Man jailed for insurance fraud

A highly qualified loss adjuster who abused his position by submitting a series of fake insurance claims as well as keeping recovered items for himself has been jailed.

Justin Boydell aged 51 of Careg Llyd, Bridgend, but formerly of Brundall, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today, Monday December 16, where he was jailed for four year and four months.

Boydell had previously admitted to seven offences of fraud by false representation and one offence of transferring/converting/concealing criminal property.

He also asked for a further nine offences of fraud by false representation to be taken into consideration by the court (TIC’d).

Suspicions were raised by his wife in July 2023 when she discovered a bank account set up using her maiden name without her permission, as well as documents relating to an insurance claim at her late father’s home which she knew nothing about.

The case was referred to the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) and further investigations with Norfolk officers revealed the scale of the fraud.

His three main methods were as follows:

• Using stolen identities of relatives to open bank accounts and email accounts to take out home insurance policies. Boydell would then submit high value claims and engineer the circumstances so he was appointed as the loss adjuster. He would then fabricate emails, reports and invoices to support the payout.
• Whilst carrying out his loss adjuster role on genuine claims such as fires and floods, Boydell fabricated additional work which never occurred.  He produced fake invoices and correspondence to support a payout to fictional contractors, subsequently verifying the work and authorising the insurance company to pay the invoices.

• Instead of returning recovered items or selling them on behalf of the insurers Boydell kept items for himself. This included a Rolex Submariner watch worth £9,350 and a piece of artwork worth £2,750 found hanging in his home.

His dishonesty resulted in receiving fraudulent payments of over £160,000. Boydell used these funds to over-pay his mortgage and earn significant interest through depositing the funds into various savings accounts.

His fraudulent activities spanned eight years from September 2015 and extended to writing glowing reviews from his fictitious clients hailing his professional, proactive, and sympathetic service – feedback that boosted his bonus payments.

In interview when the allegations were put to him he said: “I think you have it pretty spot on” and admitted to his part in each of the frauds.

In a Victim Personal Statement his wife described the impact of his offending: "My world came crashing down in 2023, when I opened a folder in Justin͛'s home office containing paperwork which were bank accounts opened in my name and his step-mother's name without our knowledge and consent.

"Amongst the paperwork I found fraudulent insurance claims, not only in my name, but even more upsetting and deceitful were false claims made in my deceased father's name.

"I have struggled to get my head around this and my father is no longer here to defend himself or explain how this has impacted him.

"This has also had an impact on not only me, but my family as a whole, we are all just shocked.

"I still cannot understand why someone who cared for and said they loved me unconditionally would do such a
cruel thing.

"I will never understand how my husband could inflict so much pain and hurt on both myself and my family using my late father͛s name, I feel like I have let them down.

"His actions have ruined the course of my life. It will take me a long time to get this back on track, I͛'m not sure I ever will."

PC Victoria Church who led the investigation with support from ERSOU's Regional Economic Crime Unit (RECU) said the scale of Boydell’s offending and the lengths he would go to cover his tracks was unparalleled.

She said: “Firstly I would like to thank the victim for her courage in supporting this investigation, without her we would not have been able to bring Boydell to justice.

“Boydell was highly qualified with chartered status and the only one working for his company with sign-off authority for Norfolk.

“He thought he was being clever by creating an elaborate fraud deceiving  his employers and insurance companies - but was ultimately discovered and thoroughly investigated.

“He showed no regard for family members by using their identities and went to great lengths to avoid detection, inventing a string of companies usually naming them after variations of his wife’s maiden name.

“However, once the fraud came to light we were able to gather all the evidence linking multiple accounts and show the lengths he would go to to make personal gain for himself.

“Although he was not always as diligent in covering his tracks, with a recovered painting found hanging on the wall in his house proving he believed he was above being found out.”

The case will now be subject to confiscation proceedings  under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). These proceedings will ensure the financial benefit obtained by Boydell from his offending is removed.