Fake car insurance fraudsters ordered to pay back £376,000

A court has granted confiscation orders against two men who were sentenced for their roles in fake car insurance scheme.

Ikram Rafique, 38, of South Road, Romford, operated as a 'ghost broker', a term used to describe fraudsters who pretend to be legitimate insurance brokers. Rafique charged over 900 motorists a fee of up to £300 each to set up low-cost insurance policies. He provided false information to lower the cost of the premiums, meaning that the policies were invalid.

His cousin, Mohammad Hamad, 32, of Ashley Avenue, Ilford, laundered the funds obtained by Rafique.

Following proceedings brought by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), the confiscation orders were granted at Inner London Crown Court on 7 March 2025 as follows:

• A confiscation order worth £250,000 was granted against Rafique. He was ordered to hand over his available assets, worth a total of £39,048, within three months or face 12 months imprisonment.
• A confiscation order worth £126,608 was granted against Hamad. He was ordered to hand over his available assets, worth a total of £15,699, within three months or face nine months imprisonment.

The confiscation orders handed to Rafique and Hamad remain payable until they are settled in full.

Detective Sergeant Alan Yau, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said:

“IFED will use its full suite of options to make sure that fraudsters don’t benefit from their dishonest actions. Should Rafique and Hamad have available assets in the future, we will make every effort to recover the outstanding amounts, showing that selling fake insurance doesn’t pay.

“We know that the rising cost of insurance premiums means people are always looking for a cheap deal, but it’s always important to check you’re buying from a legitimate source and that your policy is valid. Whilst the offer of a cheap deal may be enticing, a fraudulent policy will end up costing you more in the form of a fine, points on your licence, and having to cover the cost of a new, valid policy.”

Rafique sold fraudulent motor insurance policies from January 2016 to December 2018. He used a bank account opened under the name Qiuhong Chen to receive broker fees associated with arranging the fraudulent policies.

An investigation by IFED found that Rafique manipulated customer details to obtain cheaper quotes and then used his customers’ bank card details to pay for the policies, telling them that a ‘broker fee’ needed to be paid into the Qiuhong Chen bank account. The broker fee was usually between £200 to £300 per policy.

IFED’s analysis of the Qiuhong Chen account found that it received payments worth a total of £302,036 over a period of 24 months.

Rafique laundered the money through a number of bank accounts, as well as transferring funds to a money service bureau and laundering the proceeds out of the UK. The victims’ money was also transferred into accounts held by Hamad.

Rafique was found guilty of acting as an unlicensed broker and money laundering, following a trial at Inner London Crown Court. He was sentenced on 31 July 2023 to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work.

Hamad was found guilty of money laundering during the same trial. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.