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Man who made fraudulent pothole claim for cycling injury jailed for three and a half years

Luboya Tshibangu sued Cardiff Council for £175k – but injury wasn't due to defect at location he claimed ...

A man who claimed that a broken ankle he sustained when he fell off his bike was due to a pothole and demanded £175,000 in compensation from Cardiff City Council has been jailed for three years and six months for fraud by false representation.

Luboya Tshibangu, aged 38, instructed solicitors to take legal action against Cardiff City Council, falsely claiming that the injury had happened when he hit a pothole on the pavement while riding along Bute East Dock in  Cardiff Bay in December 2012.

In an initial claim lodged in October the following year, he sent the council a map of the alleged location together with photographs of the pavement.

His claim was declined in May 2014 under section 58 of the Highways Act 1980, with the council saying that a schedule of maintenance and upkeep had been in place.

In May 2016, the council were served with a claim by solicitors acting for Tshibangu, along with proof of earnings and medical records, with a sum of £175,000 being sought.

In December that year, he signed a statement in which he claimed that the incident happened between lampposts 13 and 14 on Atlantic Wharf, once again accompanied by photos of the defects of the pavement.

His attempted fraud was uncovered when solicitors for the council obtained a recording of the 999 call a passer-by had made when Tshibangu had his accident and discovered that it happened some 950 metres from the location where he claimed it took place.

The caller also said that the ground was slippery where he came off his bike but did not mention any defects in the surface.

In March last year, the council’s insurers passed the case to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

They interviewed Tshibangu in Cardiff in July 2017, with their investigation concluding that while he had genuinely fallen from his bike and broken his ankle, it had not happened where he claimed it did and was due to a slippery pavement rather than a defect.

Detective Constable Justin Hawes of the IFED said: “Tshibangu used a genuine injury in an attempt to lay blame with the council.

“This blatant attempt at deception was spotted and the work of IFED with the council and its legal team has enabled us to put a stop to Tshibangu’s crime.

“Legitimate injuries should never be seen as an excuse to misplace blame or inflate circumstances in a bid to make money.

“False insurance claims increase the costs for all insurance holders by driving up premiums,” he added.

“The result here shows that IFED takes these crimes very seriously and will put a stop to them.”

Cardiff City Council’s cabinet member for finance, modernisation and performance, Councillor Chris Weaver, said: “This is a case where someone has sadly had an accident and hurt themselves and tried to lay blame on the council illegally.

“Fraud is a serious offence and I hope this case sends a clear message that these matters are investigated and if false claims are made, we will work with the relevant authorities to bring these matters to court.”

Tshibangu was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court today.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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15 comments

Avatar
fenix | 6 years ago
1 like

Does seem an incredibly harsh sentence for the crime especially compared to the sentences or lack of for motorists killing cyclists. 

 

The claim seems very high too - is it one of those where you start high and then settle for 50% of what you asked for ?  

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ChrisB200SX | 6 years ago
0 likes

£175,000... ?!

How badly broken was his ankle, amputated at the hip?!

I can't find the compensation guidelines right now but that seems well over the normal value, glad he was caught out, but why a harsher punishment than many killer drivers?

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Deeferdonk | 6 years ago
0 likes

slippery pavement

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Jimmy Ray Will | 6 years ago
2 likes

Did he get what he deserved really? 

If he'd been awarded the money, or if it had gone through a lengthy court proceedings before the fraud was discovered, then maybe, maybe I'd feel it was starting to look more appropriate.

Guy made a fraudulent claim, was apparently called out early... to me a 12 month sentence, probably suspended would have still sent a very clear message. 

3.5 years is getting on a par with manslaughter. To me excessive and the message it send out is as mentioned, cash is far more important to the powers that be than lives.  was that the message the courts were looking to promote? 

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
8 likes

Guy got what he deserved, the problem is people not getting what they deserve in most cases.

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Dnnnnnn replied to Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
1 like

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

Guy got what he deserved, the problem is people not getting what they deserve in most cases.

Think I agree.

The deliberate nature, its scale, and the need for a deterrent justify gaol in this case (although 3.5 years is steep). Negligent drivers who kill and maim should join him more often than is currently seen (drivers who consciously set out to kill should get a lot more than 3.5 years).

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morgoth985 | 6 years ago
1 like

Correct, it's because it's fraud it goes to City of London police.

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cidermart | 6 years ago
0 likes

So are cardiff police that incompetent that the insurance company, scum vultures, got City of London police involved?? Possibly could've got away with the 950m difference if he'd claimed a head injury?? £175,000 for a broken ankle? Nope I'm fucked on that one I'm calling bullshit!!

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bendertherobot replied to cidermart | 6 years ago
2 likes

cidermart wrote:

So are cardiff police that incompetent that the insurance company, scum vultures, got City of London police involved?? Possibly could've got away with the 950m difference if he'd claimed a head injury?? £175,000 for a broken ankle? Nope I'm fucked on that one I'm calling bullshit!!

 

Or is it that the IFED deal with insurance fraud for all E&W forces?

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1961BikiE | 6 years ago
9 likes

Yep, no sympathy for the fraudster but just goes to show where our "civilization" sets it's importance; money not life or well being. How many cases of blatantly bad driving causing death and injury get anywhere near sentences this harsh?

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Beecho | 6 years ago
5 likes

Bull fucking shit sentence from a bull fucking shit system.

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HoarseMann | 6 years ago
12 likes

ouch, the hard way to commit a crash for cash claim.

Yet another example where using a car is treated more leniently, for example this, also in Cardiff...

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/867267/Britain-biggest-crash-for-cash-...

 

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Hirsute | 6 years ago
13 likes

3.5 years sounds ridiculous compared with crimes against person and cycle deaths.

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HowardR | 6 years ago
5 likes

Mr  Tish!Bang!U!  What a remarkably onomatopoeically apropriate name for someone claiming for an accident.

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burtthebike | 6 years ago
22 likes

Three and a half years?  How many people did he kill?

While his attempted fraud was utterly reprehensible and stupid, nobody appears to have suffered any loss, apart possibly from legal costs, while killer drivers go free.  Apparently this is the British justice system of which we should be so proud and which the rest of the world envies.

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