Musharf Dean, director of Bolton Based accident claims company Nationwide Car Care Ltd, which hires out cars to people who have been involved in accidents, has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison after a £250,000 'cash for crash' scam was uncovered.

Along with his wife, Rehana Dean, aged 31 and business associate Luqman Patel, aged 28 and with the help of David Sleigh, aged 46, and Caroline Catley, aged 34, Mr Dean falsely claimed to have been involved in a car crash.

They claimed that the supposed accident took place on July 2nd at the junction of Derby Street and Venice Street in Bolton.

A couple was paid by Dean to obtain false doctors notes detailing injuries acquired in the accident, while the cars said to be involved in the accident were damaged by another associate.

The Deans hoped to obtain around £82,000 from their claim, which could have cost insurance company Zurich as much as £250,000 in payouts and costs.

The fraud came to light when a vehicle examiner hired by Zurich found that the damage to the cars was not consistent with the supposed circumstances of the accident.

Following the suspicions raised by the vehicle examiner, an accident investigator visited David Sleigh and Caroline Catley, who broke down under questioning and admitted that the crash had not actually taken place.

The Dean swiftly abandoned their claims when they were taken to court by Zurich insurance and Patel's claim was dropped by the company when he was unable to answer their questions regarding the incident.

All five involved were then taken to court, where Catley and Sleigh pleaded guilty to fraud while giving evidence against their fellow defendants.

In light of his involvement, Sleigh was given an eight month suspended sentence along with 200 hours community service, while Catley was given a 12 month community order along with 150 hours community service.

Rehana Dean and Patel were also sentenced to community service, with each told that they must complete 300 hours and pay £2,800 in costs.

As the leader of the group and in light of a similar investigation against him in 1999, from which he escaped with a caution, Musharaf Dean was disqualified from acting as a company director for five years, ordered to pay £2,800 in costs and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Judge Steven Everett said of Mr Dean: “I am quite sure you are a dishonest individual. You are the ringleader. This was a serious matter and the public must know if you commit this sort of offence that prison must follow.”

Detective Constable Mike Gladwin, investigating the case, has seen many fraudulent cases of this nature as Bolton is in fact a hotspot for false accident claims of this nature.

According to figures from Zurich, they discovered 1,031 fake claim in 2008, with the higest number coming from the Bolton area.

DC Mike Galdwin said: “It is unbelievable the lengths some people will go to for money.”