A Canberra man has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for orchestrating a car accident to fraudulently claim over $130,000 in insurance.
Court documents from the ACT Supreme Court revealed that, in 2020, Adam Hasan Kilani deliberately crashed his BMW convertible into another vehicle as part of a scheme to collect an inflated insurance payout. Kilani pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception and dangerous driving.
According to ABC’s report, the incident took place on Eucumbene Drive in Duffy, where Kilani collided with an Audi owned by Rabea Fares, 48, and his wife Lina Faris, 44. The collision occurred in daylight on a straight section of road.
Kilani initially claimed his sister was driving the BMW and that the Audi was moving at the time of impact. However, expert analysis later confirmed that the Audi had been stationary.
Court documents showed Kilani had known Fares before the crash, despite initially denying it. The two men had worked together on several painting jobs, and phone records revealed they had communicated just hours before the incident.
Kilani filed an insurance claim the day after the crash. His BMW, which he had bought for $25,000 a year earlier, was insured for $132,100 – well above its market value. According to court findings, similar models typically sell for between $32,000 and $42,000.
Acting Chief Justice David Mossop rejected Kilani’s defence, which described the crash as genuine, stating that the explanation was “vague and unlikely.” He concluded that the scheme had been planned in advance, pointing out that the false claim would have diverted emergency services and undermined the motor insurance system.
Kilani’s 17-month prison term, which began in August, will be suspended after eight months on the condition that he complies with a two-year good behaviour bond.
His co-conspirators, Fares and Faris, were sentenced earlier this year to two years’ imprisonment for their involvement in the fraud. Lina Faris, however, was allowed to serve her sentence in the community.
The Kilani case verdict occurs as insurance fraud continues to be a major issue for insurers worldwide.
A survey by Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) found that 74% of insurers are seeing a steady or increasing volume of fraudulent claims. This was one of the key findings in RGA’s 2024 Global Claims Fraud Survey, which polled insurance professionals globally.
The survey categorised fraud into several types:
The findings showed that consumers were most frequently responsible for fraudulent activity, with agents and medical professionals also implicated in a significant number of cases.
Around 35% of respondents reported an uptick in claims-related fraud, while 39% noted no change.
Fraud during underwriting – such as misstating health conditions – was also seen as a growing problem, with 85% of respondents reporting that it had either stayed constant or worsened.
