Fraudulent fall-claimant jailed
13th, May 2008
A man has been jailed for nine months after falling over whilst drunk, fraudulently blaming his local council, and making a ‘£15,000’ claim.
Jonathan Lewis claimed he had tripped and broken his ankle on an uneven pavement in Peterborough in the early hours of 9 August 2007. And made a claim against Peterborough City Council a week later.
The Council received intelligence that the allegations were untrue so their investigation team looked into it and referred the matter to the police. He had actually broken his ankle after falling over on private property while under the influence of alcohol.
Lewis was later arrested and charged with fraud by false representation. He denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury at Peterborough Crown Court.
The council works with the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) but speaking to Legal & Medical a spokeswoman said that on this occasion the intelligence didn’t come from the IFB. The council contributes to a national database containing the names of fraudulent claimants.
Peterborough City Council's fraud and investigation manager Diane Baker, said:
"Today's sentence should serve as a stark warning to anyone who is considering committing any kind of fraud against Peterborough City Council.
"We will take action against anyone who feels it is appropriate to deprive the residents of Peterborough in this way."
