Chapter 1
It was a cold day; snow was falling, a light dusting at first, dangerous to drive but not bad enough to stay at home. I was on a routine car theft investigation in Balbriggan, a town about 15 miles north of Dublin City. It was a small investigation, a car stolen ‘without the keys’ as we termed it. The car had a value of circa €10,000 so the pay out by the insurance company I worked for, Dallast, wouldn’t be too big.
I was interviewing the insured, Mr. Charlie Gibson, in a hotel in Balbriggan. It was the usual story X cannot explain how his/her vehicle was stolen. Charlie still had the car keys, which was a little strange as nowadays most car thefts are carried out with the keys because modern cars are fitted with an electronic immobiliser, making it impossible to start the car without the factory supplied key.
Charlie and I sat at the open fire of the hotel, drinking coffee as he told me his version of events. He’d been away on holidays when his vehicle was stolen and had received a call in America telling him that his car had been found in a field, destroyed by fire. I was aware of this already as I had spoken to the police. Charlie’s vehicle had been used in an armed robbery during a raid in a local Dublin bank.
I have interviewed hundreds of individuals over the years and heard all types of stories about supposed car thefts. In my experience, when a car is stolen ‘without the keys’ it was automatically a suspect case. Normally we do a little digging and find out that the insured is having financial difficulties, such as late payments on the vehicle finance, employment problems, or they are going through some personal difficulties, for instance a divorce. As an investigator you develop a sixth sense and quickly realise who is telling the truth. My instincts were telling me that Charlie might be guilty of fraud. Not that I would dream of mentioning it to him as I had no foundation for my gut feeling. In a litigious society like Ireland you cannot state, or write down your views anywhere, unless you have proof and I didn’t have anything on him.
I have been a private and insurance investigator for the past 23 years, including five years with the American corporate giant Pinkerton. During this period of time I have investigated many interesting and complex files in Ireland, America and Europe. I recall one case that involved a man who worked in a bar who had been in a road traffic accident. He was knocked down and broke both his legs. It seemed a genuine and serious injury and he told us that he would never be able to work as a bartender again. But after an in-depth investigation I established that he had purchased a pub in Dresden, Germany, and was working there. He had failed to disclose this information and the case was eventually settled for very little money. A second case I particularly remember involved an American lady who had been in an accident in Ireland. The lady said she was living in New York and was unable to return to work after the accident. Our Pinkerton agent in New York was unable to find the lady at first, but he eventually traced her to Miami, Florida where the accident ‘victim’ was working as a Jet Ski instructor! As a result of our inspections, both cases were withdrawn from the courts.
Fraud investigation is complex and can require many hours of meticulous searching for facts, with full attention to all the specific details involved. However, even though committing fraud in all its many forms is a criminal activity perpetrated by individuals from all walks of life against both insurance companies and other financial institutions, private investigators and insurance fraud investigators operate in no-man’s land in Ireland. They do not enjoy the statutory protection of any government agency. Effectively if you are a civilian investigator you are on your own. You rely on the generosity of others for assistance in obtaining intelligence and information, but their willingness to help is continuously tested by the ever tightening laws. This is not the case in other jurisdictions, such as the UK or the US, where there is legislation in place to support financial investigators.
It is difficult to place a cost on insurance fraud worldwide. Based on figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), insurance fraud in the United States is estimated at costing $40 billion, while in the UK the Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates a cost of Stg£2 billion. Australia is the latest country to co-ordinate industry efforts in combating insurance fraud. Like the UK, they have also set up an insurance fraud bureau. Australia estimates that insurance fraud is costing Aus$2 billion annually.
According to the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) it is estimated that insurance fraud in Ireland costs €100 million per annum. However this figure was released in 2003 and, sadly, ten years on Ireland is a completely different place. At the moment there is an increase in fraud cases, which is related to the downturn in our economy. It would be reasonable to suggest that the cost of insurance fraud has doubled since 2003, to approximately €200 million each year.
It is important to ask yourself: who pays for insurance fraud? The answer is “You!” The cost of fraud is added to everybody’s premiums. Insurance fraud is a crime against all citizens of the country as most Irish people have at least one insurance policy, be it motor, household, travel or public liability. The Insurance Fraud Bureau UK estimates that fraud adds Stg£44 to every policy of insurance. Fraud, and more particularly insurance fraud, is the crime where the ordinary decent citizen pays.
As I continued to interview Charlie I noticed that he never made direct eye contact and always shuffled when I asked him straight-forward questions. From interviewing many people you gain skills in the art of telling if somebody is lying: fast eye movements, excessive blinking or requiring the toilet are all suspect signs. When someone is trying to invent or construct a story they become nervous and it shows on their faces and in their body movements. I once interviewed a lady in my car and she wet the seat when I asked her if she was telling the truth.
I was suspicious of Charlie’s claim and the statement he had given me, but that being said I liked him and felt that there was a certain amount of honesty in his case. He was friendly and I allowed my mind to drift as we started talking about America and the various holidays we’d both enjoyed there. Talking about the US always reminded me of my younger years, working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Los Angeles, California, and getting friendly with the local ladies.
My trip down memory lane was abruptly interrupted by my mobile phone which started vibrating on the coffee table. I tried to ignore it as I recognised the number – Head Office. It was not that I was intentionally ignoring my colleagues; it was that I did not want to be interrupted while I was interviewing Charlie. Also I was planning a short day: interview the insured, obtain a statement, talk to the cops again to confirm that the vehicle was reported stolen, as per the statement of factual evidence provided by Charlie, and then go home to work from my home office. Talking to Head Office was not part of the plan so I didn’t take the call.
I finished the statement at about 11.30am and was ready to wrap up the meeting and drive to my home office, located near Balbriggan, when the phone rang again. This time it was our Insurance Liability Claims Manager, Dan Courtney. Dan was a very enthusiastic manager in his late fifties, of American background and well-liked by his multiple claims’ teams. He was meticulous in dealing with facts and, due to his many years experience defending personal injury claims, he was well able to sniff out a file which was not all that it seemed.
“Excuse me Charlie; I need to take this call,” I said as I stood up and walked outside.
“Where are you Andy?” Dan asked. “I need you to meet me in the office this afternoon.”
“I am in Balbriggan; it’s snowing fairly heavy so I was thinking of heading home and catching up on my emails from my home office.”
“Negative, I need to see you.”
Before I could respond the phone went dead.
I walked back over to Charlie, feeling irritated that I now had to drive 20 miles in the snow into our Dublin city office. The snow was getting heavier and I knew it was going to take me at least an hour to get there. I had planned to go home, set the fire and then get the dinner ready for my wife, Jackie, and my two daughters, Olivia and Sarah. Jackie used to work as a lawyer with me at Dallast Insurance but she was now in private practice.
But I had no choice. I knew by the tone of Dan’s voice that it was important and that he was politely saying “Get your ass in here.” My biggest problem was going to be coming home, leaving Dublin City at rush hour, sitting in gridlock, with the snow causing extra delays. The slightest amount of snow in Dublin brought the traffic to a standstill.
I thanked Charlie for his time and for meeting with me. I had obtained my standard two-page statement on the theft of his vehicle and was ready for the next step.
“We’ll conclude our investigation within a week Charlie and I’ll talk to the investigating police officer as well.”
This was the polite way of saying I am going to verify your statement and confirm if you are telling the truth!
We stood up and shook hands: “Thank you for your time Charlie. I’ll be in touch.”
I returned to the car park, loaded my laptop and equipment into the boot and began my journey into the Dublin office.
As I drove I started pondering why Courtney, one of our Senior Managers, was looking for me. Most of the referrals to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) were from claims handlers, underwriters, lawyers or loss adjusters. In the back of my mind it occurred to me that if Courtney was looking for me then it might just be an interesting case file and not the standard routine investigation, like poor Charlie Gibson and his stolen car.
Little did I realise that this was going to be the start of my journey into the most interesting case I have ever investigated – to date.
