A former travel agent who claimed that a colleague stabbed her in the hand with a pen has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years.
The defendant, Paravash Kiani, was dismissed by her former employer in December 2015 for gross misconduct. Afterwards, Kiani alleged that she sustained injuries to her hand and psychological injuries after being stabbed in the back of the hand with a pen on Feb. 10, 2015. Kiani said there were photographs of her alleged injuries to support her claim.
Allianz Insurance and law firm DAC Beachcroft defended the compensation claim and brought an action for contempt of court when it became apparent that she had lied repeatedly to the police, an employment tribunal and ultimately the civil court.
Whilst it was accepted that a former colleague had pressed a pen against Kiani’s hand as a joke, it was strongly denied that the circumstances of the accident had caused her any injury. Prior to issuing the civil claim, Kiani had also unsuccessfully brought a claim against her employer in the Employment Tribunal; and the police had taken no further action following her reports of the alleged criminal offences committed by her former colleague.
In March 2020, the Central London County Court dismissed Kiani’s personal injury claim and found that she had lied to the court. The judge said she had “concocted the claim” and that the pictures she had provided as evidence were taken two years after the incident. The judge also said that Kiani encouraged her daughter to lie under oath.
Allianz then brought criminal proceedings against Kiani, asking for her to be held for contempt of court. Kiani admitted to the allegations and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to pay the claimant’s costs.
“People don’t always realise what they risk by bringing a fraudulent insurance claim, but the lies they tell in support of such a claim could land them in trouble,” said James Burge, head of counter fraud at Allianz Insurance. “At Allianz, we have zero tolerance to fraud, and not only will we detect attempts, but we will also make sure that fraudsters face the consequences of their actions. It is very important to us to protect our customers from false allegations. We achieved this result thanks to close collaboration with DAC Beachcroft, who did tremendous work on this case.”
