'Crash for cash' gang jailed after court hears of £600k insurance company scam
A “CRASH for cash” gang scammed insurance companies out of £600,000, a court heard.
Gang jailed for 'crash for cash' insurance scam
The 35 criminals made insurance claims for injuries and damaged cars that were involved in staged crashes at UK accident blackspots.
Carlisle Crown Court was told that they smashed cars with hammers or reversed into bollards, before staging bumps with innocent motorists.
The scammers then used false identities and documents to claim from insurers.
Mastermind Mark McCracken, 48, a father of eight from Carlisle, was jailed for seven years after admitting using false documents and 13 charges of fraud.
Mastermind Mark McCracken has been jailed for seven years
This should serve as a warning to others – crash for cash scams will be investigated
Eight others were jailed for fraud and money laundering, while 22 people received suspended jail terms.
Four were given community orders.
The court heard the scam included claims for personal injury, vehicle damage, recovery, storage and hire car costs made after 27 bogus collisions between 2010 and 2014.
Identity packs were created for each individual insurance claim
Gang was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court
Det Chief Insp Dave Stalker, of Cumbria Constabulary, said: “This should serve as a warning to others – crash for cash scams will be investigated.”
Ben Fletcher, director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said: “In this case the fraudsters driven by greed used extreme methods to exploit honest, premium-paying motorists.”