In a plan concocted over eight months, a Canberra man staged a car accident to have his insurance company cover the cost of surgery on a bad knee injured over years of martial arts fighting.
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Daryoush Zargari Samani, 38, co-opted his nephew and brother-in-law in the offence – one to feign seeing a child run out and the other to crash into the back of the suddenly stopped car.
He pleaded guilty to six charges, including several relating to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage, and one of obstructing or hindering a police investigation.
On Tuesday in the ACT Supreme Court, Justice John Burns sentenced Samani to two years and four months imprisonment.
The scene of the pre-arranged accident was Ormiston Street in Harrison, where in May 2014 Samani had his nephew drive a car in which Samani was a passenger, pretend to see a child suddenly run onto the road and then suddenly slam the brakes.
His brother-in-law, following behind, was to hit the back of the car.
Following the staged accident, Samani lodged a compulsory third party insurance claim for injury to his old knee injury. The injury was later repaired with surgery.
His nephew also lodged a claim, relating to hearing injuries claimed to have been suffered in the accident.
Samani was eventually paid out just over $830 from the NRMA – from an approved estimated payout figure of $85,560 while his nephew was paid $74.50 for the hearing injury.
The plan was found out last year, after police legally listened in on and recorded Samani's phone calls with his nephew.
In an interview with police, Samani denied the accident had been pre-arranged, even after hearing recordings of the intercepted phone calls, played during the interview.
But the next day he admitted to the charges. He said the knee had been causing him pain, there had been a long waiting list at the public hospital for surgery and he could not afford private treatment.
He took responsibility for the entire incident, and said his family had trusted him and been willing to help get treatment for his knee.
Justice Burns said insurance fraud was not a victimless crime.
He said the whole community was affected through increased premiums, and greater suspicions held by insurance companies, which also meant delays to legitimate claims.
Samani will go to jail until February, when he will be released on a good behaviour order with the rest of the sentence suspended.
