ICBC has filed four civil actions against 95 Lower Mainland residents for their alleged involvement in the conversion of 31 stolen vehicles. These civil actions are a continuation of an earlier action filed in 2006, and bring the total to 97 defendants allegedly involved in the conversion of vehicles related to 49 stolen vehicle claims.
"ICBC has zero tolerance for fraud," said Steve Tripp, ICBC manager of Fraud Prevention and Investigation. " We invest in more fraud prevention and investigation than most property and casualty insurance companies in Canada , because less crime means low and stable rates for our customers ," said Tripp.
The civil actions filed today relate to 31 stolen vehicles claims from 2002 until 2003. ICBC is seeking to recover approximately $1.2 million, the cost paid out for the allegedly stolen vehicles plus the cost to investigate the claims, legal fees, and punitive damages.
According to the actions filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the vehicles named in the suit were reported stolen in B.C., and then forged Alberta registration documents were created using a different Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). It is alleged that the vehicles were then registered in B.C. using the forged registration documents and altered VINs to create a new identity for the vehicles. The scheme gave the appearance that these vehicles were imported from Alberta . The vehicles were then transferred one or more times to the various defendants named in this civil action.
A joint ICBC and police investigation led to the detection of the scheme. In the fall of 2003, the vehicles, or parts of the vehicles, were seized by the police and identified as being stolen.
" ICBC combats fraud to deter others and to recover fraudulent payments . Last year, BC motorists saved more than $75 million thanks to ICBC anti-fraud programs," said Tripp.
The public is encouraged to help fight fraud by reporting suspicious, exaggerated, or fraudulent claims. Information provided to ICBC's fraud tips line (604-661-6844 or 1-800-661-6844) is confidential and callers can remain anonymous.
For more information see the Statements of Claim, Vancouver Registry No. S076183, No. S076184, No. S076185, No. S076186.
Defendants: Agostinha Ascencao, Ajitpal Singh Sekhon, Ajmer Litt, Allen Ferrier, Amaritpal Sidhu, Avenue Auto Glass Ltd., Balbir Singh Pandher, Bansal & Sons Diesel Automotive Ltd., Bhupinder Singh Sangha, Bobby Atwal, Brinder Dhillon, Carisma Auto Works Inc., Carolyn Rachel Duquesne, Cheri Kostynick, Cynthia Ann Hill, Daniel Ascencao, Glen Smith, Gurcharan Kondolay, Gurpreet Awla, Hardev Kaur Kondolay, Harpreet Awla, Harvinder Kaur Gill, International AutoHaus LLC, J. Kam Auto Repair Ltd., Jagjeet Singh Sidhu, Jagjit Singh Gill, Jarnail Dhaliwal, Jasbinder Seikham, Jasbir Singh Randhawa, Jason Garry Smith, Jaspal singh Atwal, Jasraj Singh Bains, Jean Claude Auger, John Richard Bracken, John Zarelli, Karamjit Dult, Karandeep Pandher, Karim Ben-Jaafar, Kulbir Romana, Kulbir Singh Chohan, Kuldip Singh Gill, Kulvinder Singh Bansal, Kulwant Singh Bal, Kulwinder Singh Chhokar, Lynn Holt, Mahmed Zkeer, Michael Lorenzana, Mohamed Nachar, Mohammad Salim, Navdeep Singh Brar, Randip Gill, Rapinder Kaur Thind, Riad Iskandar Youssef, Robert Jules Duquesne, Rodney Daniel Dick, Ross Hinchberger, Samuel West, Sandeep Gill, Sandeep Singh Rai, Sara Larae Elizabeth McDonald, Sarabjit Thind, Sarbjit Kaur Mangat, Sarbjit Singh Dult, Satwant Ranauta, Shinderpal Randhawa, Tariq Hezbawi, Tejinder Singh Sekhon, Thind Farms Ltd., Ujjal Awla , Updash Awla, Varinder Singh Sahota, Vikram Singh Atwal, and John Doe.
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