IOSCA VERDICT A “GOOD DAY FOR JUSTICE, BAD DAY FOR INSURANCE FRAUD” – MIBI
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) has hailed the result of the criminal case taken against Mr. Constantin Iosca after he was found guilty in the Courts. Following the jury’s decision, the MIBI has said it was “a good day for justice and a bad day for insurance fraud”.
Mr. Iosca was convicted after being charged with deception under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
The case was taken after Mr. Iosca withdrew a personal injury claim he had made against the MIBI after it had begun being heard by the High Court in January 2020. During the course of that hearing, the MIBI was able to present the court with video evidence which contradicted Mr. Iosca’s claim that he required a wheelchair and crutches.
In that video footage presented to the High Court in January 2020, Mr. Iosca is shown:
- Walking out to a car and preparing it for his upcoming journey into town.
- Removing crutches from plastic wrapping.
- Picking the wheelchair up and placing it in the boot of the car.
- Upon his arrival in Dublin city centre, getting into the wheelchair and then being wheeled to the building where his medical appointment is taking place.
- Using the crutches to climb the steps into the building.
- A short time after the medical appointment he is seen in another part of Dublin city centre walking unaided.
- After returning to his home, he lifts the wheelchair and crutches out of the car and brings them into the house.
After Mr. Iosca withdrew his personal injury claim in the High Court in 2020, costs were awarded to the MIBI.
“This is a good day for justice and a bad day for insurance fraud,” said David Fitzgerald, CEO of the MIBI. “Anyone who makes an illegitimate claim should have to pay the consequences. Fraudulent activity harms all law abiding road users. It puts people’s safety at risk and adds to the cost of insurance. The MIBI estimate that as many as 1 in 8 claims we receive can be categorised as suspicious.
“That is why we are committed to putting any suspicious claims to the test. When a claim does not add up we are prepared to mount a comprehensive investigation and put considerable resources into verifying the details presented, utilising video evidence and other investigatory techniques to prevent claims made without merit from succeeding. Ultimately such an approach led Mr. Iosca to withdraw his High Court case and we will put the same rigorousness into challenging other suspicious claims we receive in the future.
“We thank the Courts for hearing this case and the Director of Public Prosecutions for pursuing this prosecution in the first place,” Mr. Fitzgerald concluded.
The MIBI is a not for profit organisation that was established to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
Selection of video footage of Mr. Iosca presented during High Court Case, January 2020.