A UK gambling addict scammed £59,987 ($77,178) from a US insurance firm in 2019 by concocting a fake story about a car crash he had while driving in California. After initially denying the allegations, Jack Higgins pleaded guilty in the Leeds Crown Court on the trial’s opening day in March. He managed to avoid prison time for his scam.
fake photographs, altered bank statements, and falsified evaluation reports
The Ilkley native told AIG Insurance that he crashed while driving a rented Range Rover. He even supplied false evidence to convince the company his claim was legitimate. This included fake photographs, altered bank statements, and falsified evaluation reports.
Higgins’ legal team explained how he was struggling with a gambling addiction at the time of the claim and has since sought treatment. The defendant’s father paid the money back to the insurance company.
In his ruling last week, Judge Tom Bayliss gave him a two-year suspended prison sentence, 300 hours of unpaid work, and he has to cover £6,000 ($7,719) in costs within a year. The judge remarked that it was an “undoubtedly sophisticated” scam and that Higgins could have saved a lot of money by admitting to the fraud earlier.
