Whiplash fraudsters fined more than £20k

Whiplash cash fraudsters have been fined over £20k after lying about who was in the car at the time of the crash with an Insure the Box policyholder. Parklane Plowden barrister, Steven Turner represented Insure the Box at Trial. Mey and Marcelo v Paige Smith In this case, Nsaten Mey claimed he had been driving the car with his son and daughter-in-law. He alleged to have braked to allow the vehicle in front of him to turn left when the Insure the Box policyholder crashed into him. Mey, Pedro Marcelo and Iboto Mey all sought damages for whiplash. At the time of the crash, the defendant’s mother arrived at the scene and witnessed three males in their twenties in the car. Insure the Box and the counter-fraud team at DAC Beachcroft took the innovative approach of arranging an identity parade. This was able to demonstrate that Pedro Marcelo had been driving at the time of the crash, and neither May had been in the car. Catherine Burt, head of counter fraud at DAC Beachcroft explained, “We suspected that one of the alleged passengers had been the driver, so arranging an identity parade was crucial to prove the driver’s identity.” Burt continued, “It was a highly novel approach, but gave us the certainty we needed. Induced accidents and occupancy issues tend to go hand in hand and identity documentation is often poor quality and difficult to review.” At trial, Mey’s wife and another daughter corroborated the story. The judge ruled they had been fundamentally dishonest and ordered them to pay over £20,000. Insure The Box group head of financial crime Simon Rewell added: “These fraudsters deliberately set out to target a young female driver in an attempt to defraud Insure The Box of thousands of pounds in damages.  The identity parade, which DAC Beachcroft’s Counter Fraud team arranged, was an inspired solution for solving the identity issue and gave us the necessary proof to reject the claims and then successfully defend them at trial.” Steven Turner acted for Insure The Box at Trial and was instructed by DAC Beachcroft.