How not to scam the system

Amarjeet Panag was driving a silver-beige Chevrolet Malibu northbound on 130th Street in Surrey, B.C. in 2006, when she collided with a red Dodge van driven by Kuljit Dhanda, who was heading westbound on 72nd Avenue. The collision resulted in a serious injury to Dhanda.  

 

A family friend of the Panags, Harinder Grewal, had been a taxi driver for Surdell taxi for 30 years.  He became friends with the Panags through Surdell, which employed Amarjeet Panag’s husband, Bahadur Panag, for a time. 

 

Grewal happened to be driving past the scene of the accident in his taxi on his way to pick up a fare. He “did not see the collision take place and did not know who was involved,” the court found. 

 

Shortly after he passed the scene, Grewal received a phone call from Bahadur Panag.  Grewal learned that Panag’s wife had been in an accident, and Panag asked him if he could go there and take children home. At this point, he learned that the accident was the one he had just driven past. (continued.)

 

The Panags asked Grewal if he would agree to give his name and number to the government insurer as a “witness.”

 

“In these circumstances, I am satisfied that the Panags and Harinder Grewal were in fact involved in a conspiracy to put forward Mr. Grewal to ICBC as a witness to the collision knowing that he had not in fact witnessed it, and with the intention that he provide ICBC with evidence that he did not have and which they knew to be untrue,” the court found.

 

The Panags stood to save $801 from their insurance by not being found at fault for the claim (a $300 deductible and $501 over years for premium). Instead, they ended up paying the insurer’s costs in the personal injury claim amounting to $188,722.86, plus $20,000 in punitive damages for the deception. 

 

Disability fraudsters caught “rocking out”

Insurance fraudsters should take care to avoid showing off their exploits on YouTube and Facebook.

Utah’s Attorney General’s Office uncovered 368 allegations of fraud last year, with several suspects posting “damaging evidence” on social media.

 

For example, a 40-year-old man had been collecting disability benefits for nearly 18 years because he said he was so impaired by depression, anxiety, asthma, obesity and sore muscles that he was unable to leave his house. His benefits ended after he posted videos showing him rocking out to heavy metal music, swinging on a swing set and riding a scooter.

 

In another a case, a 31-year-old woman had been getting benefits for four years because she said her mental disorders gave her low energy and it was too traumatic to be in public. 

 

Her benefits were cut when investigators found newspaper articles about her being “constantly involved in music projects;” YouTube videos of her performances; Facebook posts about the venues she was playing; and investigators witnessed her perform at a concert for several hundred people.