Classic car owner in insurance fraud probe
9:00am Thursday 9th February 2012 in News
A CLASSIC car owner is being investigated by police from a new national anti-fraud unit after he allegedly made a false report that his Cadillac was stolen from his driveway.
The 60-year-old, from Farnworth, was arrested by officers from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department when they discovered irregularities in his insurance claim.
His insurance company has accused him of submitting a false witness statement to support his claim.
It is alleged that the man forged a statement in the name of a family friend, who claimed to see the car being towed away. He was arrested at his home by the London-based IFED officers on January 25 and has since been released on bail.
Det Sgt Craig Mullish, from the IFED, said: “In a short space of time IFED has sent out a clear message that insurance fraud in all its forms will not be tolerated, wherever it has been committed.
“There is still a public perception that making bogus claims to insurance companies about stolen property or ill health is somehow acceptable.
“IFED making arrests in Bolton is evidence how determined we are to change this culture.”
The car, a classic Cadillac DeVille, is worth about £3,000.
Production of the iconic US car started in 1949, but they gained popularity in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The IFED was set up last month with funding from the industry to combat the increasing problem of insurance fraud. It is estimated that false claims cost the industry £3 billion per year, the equivalent of £50 per policy holder.
The new unit has made a series of arrests all over the UK, targeting organised crime behind car insurance fraud as well as opportunistic fraudsters who submit bogus claims to make easy money.
