A bishop in Leeds, London has used the information of two citizens in his local community, imitated them on the phone, and filed false claims for fake car crashes. The insurance company, First Central, raised suspicions to the local Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (PIFED) that a clergyman had tried to file a fraudulent claim. PIFED discovered that the fraudster had fraudulently purchased an insurance policy using the details of a local citizen, and soon after he called the insurer pretending to be the insured and stated that he had crashed his Vauxhall Corsa into a parked Range Rover. The parked Rover belonged to the fraudster. He subsequently contacted First Central, as himself, and made a claim for the damage and the cost to hire a car. There were some inconsistencies with the story, though. The investigator said there was no way the damage to the rover could have been caused by the Corsa due to the height difference between the two cars. Investigators also discovered that the damage caused by the alleged accident was the same as on the Range Rover's most recent MOT failure. The MOT is the annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness aspects, and exhaust emissions. The Rover had recently failed an MOT test due to damage to the vehicle, the same damage the fraudster claimed had happened during the accident. Investigators also discovered that the Corsa was parked behind the church where the bishop delivered his sermons at the time of the alleged accident. Additionally, the bishop had filed at least one other fraudulent claim against a different insurer a few months earlier. In this scheme, he pretended that his partner's Jaguar was involved in the accident to increase the amount of the claim. He has made claims as a phantom passenger and filed false claims using vehicle information gleaned from helping his friends buy a car.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation and one count of money laundering. He was sentenced to 10 months in jail.

This is a reminder that just because someone is a person in high standing, does not mean they are not capable of insurance fraud. Anyone who commits insurance fraud can be brought to justice.