Crash for cash scammer found guilty

A 29-year-old man who staged a series of road collisions at the same Northampton junction has been found guilty of his role in a “crash for cash scam”.

Emal Ahmadzai, of no fixed address, was part of a gang which deliberately caused various collisions at the Upton roundabout junction between January 1, 2017, and April 18, 2018.

After several of the incidents were captured on camera by a local resident, which identified Ahmadzai as the driver in almost all of the collisions, an investigation into fraudulent insurance claims was launched.

Ahmadzai was arrested along with three others, after police officers attended one of the collisions and found the quartet changing the number plates on two vehicles - a BMW and Mercedes.

During the investigation, Amhadzai was the only one to be identified by witnesses and clearly seen on camera as being the driver and was charged with 11 counts of driving a motor vehicle dangerously and 11 of driving whilst disqualified.

At his trial held at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday, February 18, Amhadzai claimed that he was a victim of modern slavery, who had been trafficked to the UK, and forced to commit the offences.

However, the jury dismissed this and took just one hour and seven minutes to unanimously find him guilty of all 11 offences. He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on April 1, 2022.

Lead Investigator, Detective Sergeant Simon Seed of the Force’s Economic Crime Unit, said: This was an organised pattern of offending by a determined group with Emal Ahmadzai being a key player.

“These crimes placed members of the public at risk in order to stage crashes and make demands for money to repair the damage.

“Ahmadzai thought he was above the law but we pursued him, alongside our partners at the Insurance Fraud Bureau, and he was rightly found guilty at court.

“If anyone is involved in a crash and there are demands to make payment without going through insurance, then I would encourage them to call the police.”

Stephen Dalton, Head of Intelligence and Investigations at the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) said: “Emal Ahamadzai’s actions were extremely reckless and cowardly.

“Not only was he putting innocent road users in danger, but he continuously denied any responsibility despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

“Fortunately, our proactive efforts to stop him alongside Northamptonshire Police have been successful and he now must face the consequences.

“Sadly, dangerous crash for cash scams are common and we are determined to crackdown on the issue. If anyone has seen evidence of a crash for cash, we urge them to report it to our confidential Cheatline at insurancefraudbureau.org or via 0800 422 0421.”