A fraudster who repeatedly submitted false home cover claims to RSA Insurance in Britain has been jailed.

Joel Mtebe took out six home policies with RSA under fake identities between March 2019 and February 2022, resulting in nine successful claims worth £11,750 ($22,866).

The insurer linked Mtebe, 37, to at least four of the six policies and reported him to City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.  

Fraud squad detective Dan Weller, who led the investigation, says Mtebe “concocted a series of stories, which ranged from him falling over and dropping his phone down a drain to a child smashing a toy into his TV screen, all for the purpose of making a quick gain”.

Mtebe, from Chorley in Lancashire, admitted eight counts of fraud by false representation and was sentenced to 20 months in jail and ordered to pay a £140 ($272) victim surcharge.

The term follows a 2017 sentence of eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after Mtebe made 15 home insurance claims with RSA between 2012 and 2015. 

“Claims like these push up the cost of insurance premiums for everyone else, which means that honest customers end up paying the price,” Detective Constable Weller said.  

“It was disappointing to see Mtebe’s name once again when this case landed on my desk, but hopefully the sentence handed down will finally teach him that, no matter how many names you hide behind, insurance fraud will always be caught out in the end.”  

RSA’s fraud strategy and financial crime head Adele Sumner says Mtebe “proved himself to be a determined fraudster, driven by greed and personal gain”. 

“We hope this sentence ... will protect not only our customers but also other insurers from his dishonest behaviour,” she said.