A Peel Regional Police officer is facing a litany of charges, including fraud and breach of trust involving nine insurance claims that may total as much as $1 million.
According to the
Brampton Guardian, 21-year-veteran of the force Const. Carlton Watson provided accident reports that passed off staged or bogus car crashes as legitimate ones as part of a scam that bilked insurance companies out of nearly $1 million, a Brampton judge was told today.
Const. Watson faces 46 charges, including multiple counts of fraud, obstructing justice, uttering forged documents and breach of trust, in connection with the nine insurance claims dating back to 2010.
Watson has been suspended with pay, as he was arrested in the spring of 2011 following an investigation by Peel Regional’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
According to court documents, the
Insurance Bureau of Canada was also involved in the probe into the nine motor vehicle collisions that occurred in 2010.
Michael Lake, an investigator with the IBC whose focus is on “organized crime rings involved in insurance fraud,” told the
Guardian that several people claiming to be involved in each of the crashes, many of which occurred in Brampton, Ont., pursued claims for accident benefits, including property damage claims, vehicle loss, physiotherapy and child care claims.
Several insurance companies were defrauded, according to police.
One of those involved in an accident back in February 2010 was Kevin Clarke, of Brampton.
Clarke was alone in his car when he skidded and broke the front axle on his 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. But when the tow truck company he contacted showed up, the driver told him that in order for his insurance company to cover the crash damage, he would have to lie and say three other people, including his wife, were in the car at the time, according to the
Guardian. (continued.)
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Even though Clarke never called police, the tow truck driver got him to sign a police-issued motor vehicle accident report listing Watson as the investigating officer, showing Clarke had sustained serious injuries in the crash.
The document also showed the accident occurring at another location, said Clarke.
While Clarke admitted during cross examination by defence lawyer Susan Jane von Achten that he realized he was lying and possibly participating in something fraudulent, he said he simply wanted to get his car fixed. Insurance covered the repair of the car and Clarke's wife was also given $1,300 in accident benefits.
Atlantic tow truck driver Wayne Isaacs of Brampton is also facing charges of defrauding the public in connection with this case.
