A footballer’s foul play cost him almost £4,000 after being caught out purchasing an insurance policy mere minutes after his vehicle collided into three parked cars.
Pa Omar Mbowe, 25, who has played professionally in the Finnish and English leagues, took out a one-hour auto insurance policy to cover his back when his BMW 116i Sport smashed into the vehicles.
According to a report by the City of London Police, the footballer claimed that he collided with a parked vehicle after avoiding a pothole in the road. The collision resulted in a domino effect, causing the stationary car to bounce into the vehicle in front, which then hit another.
Mbowe said the accident occurred at 6.35am on April 29, 2018, just minutes after he purchased a car insurance policy between 6.20am and 7.20am.
The following day, however, the insurance company was informed by another insurer that one of its policyholders had been involved in an accident with the football player. The second firm claimed that Mbowe had fallen asleep at the wheel at around 7am before smashing into the policyholder’s car.
The discrepancies between the accounts, along with the hastily obtained policy, raised alarm bells for the insurer, which then referred the case to the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).
This was when the footballer’s lies started to unravel. An investigation by the IFED revealed that a vehicle crash was also reported to Greater Manchester Police at 6.17am on the same date, proving that Mbowe had lied to make it look like he was insured at the time of the accident.
But during an interview with the police, Mbowe showed remorse for his deception and accepted responsibility for the offence. He also told the officers that he already given money to the owners of the vehicles and was willing to complete the payments within two months.
The footballer was initially slapped with a conditional caution under a strict agreement that required him to cover the costs of repairing two of the cars and any losses to the insurer of the third.
Mbowe, however, failed to uphold his end of the bargain, which led to the case being escalated to court. He was tracked down and arrested for not meeting the payment deadline and not showing up for his hearing.
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“The fact that Mbowe managed to take out a one-hour policy after the accident shows just how quick and easy it is to be covered before heading out on the road,” said Abdelkader Rezkallah, police staff investigator from the City of London Police’s IFED. “There is no excuse for driving uninsured.”
“Despite admitting to the offences when questioned, Mbowe failed to comply with the conditions of his caution,” he added. “He then wasted even more of our time by failing to turn up to his court hearing, resulting in the court having to issue a warrant for his arrest.”
At Manchester Magistrates Court last Friday, Mbowe was sentenced for one count of fraud by false representation. He was given a 12-month community order to do 60 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £3,695 in compensation to the owners of the parked vehicles.
“Mbowe has finally faced the consequences of his actions and will be trading in his team jersey for a high-vis vest over the next year,” Rezkallah said.
