Luton couple scammed £10k in fraudulent insurance claims over fake car crashes

City of London Police launched an investigation after discovering that Corey Ashleigh-John, 24, and Chloe Jade Pitcher, 24, both of Tinsley Close, Luton, took out car insurance policies with several different insurers.

The pair used false names, contact details and addresses to make a total of eight claims over the course of nine months.

The losses to the insurers involved in this case was roughly £10,000, with around £3,000 of this being paid into Ashleigh-John’s account for one of the claims.

It is estimated insurers would have lost over £50,000 if all of the claims had been successful.

On Friday, August 14, the couple were both sentenced at Luton Crown Court after previously pleading guilty on Thursday, July 2, to one count each of ‘Conspiracy to Defraud’.

Both defendants were sentenced to four months' imprisonment suspended for 12 months and a curfew from 9pm to 7am for three months. Ashleigh-John also received a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Detective Constable Justin Hawes, who led the investigation, said: “Ashleigh-John and Pitcher were systematic in the way they carried out this fraud, and clearly had no qualms about using other people’s details to progress their claims.

“As well as stealing money from insurers and impacting those whose details they used, the pair’s fraudulent claims affect the public by driving up the cost of premiums for everyone who buys insurance."

During their investigation, police contacted the people whose details had been used by Ashleigh-John and Pitcher to initially take out the car insurance policy, or to fabricate the driver of the third party vehicle.

When questioned, all of them confirmed they either didn’t take out the policy or were not involved in the collision described.

In addition, some of the cars the pair claimed were involved in collisions with them, were found to be nowhere near the location at the time, following analysis of tracking data on the car.

Stephen Dalton, head of investigations at the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), said: “I'm pleased that justice has been served to these two fraudsters. It’s a very positive outcome considering the length and complexity of this investigation which has affected more than a dozen insurers, and thanks go to the talented teams at the IFB and IFED.

“The IFB provided support to IFED’s investigation to help untangle this duo’s web of fabricated motor collision claims.

"‘Crash for Cash’ scams are a serious problem that cost innocent premium-paying motorists £340million a year. Culprits will be caught. If anyone has evidence of insurance fraud make sure to report it to the IFB's confidential Cheatline."