Zimbabwean couple received £5 770 insurance payout for fake UK crash

A Sheffield couple originally from Zimbabwe received insurance company payouts for a fake road accident, a court heard. 

Brighton Mavura submitted a false personal injury claim and received £2,000 while his wife Lorrittah received a cheque for £3,770. He was giving evidence for the prosecution in a ‘cash for crash’ trial at Sheffield Crown Court. 

Mr Mavura, who admitted making the false claim, told the jury: “This was done. It was a mistake obviously.”

The prosecution say Sheffield-based insurance firm City Claims 4 U submitted false claims to insurance companies over road accidents that either never happened or were staged.

The firm’s owner, Mohammed Gulzar, is also accused of filling a bus with passengers and then staging a collision in Pitsmoor.
 After the bogus crash, 26 claims were made for whiplash-type injuries and bus company First Mainline set aside £250,000 for litigation.

Sheffield Crown Court has heard several other collisions were also allegedly faked by the firm, including a three-car accident in June 2011 on Skelwith Road, Grimesthorpe.

The prosecution said Mr Mavura and his brother’s partner Rebecca Symms were drawn into the fraud by Gulzar.

Mr Mavura told the court he did it because he was short of cash.
He said he took his wife’s BMW and Miss Symms’ VW Golf to the claims company knowing they were going to be involved in an ‘accident’ and he would get some money.

“I think I was promised £8,000 for my wife’s car,” he told the jury.

The two cars, with the BMW supposedly driven by his wife, were reported to have been in an accident with an Audi RS4 at about 10pm. Mr Mavura put in a personal injury claim for back pain and a claim was made in his wife’s name for head, neck, shoulder, back and chest injuries.

He said he had no idea how the accident would be staged. He accepted he had gone to the claims firm offices willingly and given personal details which were used to make the false claims.

Seven defendants including Gulzar, aged 31, of Osgathorpe Road, Fir Vale, deny conspiracy to defraud insurance companies. Five have admitted their parts and will be sentenced after the trial. The trial continues. The Star.co.UK