Peterborough ‘cash for crash’ insurance scam: 10 sentenced

Ten fraudsters who staged car crashes to scam insurance companies out of nearly £100,000 have been sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (12 October).

The ten con artists staged car crashes around Peterborough and even tricked doctors into believing they had whiplash.

The ringleader, Ali Askher (45), of Silverwood Road, Peterborough, was jailed for three-and-a-half years yesterday by Judge Sean Enright, after Peterborough Crown Court heard how the accidents had resulted in claims worth £93,000 – with insurance companies having to pay tens of thousands of pounds investigating the fraud.

Mike Magee, prosecuting, said: “The harm of these offences go beyond insurers.

“They are obliged to pass losses on, in this case to anyone who insures their car in Peterborough, meaning higher premiums.”

Mr Magee told the court how Askher ran two claim management companies in Peterborough, which he encouraged friends and relatives to use to exaggerate claims and fabricate crashes.

The court heard that in several cases the defendants took their vehicles outside of the city, deliberately damaged them and then claimed the damage occurred in accidents in Peterborough.

The first so-called crash was said to have occurred on October 26, 2006 on the A47 when a people- carrier was crashed by Rozmina Nathoo (44), of Briar Way, Peterborough.

A total of £51,000 was claimed on insurance, although only £4,000 was paid out, after Ali Arshad (39), of Harris Street, Peterborough claimed the value of a new car after the crash.

Rozmina also said her husband, Taswin (40) was in the car and suffered injuries, when he was not.

The next fictitious collision was said to have happened in Cromwell Road on December 12, 2006, between Shawizia Khatoon (33), of Hankey Street, Peterborough, and Rozmina Nathoo.

The court heard that Khatoon was in a relationship with Askher at the time and was also the front for one of his claim management firms. She signed documents and cheques under Ashker’s instructions.

The third fake collision was supposed to have taken place in Alexandra Road, Peterborough, on February 26, 2007 and involved Wahid Hussain’s car.

The original insurance claim from Hussain (39), of Gladstone Street, was for £24,000 but none of it was paid out after the claim was withdrawn.

Naaeem Akhtar (28), of Clare Road, Peterborough, also had his name included as a passenger in the claim, despite not being in the car at the time.

The next fictitious collision was said to have taken place on March 20, 2007, in Southfields Avenue, Peterborough.

Although the two people said to have been involved have not been charged, Mr Magee said Askher had told one of them to say her young daughters had been in the collision and suffered whiplash.

Mohammed Faisal Ali (20) of Clarence Road, Peterborough, made two claims for genuine accidents, the first with a van driver and the second with a fire engine.

However, he exaggerated the claims saying that his girlfriend had been injured in the van crash, when she was not even at the scene, and that the fire engine caused damage to his car which was already there.

Misbah Hussain (30) and Shafaqat Hussain (27), of Harris Street, Peterborough were also sentenced after a genuine collision where Shafaqat had been driving, but was not insured, and tried to switch his name for that of his wife.

Judge Enright said: “The scale of the fraud is very large.

“Cash for crash has become part of the language in this country because of this and other high profile cases.”

Sentences received by the ‘cash for crash’ defendants

ALI Askher was jailed for three-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

The court heard how he was in poor health and suffering from depression among other problems.

Shawizia Khatoon also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. She was given a 51-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 220 hours’ unpaid work.

The court was told she had taken part in an arranged marriage but lost all her family support when she broke up with her husband, and was in a vulnerable position when drawn into the case by Askher.

Ali Arshad was given a 38-week prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

The court was told that in 2005 he helped rescue a family from a burning building and had made contributions to charity.

Wahid Hussain was given a 28-week jail term suspended for two years and ordered to stay at the same address for a year after pleading guilty to fraud.

The court was told his wife was suffering from cancer and only had months to live.

Mohammed Faisal Ali was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 260 hours’ unpaid work. He was given a lighter sentence because he was a juvenile at the time of the offence.

Naeem Akhtar was given a 28-week prison sentence suspended for two years and 200 hours’ unpaid work after admitting fraud. Judge Enright said he did not have a major role in the crime.

Rozmina Nathoo was given a 40-week jail term suspended for two years and 200 hours’ unpaid work, after the court heard she became involved after running into financial problems. Her husband Taswin NATHOO had a 28-week sentence suspended for two years and 200 hours’ unpaid work.

Misbah Hussain was given a 12-month community order and 200 hours’ unpaid work, while Shafaqat Hussain was given a 28-week sentence suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work, as the court was told their offending was limited to one genuine collision.

With a JS300 in car blackbox video evidence of any incident may have stopped these spurious claims