A man who submitted a series of fraudulent home insurance claims to RSA Insurance for the second time has been sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Joel Mtebe, 37, from Darwen Fold Close, Chorley, was previously sentenced in 2017 after making 15 fraudulent claims on home insurance policies underwritten by RSA.
Between March 2019 and February 2022, Mtebe took out six additional home insurance policies with RSA using fictitious identities and made 15 fraudulent claims. Nine of these claims were successful, resulting in payments totalling £11,750.
RSA linked Mtebe to four of the six policies and referred the case to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) for investigation.
Mtebe pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud by false representation at Preston Magistrates Court on 25 April 2024. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on 20 August 2024 and was also ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge.
Detective Constable Dan Weller of the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) noted that Mtebe concocted various stories, such as claiming he had dropped his phone down a drain or that a child had damaged a TV screen, in order to make quick financial gains.
Weller expressed disappointment in seeing Mtebe’s name reappear but hoped that the sentence would serve as a deterrent, reinforcing that insurance fraud will ultimately be uncovered.
The investigation revealed that Mtebe took out a home insurance policy under the name Thomas Bass in January 2020. In March, he reported the loss of a backpack, but the claim was declined. However, subsequent claims for a damaged television and a lost iPhone were settled for a total of £2,793.
In March 2020, under the name James Thurnburrow, Mtebe received a payout of £3,198 after submitting a claim for a lost camera. Additional claims for a phone lost down a drain and a damaged TV were rejected.
Mtebe then took out a policy in August 2020 under the name Steve Mason and, in October, made a claim for a lost backpack. RSA identified errors in the documents submitted, leading to the claim being rejected.
In December 2020, Mtebe took out another policy under the name Matthew Hamilton, registering a claim for the loss of an Apple Mac Mini computer. However, RSA raised suspicions after noting that the invoice submitted to support the claim had been altered. Further investigation linked all four policies to Mtebe, prompting RSA to refer the case to IFED in September 2021.
In March 2022, IFED officers arrested Mtebe and executed a search warrant at his home. Evidence found on his laptop, which was seized during the search, linked him to two of the policies.
During his police interview, Mtebe admitted to making the fake claims, stating that a man named “Matt” had set up the insurance policies and advised him on what to claim. Mtebe claimed he would withdraw 70% of the payout in cash and hand it to Matt, but officers found no evidence of these withdrawals from his bank account.
Two additional policies under the names Nathan McIntyre and Jack Grover were also linked to Mtebe, leading to a second interview with IFED officers in January 2023. Mtebe admitted to taking out the policy under McIntyre for his own financial gain but was unable to explain why there was no evidence of withdrawing 70 percent of the payouts in cash.
Adele Sumner, head of counter fraud strategy & financial crime at RSA Insurance, stated that Mtebe had demonstrated himself to be a determined fraudster driven by greed. Sumner emphasised RSA's commitment to protecting its customers through the use of fraud detection tools and technologies, which enabled the identification of Mtebe’s false identities and dishonest claims.
She also thanked IFED for their efforts in this case and noted that Mtebe’s 20-month prison sentence would help protect other insurers and customers from his fraudulent behaviour.
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