POLICE, in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Insurance Crimes Bureau (ZICB), have arrested two men for insurance fraud after they allegedly stage-managed an accident and claimed US$80 000 from an insurance company.
The suspects Taboka Maphosa aged 32 years of Harare and Gift Gumbo also aged 32 years of Bulawayo are suspected to be part of a syndicate that has been allegedly defrauding insurance companies through fraudulent claims.
The two were arrested by the police criminal investigating department Commercial Crimes Division in Bulawayo which reacted to a fraud alert uncovered by ZICB which is a fraud investigation unit for the short-term insurance industry under the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) and working hand in hand with one of its members Old Mutual Insurance Company (OMICO).
Bulawayo Metropolitan province police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the arrest of Maphosa and Gumbo saying the duo was helping police with investigations.
“We are investigating a case where we have arrested Taboka Maphosa and Gift Gumbo in connection with a case of insurance fraud. The case came to light after the insurance company came to police reporting that they suspected fraud involving US$80 000 where the two suspects allegedly masterminded and claimed they had been involved in a head-on collision.
“Our Commercial Crimes Division carried further investigations and established that some of the facts that were mentioned were false and led to the arrest of the two, ” said Inspector Ncube.
He said the suspects were claiming they did not know each other and the involvement of the CID Commercial Crimes Division unearthed that they were actually communicating.
Police are handling the case and the two suspects are helping with investigations.
Circumstances are that Maphosa and Gumbo hatched a plan to defraud the insurance company.
Pursuant to their plan, the duo allegedly through a company called Jen Technologies of Harare being managed by one Elvis Jeiman, insured a BMW X5 registration number AFR 7668, 2016 model on a comprehensive insurance cover with OMICO.
A few months down the line, the duo stage managed a road traffic accident along Douglasdale Road, Hillside, Bulawayo involving the said BMW X5 motor vehicle and a Jeep Cherokee registration number AFY 2242, belonging to Gumbo, which was insured on third-party insurance cover with Zimnat Insurance Company.
Maphosa alleged that he had failed to negotiate a sharp curve and failed to control his BMW X5 resulting in a head on collision.
The two went on to claim US$ 80 000 in insurance money from the complainant thereby causing OMICO to suffer a potential prejudice of the same value.
ZICB uncovered the fraud leading to the arrest of the two who are expected to appear in court. – The Chronicle
