“Following years of delaying tactics by the accused, designed to avoid prosecution, an insurance broker has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for insurance fraud and related crimes,” the Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB) recently reported.
After numerous red flags were raised, following suspicious claims submitted by a broker on behalf of his clients, a member of the Insurance Crime Bureau alerted them and requested assistance to investigate the matter.
According to SAICB, the accused was changing both the clients contact details and banking information on their policies and claims, to that of his own. The broker would then submit fraudulent “fast track claims” for golfing equipment, and a variety of other movable possessions, and the proceeds of these claims were then paid directly to him without the clients’ knowledge. In addition, he would also inflate legitimate claims submitted by his clients. In these cases, he would then transfer the true value of the claim to his clients account and keep the portion that was inflated for himself.
After years of persistent investigation by the SAICB, as well as working with Law Enforcement, he eventually pleaded guilty on all charges. Following the SAICB investigators testimony in the Court in aggravation of sentence, the Court sentenced the accused as a first-time offender to 7-year imprisonment of which 2 years were suspended.
Click here to read the latest the latest CEO note of the Insurance Crime Bureau.
It is gratifying to see that our industry is moving beyond “slap on the wrist” reactions to crime and taking it to the courts. People who give the rest of us, and the industry, a bad name ought to receive the same treatment as any other criminal.
