A serial fraudster who used the identities of his partner, family and colleagues to make 15 fake travel insurance claims worth more than £75,000 has been jailed for 16 months.
Joshua Moorcroft from Liverpool also created a phony email from the police and counterfeit documents from a local hospital to help validate his claims for missed or cancelled travel.
In all he made 15 claims with six different insurers using various excuses to substantiate his claims, such as injury or disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the first claim in October 2019 Moorcroft said he missed a flight to Dubai because his taxi broke down on the way to the airport due to an exploded tyre.
For a subsequent claim he said he was involved in a road traffic accident on the way to the airport and provided a fabricated screenshot of an email supposedly from a police officer who attended the scene.
Other failed trip claims related to having surgery on a fractured hand where again Moorcroft provided falsified supporting documents, including from the travel company and his local hospital.
In the process of the scheme he also used the identities of people he knew including his family, his partner, her family and former colleagues.
Having investigated these cases, Aviva suspected the claims were fraudulent and referred the case to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) for investigation.
Moorcroft, 27, of Moss Gate Road in the city was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court this week for 16 months after eventually admitting 15 counts of fraud by false representation, however when police caught up to him, Moorcroft only initially confessed to five of the offences.
Moorcroft was arrested by IFED at his partner’s home in October 2020, where officers seized multiple pieces of evidence, including a phone and laptop.
When questioned, Moorcroft admitted full responsibility for the five claims but said there were no other fraudulent claims.
However examination of the seized devices uncovered a further ten claims with Aviva and five other insurance companies, which unlike the previous claims, were in the names of people he knew.
One of these claims was made in his partner’s name for a trip to Barbados, which was cancelled due to her supposedly being made redundant.
A signed letter was provided by her employer to support the claim, who was subsequently contacted to check the authenticity of the letter.
The company director revealed that he had never employed anyone with this name, but that he did know the person as it was the girlfriend of his cousin, Moorcroft.
During a follow-up interview with IFED officers, Moorcroft admitted to the further claims found on his devices.
Detective Constable Justin Hawes from IFED highlighted Moorcroft had wasted police time by denying that he had submitted any other claims when first questioned.
“Moorcroft has shown very little regard in terms of who he has implicated while committing these crimes, including his family, former colleagues, partner, and even her family,” he said.
“I don’t doubt that he has put all of these innocent parties through a lot of stress by doing so. Hopefully this result will force him to reflect on his actions and the impact they have had on those around him.”
Aviva special investigations unit manager Carl Mather said the insurer welcomed the sentencing as it underscored the serious nature of insurance fraud.
“As a business, we value our customers and go to great lengths to reduce the impact that claims fraud has on policy premiums – particularly at a time when so many are facing real financial challenges,” Mather said.
“The court has recognised the ‘serious and cynical’ nature of Mr Moorcroft’s offending and he is also the subject of a Proceeds of Crime investigation which is aimed at identifying and seizing recoverable assets on behalf of Aviva.
“Mr Moorcroft’s greed has now left him with a criminal record, a tarnished reputation and an uncertain future. Aviva will continue to invest in counter fraud capability and is resolutely committed to safeguarding honest customers by taking positive action whenever fraud is detected.”
