An Ontario man plead guilty to falsely reporting a stolen vehicle after police – working in concert with Aviva Canada – traced the same vehicle to a shipping container bound for Nigeria.
“Like staged accidents, unrecovered vehicles and staged thefts are becoming a bigger problem in Canada,” said Greg Dunn, the executive vice president of national claims with Aviva Canada.
“Insurance fraud costs everyone, but through continued cooperation with local authorities we can take these costs out of the system to help reduce premiums.”
This past August, 55-year-old Desmond Stewart of Whitby, Ont., reported a vehicle stolen. In taking the report for the stolen vehicle, the Aviva Canada adjuster noticed inconsistencies in the insured's details and raised concerns with the in-house investigative team.
Working with the Durham Regional Police, Aviva Canada was able to trace the path of the vehicle to a shipping container that cleared Canadian customs and departed for Nigeria in July. It wasn't until after the vehicle had cleared customs that the insured reported the vehicle stolen
Durham Regional Police charged Stewart with Public Mischief and Fraud over $5,000. On October 4, Stewart pleaded guilty to Public Mischief for falsely reporting a stolen vehicle, and was ordered to pay $3,450. He also received one year's probation, and is required to complete 100 hours of community service.
This isn’t the first time Aviva has worked in concert with police to uncover a fraudster. (continued.)
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The insurer helped Toronto Police in September in the arrest of Serafattin (George) Solak on several counts of fraud and eight provincial charges of Sell, Give, Distribute Insurance, nabbing the man in his Edmonton, Alta. home.
Solak is alleged to have advertised insurance for sale on various online classified websites including Kijiji and Craigslist, and allegedly met with victims in person to accept cash or cheques while providing false motor vehicle liability insurance cards – cards made to look like they had been authorized by Aviva Canada.
