Crash for Cash Compensation Scam Leader Jailed

93 crashes netted fraudster nearly £50k

A man who arranged over 90 fraudulent car crashes in the space of three years has been jailed at Manchester Crown Court for his part in the £1.6million “crash for cash” compensation conspiracy.

Mohammed Patel caused 93 car crashes, costing insurance companies around £17,000 a crash, in terms of compensation payouts and legal fees. Mr Patel staged accidents for car owners to allow them to claim for bogus payouts from insurance companies. Mr Patel himself charged £500 a crash to the car owners.

Thousands in compensation from other party’s insurers

The staged accidents all followed a similar pattern; Mr Patel, driving his clients’ cars, would cause a low speed crash by breaking suddenly as he approached a junction, causing the vehicle behind to crash into the back of his car. A personal injury claim would then be made by the owners of the car that Mr Patel had been driving, netting thousands in compensation from the other party’s insurers.

Whilst his clients gained several thousand pounds per claim, Mr Patel was reckoned to have earned around £46,000 from the scam, which he spent on luxury cars and foreign holidays for himself and his girlfriend.

The scam was finally uncovered after workers in an office building overlooking one of the roundabouts favoured by Mr Patel as a location for staging crashes became suspicious as the same man seemed to be involved in a number of accidents. The office workers notified the drivers of the rear vehicles that they might have been victims of fraud and from there an investigation was started into the scam.

After being arrested on a day when police officers observed him being involved in two separate fraudulent crashes, Mr Patel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, six counts of dangerous driving and four counts of driving whilst disqualified. He was sentenced to four and a half years in jail for what the judge in the trial called a “disgraceful and dangerous” crime.

Genuine injury claims with Camps Solicitors

Unlike Mr Patel, people who have been injured in genuine road traffic accidents are welcome to use Camps Solicitors to make a No-Win No-Fee compensation claim. Our claims advisors are ready to take your call now and will be able to advise you as to whether you have grounds to make a claim for an accident that wasn’t your fault.