Derbyshire 'cash for crash' gang found guilty
Five members of a gang who made hundreds of thousands of pounds from staged car crashes have been convicted of fraud offences.
One tactic was to have a car brake hard, hoping to be hit by someone behind and claim on their insurance.
Nottingham Crown Court heard 41 crashes were staged in 2011 and 2013 across Derbyshire and claims would be handled by firms set up by the gang.
The five men had all denied conspiracy to defraud.
The court heard after a crash the victim, often elderly or lone female drivers, would usually admit liability as they had hit the car in front.
The gang used stolen or fake identities, along with false medical reports, to make £420,000 from the collisions dealt with in the trial.
The claims were then managed by one of two companies set up by the gang.
Dharminder Nagra was the director of one of them - Derby Enterprise Solutions. His brother, Davinder Nagra, was the secretary.
The men convicted are:
- Darminder Singh Nagra, 47, of Gregorys Way, Belper
- Davinder Singh Nagra, 40, of Arkwright Avenue, Belper
- Adeel Aziz, 27, of Colwyn Avenue, Normanton
- Adam Stark, 26, of Trenton Drive, Long Eaton, [also found guilty of perverting the course of justice]
- Arsalaan Hussain, 28, of New Street, Brierley, Bradford
A sixth man, Tusaf Ahmed, 32, of Colwyn Avenue, Normanton, was found not guilty of the conspiracy.
A further seven people have already pleaded guilty to their parts in the scam.
All will be sentenced on 6 April.
Ben Fletcher, director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), an industry initiative which worked with Derbyshire Police, said: "Crash for cash has a real impact on society and puts innocent members of the public at risk of serious injury."