A motorcyclist whose vehicle was hit by a London bus has been given a nine month prison sentence for making a false insurance claim and ordered to pay over £60,000 costs
A motorcyclist who made a false claim against Transport for London bus operator Metroline for £48,000-worth of credit hire costs has been jailed for nine months after refusing to engage with contempt of court proceedings.
Motorcyclist Diego Araujo was also ordered to pay £60,000 costs after substantial resources were expended on multiple adjourned hearings.
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The judgment was handed down following a lengthy court case which saw Metroline’s claims department work closely with Counsel Anastasia Karseras to pursue proceedings against Mr Araujo. Despite the minor nature of the collision, Mr Araujo claimed that it had rendered his motorbike, which was said to have a pre-collision value of between £800 and £900, unroadworthy and as a result it had been scrapped, and that he needed hire charges worth £48,511.92 for a replacement vehicle.
Mr Araujo’s account of the incident was proven to be untrue however by CCTV footage from the bus. Following investigation and surveillance, it was proven without doubt that the claim was fraudulent, and Mr Araujo was convicted of contempt on six counts.
Judge Richard Roberts found that the harm caused by Araujo was high: the bus company had to incur £96,000 costs and substantial judicial resources had been spent on adjourned hearings. There has been no acceptance of responsibility, no apology and no contrition by [Araujo],” said the judge. “To the contrary, I find that [he] has aggravated his contempt by failing to attend any of the hearings and by deliberately evading his arrest.”
Speaking about the conviction, a spokesperson for Metroline said: “We will absolutely not tolerate fraudulent claims, and this serves as a strong message demonstrating the potential consequences for people if they attempt to make a fraudulent claim against Metroline.”
Mike Brown, Head of Fraud at Weightmans, which represented the operator, said the clear message from the courts was that anyone presenting a false case should expect prosecution.
The collision took place in 2019, when the Metroline bus collided with the rear of the defendant’s motorcycle. The defendant claimed that the motorcycle fell on its offside and sustained damage rendering it beyond economic repair.
Mr Araujo claimed the pre-accident value of the motorcycle and the hire costs of a replacement from January 2019 to November 2019 in the sum of £48,511.92. He also claimed £569 for a mobile phone and £80 for a helmet which he said had been damaged in the fall.
When asked to make the damaged motorcycle available for inspection, the defendant falsely claimed that it had been sold. CCTV footage from the bus also showed that the bike had not fallen onto its side as had been alleged; the defendant’s expert accepted that the damage he saw on the bike could not have been related to the incident.
Mr Araujo failed to attend five hearings, three of which were after a bench warrant had been issued in order to secure his attendance at court. The judge proceeded to hear the application in the defendant’s absence and found the allegations to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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