Birmingham car insurance fraudster jailed over 40k scam

Ravinder Malhi added his friends' names to legitimate car insurance claims and issued fraudulent cheques

A crooked insurance claims handler who stole more than £40,000 from his company has been jailed at the Old Bailey.

Ravinder Malhi, 28, of North Drive, Handsworth, added his friends as beneficiaries to legitimate car insurance claims and, over a three-year period, issued them with 11 fraudulent cheques.

His pals Mohammed Kawsar, Syed Islam and Shezhad Ladha each received a cheque from Malhi and split the proceeds with him.

But Malhi was rumbled in March last year when his employer noticed a £7,000 cheque had been issued to Kawsar and tipped off City of London Police’s insurance fraud enforcement department (IFED).

He was arrested at work and later pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud by abuse of position.

Malhi was jailed for ten months while Kawsar, Islam and Ladha, all aged 21, each admitted a count of money laundering and all received suspended sentences.

Kawsar, of Rochchester Street, Chatham, Kent, and Islam, of Bramble Dell, Bordesley Green, were both given four-month jail terms, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

Ladha, of Berridge Road, Nottingham, was given an eight-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to undertake 180 hours’ unpaid work.

The sentences were welcomed by Det Con Andy Jackson, who led IFED’s investigation.

“Malhi thought his insider knowledge would enable him to get away with funnelling off funds from his employer through cheques sent to his mates,” he said.

“But he could not completely cover his tracks and the diligence of his employer, coupled with the dedication of IFED to catching insurance fraudsters, saw him swap an office for a prison cell.”

Safira Afzal, CPS London senior crown prosecutor, called the scam a “sophisticated and highly organised fraud” and said Malhi “completely abused” his position of trust.