A finance officer at a veterinary practice, Helen Pearse, has been sentenced for making over £37,000 in fraudulent pet insurance claims by manipulating invoices obtained from her employer, as per the City of London Police Press Office.
Pearse, 33, of Widdrington, Northumberland, fabricated details of pet insurance policies and submitted fraudulent claims to six insurers over a four-year period.
She recently pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud and received a suspended prison sentence of 20 months.
Pearse's modus operandi involved taking out pet insurance policies with various insurers and fabricating 18 fraudulent claims.
She would create fictitious names and breeds of animals for which she had taken out policies.
To support her claims, Pearse altered genuine invoices issued by the veterinary practice to appear as if they were for her own pets. These doctored invoices were then submitted to the insurers as evidence.
The case was brought to light following a referral made to the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), which led to Pearse's arrest. On 13 April 2023, she pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by abuse of position at South East Northumberland Magistrates Court.
On 11 May 2023, at Newcastle Crown Court, Pearse was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. Throughout the duration of her suspended sentence, she will be under probation requirements and supervision.
Detective Constable Chris Jones from the IFED commented on the case, stating, "Pearse took advantage of the access she had to client invoices as part of her job in order to line her own pockets. After her actions first came to light, we identified that she had been making fraudulent claims since 2018, motivated by her greed to earn more money. Submitting documents that you have forged or edited as evidence to your insurer is fraud, and unfortunately for Pearse, she will now have to face the consequences of having a criminal record."
One instance of fraud involved Pearse registering a claim for medical treatment for her fictitious dog, Pippa. She successfully received £3,712 from the insurer by submitting a doctored invoice and medical notes from the practice as evidence.
Similar fraudulent claims were made for other nonexistent animals, including fictitious dogs named Ripple, Ciara, and Luke, cats named Percy and Piper, and rabbits named Stewart and Ross.
During police interviews, Pearse admitted to exploiting her position at the veterinary practice to access and modify genuine invoices and medical notes. She also confessed to making false claims for medical treatment on her own cat, Piper.
Head of intelligence, investigations, and data services at the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), Jon Radford, expressed concern over the scale of fraud perpetrated by someone entrusted with pet care responsibilities.
The IFB collaborated with the IFED and insurer Allianz in the investigation, ensuring justice was served.
Pearse has repaid the money she received from four of the insurers involved. A confiscation order has been granted, requiring her to repay £15,024.61 to the remaining insurers within 12 months.
