Six people were convicted at Liverpool Crown Court for their involvement in a series of sophisticated frauds that caused insurers and other companies across the UK to lose more than half a million pounds.
Sentenced to imprisonment were James Darren Conroy, 48; his wife Susanna Connor, 44; Adrian Michael Gate, 47; John Norman Slater, 66; Andrew Dodman, 52; and Mohammed Uddin, 29.
“The offenders used their experience of working in the claims management industry to their complete advantage and would not stop even when legislation got in their way,” said Detective Sergeant Matthew Hussey.
The crime started in 2011 with the creation of Hadgate Claims, a claims management firm that referred fictitious personal injury claims from road traffic accidents to insurance, solicitors and claims management companies in return for a fee.
More than £295,000 was paid into the Hadgate Claims bank account in the form of referral fees between July 2011 and August 2014, according to the police.
Another company was later set up, Harvey Davenport, but the companies that were paying the referral fees still thought that they were dealing with Hadgate Claims. The new firm pocketed £94,000.
After receiving fraud complaints from an insurer and solicitors, authorities arrested Conroy and two others in May 2014. His address was also raided, leading to the discovery of other fraudulent businesses, namely Profit, City Financial Services and Your Money Legal.
According to the police, Profit defrauded funeral plan companies and later became Information Station. It earned £142,000 from one firm.
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