A social media fraudster conned motorists out of £17,618 by selling bogus insurance policies on Instagram.

Wahidullah Usmani, 22, of Prayle Grove, Cricklewood, operated as a ‘ghost broker’ - a fraudster who sells fake insurance policies, often on social media or messaging apps.

Usmani pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court on June 6 to fraud by false representation, carrying on a regulated activity when not an authorised person and money laundering.

He was sentenced at the same court on Wednesday (July 24) to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months. He must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and pay £1,000 in costs.

The case was referred to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) in January 2021, when insurance company LV= General Insurance spotted a suspicious policy.

An Instagram post published on the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes account boasted of saving more than 50% on a £3.3k quoteAn Instagram post published on the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes account boasted of saving more than 50% on a £3.3k quote (Image: City of London Police)

The policyholder told LV= they had bought insurance from a broker with an Instagram account called @cheap_car_insurance_quotes, which boasted customers could “save up to 60% on every quote”.

Enquiries showed that the account was linked to Usmani and that he had taken out another 13 fraudulent policies. In each case, customers paid Usmani up to £250 and he manipulated their details to get cheaper quotes.

Officers arrested Usmani on April 14, 2021. A mobile phone seized during a search of his home confirmed that he operated the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes account.

When investigators looked at Usmani’s bank account, they found payments worth £17,618 between February 2020 and January 2021.

An Instagram post published on the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes accountAn Instagram post published on the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes account (Image: City of London Police)

Payments worth £2,888 were linked to the 14 LV= policies, and another £4,319 was confirmed to be related to further ghost broking activity. Another 19 payments were also suspected to be related to ghost broking.

The @cheap_car_insurance_quotes Instagram account has since been taken down.

Detective Sergeant Phil Corcoran, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said: “Usmani enticed his victims with the offer of cheap car insurance, but left them with policies that were worth less than the paper they were printed on.

"Buying a policy from a ghost broker could end up costing you a fine, points on your licence and your car being seized – not to mention having to cover the cost of a new, valid policy.”