Fraudster Jailed After Fake Accident Claims

Former police officer Jonathon Lewis, aged 49 has been jailed for nine months after he put in a false claim to Peterborough City Council.

Mr Lewis decided to sue the council for thousands of pounds claiming that he stumbled over some debris left in the street near a lamppost, causing him to slip and break his ankle.

In actual fact, Mr Lewis stumbled on a friends drive while walking home after a night out. He was walking down the drive on Dogsthorpe Road, Peterborough, on August 9, last year in the early hours of the morning.

His accident left him with a fractured ankle which needed to be operated on in hospital. He states that he was bedridden for a number of days due to the accident.

Despite this fact, Mr Lewis saw his opportunity after watching an advert for an accident claims company on TV.

He contacted them and told his fabricated story to the advisor. He was informed that he could put in a claim against Peterborough City Council for a significant amount of money.

Nine days after the accident he posted a letter to the council detailing his version of the events leading up to him breaking his ankle. He stressed that the accident was the council’s fault and that he would be seeking damages.

The claims company that he contacted also wrote to the council, outlining that Mr Lewis would be seeking around £15,000 for his accident claim.

The claim would probably have cost Peterborough City Council roughly a further £7,000 in legal fees. This would have taken the whole cost to the council up to £22,000, which would have come out of the publics pocket.

Luckily for the council and justice, witnesses actually saw Mr Lewis fall on the drive and came forward to say that his accident was not caused by the council. The witnesses agreed that Mr Lewis was rather drunk and was seen lying on the ground on his friends drive, nowhere near the supposed offending lamppost and debris.

As it became clear that Mr Lewis claim was entirely fabricated, the compensation case was dropped and charges were brought against Mr Lewis for fraud.

In court Mr Lewis denied fraud and continued to deny that he was guilty of fraud after he was sentenced. A judge ruled that he should serve nine months for his blatant act of fraud which would have cost the public thousands.

Judge Sean Enright addressed Mr Lewis in court: “You had had too much to drink and, as you left, you tripped and fell breaking your ankle. You later dreamed up a story that you had tripped over an uneven paving stone in the street and tried to make a claim to Peterborough City Council.

“This was a calculated plan and your injuries were serious. It's clear you intended to make a claim for loss of earnings. The damages you sought to get would have been substantial and the loss to the public purse would have been at least £15,000.”

Diane Baker, a representative for the council said after the hearing that she hopes Mr Lewis’ sentence will deter others from making false claims.

“We welcome today's sentence which should serve as a stark warning to anyone who is considering committing any kind of fraud against Peterborough City Council. We will take action against anyone who feels it is appropriate to deprive the residents of Peterborough in this way,” she said.

Carys is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.