Man arrested in crash-for-cash insurance scam probe
A suspected crash-for-cash fraudster has been arrested as an investigation by West Midlands Police into an insurance scam gang gathers pace.
Officers raided the man's home in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, at around 7am on Wednesday, where he was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and fraud.
It is believed the 33-year-old is part of an organised crime group behind dozens of deliberate collisions on the streets of the West Midlands over a five-month period between November 2018 and March 2019.
He is the fourth man officers have arrested in connection with the investigation. Two men, aged 34 and 45 years old, were detained at Birmingham addresses in March 2019, and the previous month a 30-year-old was arrested in Lichfield. They have been released under investigation while investigators gather evidence.
Several vehicles believed to have been used to commit the offences were also seized.
It is thought the group may have pocketed up to £100,000 in bogus insurance injury claims – by staging collisions with innocent motorists.
Detective Inspector Kerrie Martin from the force's Economic Crime Unit, said: “Offenders will jam their brakes on at roundabouts in a bid to force the following vehicle to crash into them. They will then claim to have suffered whiplash and make substantial insurance claims.
“Our suspicion is these men have claimed around £100,000 from bogus insurance claims – but we are running a wider operation into an organised crime group, alongside the Insurance Fraud Bureau, that may have made millions from this scam over the last two years.”
