Bandagu Manzeke, 52, of Church Lane, Hornsey, London, earned over £7,200 in commission while working for Eunisure as a self-employed agent between July 2014 and March 2015, by submitting 30 insurance policies using fake names, addresses and details.
Manzeke was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, on Wednesday 30 March, in addition to carrying out 120 hours of unpaid work to pay back £6,590 in compensation from the fraudulent activity.
Eunisure discovered the fraud when a number of the policies advised on by Manzeke were cancelled. Under the policy rules, any commission earned is paid back, should an agreement be cancelled within two years.
Managers at the firm found that fraudulent details had been entered on to the policies, with Manzeke’s own address even being used on some of the paperwork.
After being confronted by Eunisure, Manzeke promised to pay back the fraudulent commission, but the case was referred to fraud enforcement officers when the former broker only managed to pay back £700. Manzeke admitted to officers that he had fallen into financial hardship and fabricated people’s details on many of the policies submitted.
Ralph Mortlock, managing director at Eunisure, said: “There is an extremely small minority of agents who think it is ok to operate in this way and submit false policies in order to profit from the commission fees. We felt it was important to take a stand in this case by referring it to IFED [Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department] and send a strong message that there are serious consequences for any individuals looking to defraud insurers and brokers in this way.”
Financial investigator Simon Styles, from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, who carried out the investigation, added: “As an agent working for an insurance broker, Manzeke should have known better than to think this would go unnoticed. He tried to use his position to make a quick profit, but thanks to the diligence of Eunisure, the fraud was uncovered and he now has to pay back the money and carry out unpaid work.”
