Insurance Fraudster Filed Bogus Police Reports During £50K Scam

A notorious cyber-stalker turned insurance fraudster made fake crime reports to three different police forces during a £50,000 scam on eleven companies.

Anita Debnath, 44, (pictured) of Haymarket, Piccadilly claimed she had been mugged for cash, an Asus laptop, Chloe handbag, Louis Vuitton purse, Blackberry Bold 9900 and Motorola Aura.

The computer science graduate, originally from Hinckley, Leicestershire, received four years imprisonment in 2005 for taking out loans in the name of a former one-night-stand and his girlfriend.

During her latest scam she made twelve identical claims to the companies after taking out multiple travel and home insurance policies and pleaded guilty to fraud at the Old Bailey.

In February, last year she reported she had been mugged close to Trafalgar Square, then a month later that she was robbed in Leeds city centre.

In June she was holidaying in Ireland when she reported a Dublin mugging to the Garda and a month later reported a robbery in Kingston-upon-Thames.

She made multiple insurance claims in relation to all the 'crimes' – submitting the relevant police report on each occasion.

Her deception was exposed when an insurer identified one claim Debnath submitted to them as fraudulent and reported her to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

In August, IFED detectives arrested Debnath at her West End flat on and a search of her home revealed insurance claims documents, an Asus laptop and the police reports supplied to the insurers.

During the course of their investigation, the detectives liaised with the three police forces Debnath had reported robberies to and found no evidence of the crimes having ever happened.

Debnath was subsequently charged with 12 counts of fraud by false representation.

Detective Constable Cynthia Rushie, who led IFED’s investigation, said: “In a bid to avoid detection, Debnath spread her reports out across two countries, three police forces and eleven insurers.

“Unfortunately for her the new reality for fraudsters is that IFED is working in alliance with insurers and police forces to clamp down on people who still think they can make easy money at someone else’s expense, with little or no risk of ever being caught.”

Debnath will be sentenced on a future date.