A driver reported his car stolen and hid it in his dead sister-in-law’s garage in a bid to scam his insurer. Graham Harris pocketed more than £5,000 from the firm, AA insurance, but was caught after police spotted the BMW being taken away for repairs.
Delivery driver Harris, 49, could now be jailed after admitting charges of fraud and wasting police time. Hamilton Sheriff Court heard he’d been having trouble with the car’s engine and, after getting the insurance payout, planned to have it repaired.
Prosecutor Claire Rowan said Harris, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, told police in March last year that the vehicle had been stolen. The next month, he received £5307 from AA Insurance.
Ms Rowan said: “He stored the car in Wishaw at the home of his sister-in-law, who had recently passed away. In May last year, the owner of a vehicle recovery company got a phone call from the accused, asking if he could uplift his BMW as the engine was broken.”
The BMW was taken from the garage at the sister-in-law’s house and put on the back of a recovery truck but police officers on routine patrol noticed it didn’t have number plates. They carried out checks that revealed it had been reported stolen.
Harris appeared in court as a first offender but Sheriff Ross Macfarlane warned he could be jailed for the scheme.
He said: “Given the gravity of the offence and the fact there was quite a lot of planning, this crosses the custodial threshold.”
Sentencing was deferred until September for a criminal justice social work report and an
electronic tagging assessment.
According to the AA website, car insurance fraud costs honest policy holders about £50 on every annual premium.
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