Yahoo News ‘Slip-and-trip’ fraudster claimed thousands after pretending to trip over cartons of orange juice
A so-called slip-and-trip scammer has been given a suspended prison sentence after she pretended to fall over a crate of juice cartons in a supermarket to claim insurance money.
Farida Ashraf, 41, tried to claim thousands for her injuries in the Bradford supermarket, according to lawyers acting for insurance giant Aviva.
Former law student Ashraf, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was given a 21-month suspended sentence at Bradford Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud, according to law firm Clyde & Co, which said it was the first private prosecution in the UK by an insurance company against a “slip-and-trip” fraudster.
The firm said Ashraf’s plan was “deliberate and premeditated”.
Aviva pursued the case after Ashraf’s original claim was thrown out of court in 2016, when CCTV footage revealed two female accomplices placing a pallet of orange juice cartons on the floor of Al-Halal supermarket so the defendant could pretend to stumble over it.
Ashraf waited eight months before making the claim in the hope that the CCTV footage would have been erased.
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The firm said she sent a letter to the supermarket claiming for injuries that would have cost Aviva up to £60,000.
It said her claim included for injuries to her right wrist even though the video showed her falling on to her left wrist.
Damian Rourke, partner with Clyde & Co, who acted for Aviva, said: “Figures clearly show a significant increase in so-called slip-and-trip fraud. It’s important that businesses and the public know that insurers like Aviva will take proactive steps to deter and punish criminals who harm businesses and ultimately can cost staff their jobs.
“There is a perception that nobody is doing anything about fraud – and I think it’s important that business know that insurers like Aviva are standing up for them.”
Richard Hiscocks, Aviva’s director of casualty claims, said: “This staged accident is a clear example of a fraudster trying to claim some easy cash – and she now has a criminal conviction to show for it.
“Aviva takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and we’ll do everything we can to defend our customers against such claims.”
A spokesman for Clyde & Co said the two women who appear to place the pallet on the floor have yet to be identified and Aviva is keen to hear from anyone that can identify them.
