Fire, lies, fake injuries: MPI annual top fraud list

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This article was published 29/12/2022 (1373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Auto scammers beware: you never know who is watching and you’re not as smart as you think.

As 2022 draws to a close, Manitoba Public Insurance has released its annual list of the year’s top-five attempted frauds — proving once again that when it comes to hare-brained flim-flams, the keystone province continues to punch above its weight.

Playing with fire

When a would-be scammer reported their car had been stolen and destroyed by fire, police and MPI investigators became suspicious.

What set their spidey-senses tingling? A plastic laundry pod container found near the burned-out car. Investigators uncovered evidence the car owner had been spotted at a gas station earlier that same day, filling the same kind of container with gasoline.

Confronted with the evidence, the owner confessed the fire was accidental and the car had not been stolen.

Estimated savings to MPI: $24,400

Miracle recovery

If only they could bottle their secret to rejuvenation.

After their car was hit by another vehicle changing lanes, this fearless fraudster filed a claim for income replacement, alleging a laundry list of injuries and ailments that left them so weak they couldn’t open a water bottle or even lift a pen.

The claim was approved and then later terminated after surveillance revealed the claimant was in much more robust health than they had claimed: seen going for long walks, shopping for hours at a time, lifting heavy bags of groceries and even riding a motorcycle several times.

Estimated savings to MPI: $300,000

Fibbing friends

This insurance cheat claimed they came back to their parked vehicle to find it had been struck by a semi-truck and the driver had already accepted responsibility and reported the collision to MPI.

Insurance investigators quickly discovered the two drivers knew each other over social media. Investigators inspected the damaged vehicle and found its engine had seized due to a lack of oil. Expected cost to repair: $45,000.

Questioned by investigators, the second driver confirmed they staged the collision and intentionally hit the damaged vehicle with a rented moving truck.

Estimated savings to MPI: $50,000

Rollover ruse

After a single-vehicle rollover, police found three intoxicated occupants standing beside a heavily damaged truck.

However, with no witnesses to the collision, and no one fessing up, police had no way to prove who was driving the vehicle.

Police held one of the occupants overnight for intoxication and released them the next day without charge. Days later, that same person filed a collision claim, alleging they were alone and sober when they hit a rut and lost control of the vehicle.

MPI investigators looked into the driver’s story, learned police had attended the collision scene, and denied the insurance claim on the basis the driver had provided a false statement.

Estimated savings to MPI: $62,000

A lie key story

This failed con artist filed a theft report with police, claiming their SUV had been stolen at work during an overnight shift. They told police they were in possession of one set of keys and had misplaced the second.

Later, however, when they filed an insurance claim, saying they had both sets of keys at the time of the theft.

MPI technicians examined the recovered vehicle and found the installed immobilizer was fully operational, meaning it could not have been driven without a key.

MPI concluded both sets of keys were in the vehicle owner’s possession at the time of the alleged theft and denied the claim.

Estimated savings to MPI: $38,000

MPI closed nearly 3,000 fraud investigations in 2022, resulting in claims savings of over $14 million, the insurer said.

Anyone with information about auto insurance fraud is asked to call the MPI TIPS line at (204) 985-8477 in Winnipeg or toll-free at (877) 985-8477. Tips can also be submitted online at mpi.mb.ca

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca