Trio handed fines, jail time for insurance fraud

 

ICBC fines claim involved injuries from a bogus accident in Surrey

 

BY JOHN COLEBOURN, POSTMEDIA NEWS JULY 29, 2015

 

 

 

 

IInvestigators examine vehicles at the ICBC damaged vehicle lot in Richmond in this undated file photo. Work by investigators with ICBC’s Special Investigation Unit is being credited for the jail sentences and fines that three people were handed after claiming injuries from a bogus accident.

Photograph by: NICK PROCAYLO , Vancouver Sun

Work by investigators with ICBC’s Special Investigation Unit is being credited for the jail sentences and fines that three people were handed after claiming injuries from a bogus accident.

The three were fined a total of $5,000 and two were given jail sentences in June after they were found guilty in provincial court of making fraudulent injury claims.

Thai Yuen (Lisa) Vo, her sister Michelle Vo and friend Ryan Rillo all claimed they were injured in a crash after leaving a Surrey gas station parking lot in June 2013. But ICBC’s Adam Grossman said as adjusters took a closer look, their stories didn’t make sense.

Investigators soon found some significant inconsistencies with the details of the claim, he said. “It was the inconsistencies of their stories,” he said. “Their stories and the times were different.”

ICBC found all three adults claimed injuries, although two children passengers in one of the vehicles were unhurt.

Grossman said that as they probed deeper, they found that two of the adults who made claims were not even in the vehicles at the time of the supposed minor accident.

The claim came following a minor vehicle impact after a parked car somehow rolled down and hit another one in a Surrey gas station parking lot.

Grossman said the statements by the claimants on the time of the accident were different and investigators were also able to check details on times through video footage on the Port Mann Bridge.

All involved said they crossed the Port Mann Bridge four times. But video footage from the bridge shows the vehicle travelled across the bridge only twice, once westbound and once eastbound, hours before the collision.

“For their story to add up, they would have had to cross the Port Mann four times, but the vehicle only went across twice,” he said.

The time of the crash was also questioned and it was noted that the time of the incident was two hours before one of the claimants even got off work for the day.

Cellphone records were obtained and evidence showed that though two of the claimants said they were together in the vehicle, they had talked to each other by phone just minutes before the alleged incident.

Once in court, the trio could not explain their stories’ discrepancies.

All three were charged under section 42.1 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act and found guilty of insurance fraud by “a passenger jump-in scheme.” The term describes an addition of passengers who were not involved in the collision.

Rillo was fined $2,000, Lisa Vo was fined $1,000 plus one day in jail, and Michelle Vo was given a $2,000 fine and one day in jail. No moneys were paid out on the claims for bodily injuries.

According to Grossman, in 2014 ICBC paid out more than $2 billion in bodily injury claims — up by more than $600 million from five years ago.

He said they are closely monitoring injury claims as the large settlements are driving the cost of insurance up more each year.

“The criminal conviction and jail time, it sends a strong message,” he said.

Work by investigators with ICBC’s Special Investigation Unit is being credited for the jail sentences and fines that three people were handed after claiming injuries from a bogus accident.

The three were fined a total of $5,000 and two were given jail sentences in June after they were found guilty in provincial court of making fraudulent injury claims.

Thai Yuen (Lisa) Vo, her sister Michelle Vo and friend Ryan Rillo all claimed they were injured in a crash after leaving a Surrey gas station parking lot in June 2013. But ICBC’s Adam Grossman said as adjusters took a closer look, their stories didn’t make sense.

Investigators soon found some significant inconsistencies with the details of the claim, he said. “It was the inconsistencies of their stories,” he said. “Their stories and the times were different.”

ICBC found all three adults claimed injuries, although two children passengers in one of the vehicles were unhurt.

Grossman said that as they probed deeper, they found that two of the adults who made claims were not even in the vehicles at the time of the supposed minor accident.

The claim came following a minor vehicle impact after a parked car somehow rolled down and hit another one in a Surrey gas station parking lot.

Grossman said the statements by the claimants on the time of the accident were different and investigators were also able to check details on times through video footage on the Port Mann Bridge.

All involved said they crossed the Port Mann Bridge four times. But video footage from the bridge shows the vehicle travelled across the bridge only twice, once westbound and once eastbound, hours before the collision.

“For their story to add up, they would have had to cross the Port Mann four times, but the vehicle only went across twice,” he said.

The time of the crash was also questioned and it was noted that the time of the incident was two hours before one of the claimants even got off work for the day.

Cellphone records were obtained and evidence showed that though two of the claimants said they were together in the vehicle, they had talked to each other by phone just minutes before the alleged incident.

Once in court, the trio could not explain their stories’ discrepancies.

All three were charged under section 42.1 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act and found guilty of insurance fraud by “a passenger jump-in scheme.” The term describes an addition of passengers who were not involved in the collision.

Rillo was fined $2,000, Lisa Vo was fined $1,000 plus one day in jail, and Michelle Vo was given a $2,000 fine and one day in jail. No moneys were paid out on the claims for bodily injuries.

According to Grossman, in 2014 ICBC paid out more than $2 billion in bodily injury claims — up by more than $600 million from five years ago.

He said they are closely monitoring injury claims as the large settlements are driving the cost of insurance up more each year.

“The criminal conviction and jail time, it sends a strong message,” he said.