Insurance Fraud: Six Arrested in Sambhal District for Involvement in Fake Insurance Claims
The police in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district have uncovered an interstate insurance fraud racket allegedly involved in issuing fake insurance policies. Six members of the gang were arrested, and police discovered that the gang had been fraudulently claiming life insurance and benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).
The Scam and Its Operation
According to Sambhal’s Superintendent of Police (SP), Krishan Kumar Bishnoi, the fraud, which spanned eight states and lasted for seven years, involved fraudulent claims amounting to crores of rupees. The gang primarily targeted individuals suffering from serious illnesses, such as cancer, securing insurance policies in their names. After the victims passed away, the fraudsters would pose as family members or dependents to collect the insurance payouts.
The police arrested six individuals from Sambhal on Saturday: Sharukh Khan, Hirendra Kumar, Sanju (alias Roop Kishore), Prem Pal, Prem Singh Yadav, and Neelam. The investigation revealed that Prem Pal and Prem Singh, who worked for a mobile company, provided SIM cards issued in other people’s names to the gang. Neelam, an ASHA worker, supplied information about cancer patients and others with serious illnesses.
Items Seized and Investigation Details
The police seized numerous fake documents and items, including counterfeit bank seals, death certificates, PAN cards, laptops, mobile phones, and SIM cards. The gang had misused the SIM cards to open bank accounts, which were then used to receive fraudulent insurance claim payouts.
Authorities found a total of 81 bank passbooks, 16 checkbooks, 35 debit cards, 25 Aadhaar cards, 18 PAN cards, 51 insurance policy forms, 31 death certificates, 17 closed life insurance policies, two laptops, five mobile phones, and seven SIM cards during the raid. Additionally, 18 official seals from nationalised banks were also recovered.
The investigation, led by SP Krishan Kumar Bishnoi and Assistant SP (ASP) Anukriti Sharma, traced the operation to the gang’s mastermind, Omkareshwar Mishra, who is based in Varanasi. Mishra was an investigating officer for two insurance companies, where he played a key role in validating fraudulent death certificates and documents, allowing the gang to obtain payouts.
Targeting Vulnerable Individuals
The gang’s victims included seriously ill individuals, particularly cancer patients and the elderly. These agents would often pose as financial advisors, convincing families to purchase insurance policies. Once the policyholder passed away, the fraudsters would claim the insurance money, often giving only a small portion to the real nominees.
The scam affected people from various states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. The fraudsters targeted life insurance and PMJJBY benefits by using fake death certificates.
Fraudulent Cases and PMJJBY Scheme Details
In one instance, the gang took out an insurance policy for a person who had already died of cancer, six months after their death. The deceased was falsely reported as being alive and later declared dead from cardiac arrest, with a fake death certificate used to claim the insurance payout.
In another case from Ghaziabad, the gang obtained a death certificate nearly three months after the person had passed away, falsely stating that the cause of death was an accident. The gang used this to claim insurance payouts from two different companies.
To bypass the 45-day waiting period required by the PMJJBY scheme, the gang would take out insurance policies after a person’s death and obtain a death certificate dated 45 days later. This enabled them to make fraudulent claims under the scheme.
The Role of the Mastermind and SIM Card Fraud
Omkareshwar Mishra, the mastermind behind the scam, was a key player in ensuring fraudulent death certificates and documents were approved. He verified these documents for insurance claims, even when they were clearly fake, enabling the gang to secure payouts.
Prempal and Prem Singh played a crucial role in the scam by providing fraudulent SIM cards using fake IDs. These SIM cards were used to open bank accounts in the names of insurance nominees. The fraudsters controlled these accounts, preventing the real nominees from receiving important information about the insurance claims.
The Scale of the Fraud
Police believe that the full extent of the fraud may be much larger than currently known, potentially reaching hundreds of crores of rupees. Investigations are ongoing, and the police are working to uncover more details of the operation.
ASP Anukriti Sharma emphasized that the scam involved multiple layers of deception, targeting vulnerable individuals and exploiting insurance policies meant to provide financial security.