Police arrest 16 over suspected 'cash for crash' scams

Police on Thursday said they have arrested 16 people suspected of taking part in "cash for crash" scams involving allegedly fraudulent traffic accident insurance claims worth a total of HK$3.6 million. Thirteen claimants and three legal assistants from the same law firm have been arrested over suspected forged documents, including sick leave certificates and car repair receipts. “Police believe that certain professionals, considered ‘rotten apples’, have conspired with, assisted or incited claimants to submit forged documents and false information, exaggerating claim amounts to secure huge fraudulent payouts,” said superintendent Fung Pui-kei from the force's commercial crime bureau. Police said they have reviewed 430 suspicious claims referred to them by the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, individual insurance companies and via tip-offs from the public, with about 70 percent of the cases involving just one law firm. The arrests made are in relation to 11 claims, officers said. Last month, the force made four arrests over similar alleged offences. Edited by Thomas McAlinden