A pair of con artists who made more than £300,000 by selling fraudulent car insurance to over 900 unsuspecting motorists have avoided jail.
Ikram Rafique, 31, from Romford, was found guilty of money laundering and acting as an unlicensed broker following a trial at Inner London Crown Court on Monday.
He was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment suspended for two years. He will also carry out 220 hours of unpaid work.
His cousin and former co-worker Mohammad Hamad, 31, from Ilford, was also found guilty of money laundering after he rinsed the funds obtained by Rafique.
He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
Ghost broker Rafique sold fraudulent, manipulated motor insurance policies to unsuspecting victims from January 2016 to December 2018.
He also used a bank account under the name Qiuhong Chen to receive broker fees.
An investigation by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) found that Rafique manipulated customer details to obtain cheaper quotes and then used the customer’s own bank card details to pay for the policies, telling the victims that a broker fee was needed to be paid into the account under the name of Qiuhong Chen. The broker fee was usually between £200 to £300 per policy.
Rafique then laundered the victim’s money through a number of bank accounts, as well as transferring funds to a money service bureau and laundering the proceeds out of the UK.
Hamad also received money into his own account from the Qiuhong Chen account.
During the investigation, a number of victims provided statements saying that they had paid up to £300 to the Qiuhong Chen bank account, and many stated they had spoken to a man called Mr Ikram.
The investigation found that 974 transactions of this nature were paid into the account between 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2017, totalling £208,200. A further 311 third party payments totalling £73,913.55 were also discovered.
Detective Chris Kench, from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department at the City of London Police, said: “Rafique had no regard for others when he decided to act as a ghost broker as all he saw was the pound signs in front of his eyes.
“We know that the rising cost of insurance premiums means people are always looking for a cheap deal, but it is always important to check that you are buying from a legitimate source and that your policy is valid.
“Whilst the offer of a cheap deal may be enticing, a fraudulent policy will end up costing you more in the long run in the form of a fine, points on your licence, your car being seized and crushed than covering the cost of a valid policy.”
