Results are in: AFM success with Op Dolcetto

We're thrilled to share that the first referral we made to City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) based on policy fraud identified via the Application Fraud Model (AFM). News on this broke earlier this year and has been shared by IFED in their monthly newsletter. This case has resulted in positive disruption in the form of a caution being issued to the suspect under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) regarding the offence of carrying on an unregulated activity when not authorised. It has also led to the seizure and confiscation of a substantial amount of cash.

What is the AFM?

The AFM is a weekly data sharing model containing details of policies that have been cancelled for confirmed fraud or suspected fraud. The IFB conducts thorough analysis of the policies to provide members with details of suspected Ghost Broker trends and networks.

All members have access to it, and we make it as easy as possible for members to contribute.

If you don't currently contribute to the Application Fraud Model but are looking to do so, please let us know. If you have any questions or require any assistance in order to submit to the AFM, please contact Jonathan Duffy.

A quick overview of the case

The suspect was identified initially due to the bank accounts linked to the policy inceptions. There was also a trend in terms of policyholder details supplied. Further intel from a member confirmed one of their policyholders purchased the insurance via an agent and the name and bank account supplied matched to our suspect.

We referred the case, named Operation Dolcetto, to IFED in December 2021. They continued investigating and executed a warrant at the subject’s home address in early 2023. He was home and several devices and £102,970 in cash was seized. In June 2023 Westminster Magistrates Court granted a forfeiture order for the £102,970 in cash - financial investigators from IFED applied for the money to be confiscated after he was unable to demonstrate that it had been earned through legitimate means.

He was later interviewed concerning the Ghost Broking investigation and made admissions that he had acted as a Ghost Broker on the twelve matters under investigation. He admitted taking money for the services he provided, he claimed, to just friends and friends of friends.