Top 5 frauds of 2015 from Manitoba Public Insurance

Manitoba Public Insurance has released its annual Top 5 list of fraudclaims, highlighting stories of fake thefts, phony crashes and a fictional grassfire.

Fraudulent and suspicious claims are handled byMPI'sspecial investigation unit.

Here are the details of those claims, as told by MPI's media relations unit.

No. 1: Crash data recorder tells all

A Winnipeg man stated that he had been the victim of two consecutive hit-and-runs on the same night.

Hetold MPIinvestigators that he was struck from behind by a dark SUV while driving in rural Manitoba. The driver of the SUV did not stop, so the man quickly went into pursuit mode. The vehicle owner claimed a short time later,his vehicle was hit from the side by a truck with the driver of the truck getting out and fleeing to the original dark SUV.

The vehicle's crash data recorder told a different story. Itindicated the vehicle was parked at the time of the impacts.The man pleaded guilty to public mischief and receiveda $3,500 fine.

His claim was also denied, resulting in a savingsof $15,000 for MPI.

No. 2: What the hay

Hay and dry grass were stuffed into a vehicle's engine area and SIU investigators also discovered hay stuffed into the headlight areas. Turns out the vehicle owner was trying to destroy his vehicleby setting it on fire, according to MPI officials.

His story was thathe attended a party outside the city and noticed a large fire in a hay field.He claimed he quickly jumped in his vehicle and, accompanied by a few pals, drove out to investigate.He claimedhe emptied a fire extinguisher in failed attempts to snuff the fire, which then engulfed his vehicle.

But the story didn't add up. In addition to the suspicious placement of hay, anarson investigator discovered aflammableaccelerant had been splashed throughout the passenger compartment.

Faced with the results of the investigation, the vehicle owner chose to withdraw his claim, saving MPI $14,000.

No. 3:Cruising for trouble

A woman told MPIher vehicle was stolen, not realizing MPI and the Winnipeg Police Service routinely share information.

Truth is, the woman willingly gave the vehicle to a male friend, whom police had attempted to pull over during a traffic stop. The officers noted the woman sitting in the passengerseat.

The woman was later arrested and pleaded guilty to public mischief. She was given 12 months probationand a conditional discharge.

No. 4: Unlicensed friend

Much like the woman in the above case, aman claimed hisvehicle had been stolen after it was found badly damaged.

However, he also told police he hadgiven his vehicle to a friend, who was then involved in two collisions. The friend had no driver's licence, whichthe vehicle owner knew. Winnipeg police shared that information with MPI.

Because he knowingly gave his vehicle to an unlicensed driver, the owner's theft claim was denied, saving MPI$34,000.

No. 5:Not so injured

A woman sustained injuries to her shoulder and back after being involved in a collision. She then began collecting benefits, including income replacement payments.

As the months went on, she told her case manager she was too injured to work. However, the specialinvestigationunit discovered the woman had in fact returned to physically demanding agriculture work.

She pleaded guilty to fraudand was sentenced tothree years of supervised probation, 200 hours of community service work and restitution of $36,000.

The special investigation unit looks intoabout 2,500 claims annually. The unit's effortsresulted in fraud savings of $7.6 million last year, MPI said in a news release.

Anyone aware of auto insurance fraud is encouraged to callMPI'stip line at204-985-8477or toll-free at 1-877-985-8477. All calls are anonymous.