An off-license owner who filed for a fraudulent £17,000 insurance claim for the collapse of several shelving units in his newly opened store has been handed a suspended jail sentence at the Old Bailey.
Sunny Kapoor of Northolt, Middlesex, owner of Sunny News Off-License, claimed the incident had damaged bottles of spirits, wine and beer, as well as fixtures and fittings.
Suspicions of fraud grew, however, when the loss adjusters investigating the claim found in Kapoor’s possession seemingly fabricated documents relating to shop repairs. This coupled with his inability to provide them with receipts for damaged alcohol, and his purported disposal of damaged items prior to their visit, raised eyebrows.
Kapoor was arrested and charged by the City of London Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department with fraud by false representation. Kapoor admitted guilt to the insurance fraud and was handed a six month suspended sentence and fined £1,500 at the Old Bailey in October.
Judith Waterhouse, head of commercial property claims at
AXA Insurance, said: “We are pleased that the court has seen it fit to hand a suspended sentence to the fraudster in this case.
Investigation of this case threw up a number of questions about the claim and Mr Kapoor was not even able to confirm how he paid for the damaged alcohol.”
“This case shows that AXA and the authorities are determined to tackle fraud in all its forms, whether it is large-scale organised fraud or small, opportunistic fraud.”
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