A policyholder who filed a claim for fire damage to his business has been convicted of fraud after admitting to providing insurers with a false statement about his involvement in the fire.
Following a fire at a fast-food restaurant chain on Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, on April 1, 2018, the business owner, Mohammad Suleyman, 34, of Handsworth, Birmingham, and his brother, Mohammed Yusuf, 33, of Hockley, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to fraud and arson, respectively, at Birmingham Crown Court on March 19, 2024.
Sentencing took place on April 2, 2024, where Suleyman received a sentence of three years and seven months for fraud by giving a false statement. Yusuf, who admitted to arson, was sentenced to four years and six months.
As per a statement from Allianz, the insurer involved in the case, Suleyman submitted a claim estimated at £280,000 in late September 2018. Concerns about the validity of the claim and the cause of the fire arose after both Suleyman and Yusuf were treated for burn injuries on the day of the fire. They were subsequently arrested by West Midlands Police.
Allianz, managing the landlord’s claim, requested a forensic report on the cause of the fire. The report concluded that the fire was “almost certainly started by perpetrators who broke in,” prompting further investigations by Sedgwick, Allianz’s appointed claims management and loss adjusting firm.
The case proceeded to court following extensive collaboration between Sedgwick and West Midlands Police. Suleyman’s witness statement claimed he had been held at gunpoint, while Sedgwick was informed that Yusuf’s burn injuries resulted from working on a vehicle. Both Sedgwick and the police found inconsistencies and concerns in Suleyman’s account, leading to charges and their eventual convictions.
James Burge, head of counter fraud at Allianz Commercial, commented on the outcome of the fraud case.
“This is a fantastic result for us. The collaboration between Sedgwick, the police, and us, brought Mr Suleyman to justice and it highlights the lengths that dishonest claimants will go to – and the hard work that we continue to do to bring them to account,” Burge said.
Ian Carman, director, head of forensic & investigation services at Sedgwick, also highlighted the importance of the case’s results.
“This case demonstrates that there really is no hiding place for insurance fraudsters. The combined investigative efforts of Allianz, our commercial investigations team, and West Midlands Police evidence how seriously insurers take their duty to tackle the dishonest minority. I’m pleased that our deployment of highly specialised investigative resources was able to produce such a positive result for the industry and their honest customers,” Carman said.
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