraudulent travel claims for the same family holiday.

Richard Agyemang, 36, of Fife Terrace, Islington, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday (26 April) to 16 months in jail after being found guilty of four counts of fraud by false representation.

The City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) brought Agyemang to justice after receiving referrals from several insurers, including Ageas, Axa and LV=.

Suspicions raised

The insurers were suspicious of Agyemang and the claims he’d made in relation to a cancelled family holiday. 

IFED soon discovered that the claims against each insurer had a number of striking similarities. 

In each of the claims, Agyemang contacted the insurer a few days before he and his family were meant to go on holiday. He would then lie, saying that he had been unable to travel due to a physical injury or food poisoning, and therefore had to cancel the trip.

He would claim for the cost of flights and hotel accommodation using various faked documents, such as bank statements, airline tickets and emails of booked hotel reservations.

To try and avoid detection, he targeted a different insurer each time he made a claim. He made four fake claims in total, amounting to £19,225 overall.

’Systematic’

Detective inspector Lara Xenoudakis, of IFED said: “Agyemang was systematic in the way he committed insurance fraud. He made almost identical claims, using the same fraudulent documents, but targeted a different insurer each time to try and avoid detection.

“Despite this, our collaborative work with Ageas, AXA and LV= General Insurance ensured that Agyemang’s fraudulent activity was exposed. He appeared at court, where he was found guilty by the jury and later rightly punished for his criminality.”

Jamie Hersant, head of lifestyle claims at AXA Insurance, said: “AXA is pleased to see the outcome of this case, as it’s another positive result in the industry’s ongoing fight against fraud.

“The continued support of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department was critical in helping secure a conviction and will deter those who believe they can make fraudulent claims and get away with it.”

Finally, Clare Lunn, fraud director at LV= General Insurance said: “Despite the high quality forging of documents by Agyemang, we were able to piece together enough information for the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department to undertake a criminal investigation which has led to the convictions against this travel Insurance fraudster.

“I hope this serves as a warning to others, as to how effective our partnership with the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department is and sends a clear message that if you commit insurance fraud you will get caught, and you will be convicted.”