Serial Fraudster Ordered to Pay £210K or Face 5 Years in Prison
A serial fraudster who used fraudulent insurance claims to fund a luxury penthouse and a sports car in Gran Canaria has been ordered to repay over £200,000 or face additional prison time. Hamid Sediqi, also known as Hamid Sharifi, Najib Sharifi, and Kevin Heartbreak, made £400,368 by submitting 60 false motor insurance claims.
Sediqi, 38, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court in May 2021. However, on September 27 of the same year, he appeared in court again and was given a three-month deadline to pay back £210,000. Failure to do so will result in an additional five years in prison.
The investigation into Sediqi began when a legitimate claims management company discovered that he had posed as its director and offered to refer claims to a solicitor’s firm for a fee. He earned £26,070 in referral fees and was found to be linked to the bank accounts that received the compensation payments, totaling £52,472 from the scheme.
Another investigation revealed that Sediqi and two others were responsible for 62 fraudulent motor insurance claims. They opened bank accounts using stolen IDs or fake details to obtain insurance policies with Aviva. Sediqi alone received £137,596 from these policies.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Hill from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) commented, Sediqi managed to fraudulently accrue hundreds of thousands of pounds by targeting solicitors and insurance companies and stealing the identities of companies and members of the public.
Aviva’s Special Investigations Unit Manager, Carl Mather, stated, This confiscation order is an important result, not just for Aviva, but for the wider insurance industry. It should serve as notice to career fraudsters that the money they have fraudulently stolen from insurers and their customers can and will be recovered.
Mather further emphasized that insurers are not soft targets for fraudsters, and Aviva remains committed to detecting and prosecuting fraud to protect their honest customers from the actions of criminals like Sediqi.
The case of Hamid Sediqi highlights the importance of robust investigation and prosecution of insurance fraud. Authorities will continue to pursue individuals who attempt to exploit insurance companies for personal gain, ensuring that justice is served and the industry remains protected.
