An engineer who tried to con his employer’s insurer out of £900,000 by claiming that an accident at work left him with career-ending injuries was later caught on camera playing rugby.
David Ribchester was today, Thursday 27 June 2013, jailed for eight months at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty to the fraud.
Ribchester had injured both his wrists when a ladder gave way underneath him while working for a company in February 2006. He subsequently told RSA that his injuries meant he was unable to work, shop, drive a manual car or play rugby. He also reported he could not lift his young daughter with his right hand.
But, the 31-year-old later came unstuck when the RSA caught him on camera shopping at a supermarket, refuelling a car using his right hand and catching a rugby ball at a game. On his birthday, 4 July 2009, he was also recorded putting up garden furniture, turning food on a barbeque, greeting a man with a handshake and carrying a child – all using his right hand.
RSA sent the film to the City of London Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) on the unit’s launch in January 2013.
IFED detectives arrested Ribchester at a house in Washington Village, Tyne and Wear, in April 2013.
Ribchester, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, was subsequently charged with and pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation.
DS Tom Finnegan, who led IFED’s investigation, said: “Ribchester exaggerated his injuries and the impact they had on him thinking that no one would bother to find out if he was really telling the truth. This was a serious mistake that turned him into a criminal and his actions have cost him a jail sentence. “There is still a public perception that making exaggerated claims to insurance companies is somehow acceptable. IFED securing convictions is evidence of how committed we are to working with insurers to change this culture in England and Wales.”
John Beadle, RSA Counter Fraud Manager, said: "RSA fully support IFED in its effort to bring real consequences to those who attempt to commit fraud against insurers and their customers. People need to realise that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime as we all end up paying through our premiums. They also need to wake up to the fact that insurers are no longer a 'soft touch' and work closely with IFED to ensure that those who commit fraud are detected and face the consequences of the law".
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