Hall of Shame: ICBC reveals top fraud files of 2015

Insurance fraud is no laughing matter but you can't help but see the humour — and audacity — in a man who used a car accident as an excuse to get out of doing the dishes, claiming his injuries were so severe he was unable to do the most simple household chores.

When he was subsequently busted lifting box after heavy box of flooring tiles at his work, the man was convicted of fraud and fined $1,500.

That story tops ICBC's just-released list of fraudulent claims entitled: Hall of Shame: The Top 6 Fraud Files of 2015.

Other cases that made the cut:

• Double Dipper: A Vancouver woman claims she could not return to work because of her collision-related injuries. Investigators discovered she continued to work at her job, thus collecting two paycheques — one from ICBC and one from her employer. She is fined $1,750 and handed a one year driving suspension after being convicted of exaggerating her injuries.

• Mother-son act: A Vancouver Island woman reports her Audi stolen from work. The woman claims her sons, who both had access to the car, were at home that day. But when the car is found crashed and abandoned in the Lower Mainland police gathered witness testimony and video evidence from BC Ferries pegging one of the sons to the crash scene. The mother is fined $2,300, the son $1,150, and both are convicted of providing false statements. The son's licence was suspended at the time of the accident so he receives an additional sentence of 90 days in jail.

• Dash cam undoing: A Lower Mainland man presents ICBC with dash cam footage of another car side-swiping him as evidence to support his accident claim. Problem is, the video also reveals the man was a passenger at the time of the crash, and that his car was actually being driven by an unlicensed driver. His claim is denied.

• Key fob fumble: A Fraser Valley man reports his BMW missing from his driveway at 2 a.m. The car is discovered burnt out at a nearby park. The man claims his keys weren't stolen which ends up being the non-lie that leads police to determine he had in fact destroyed his own car. As it turns out, BMW technology records every time a car's key fob is used. The man claimed he was sleeping the night of the theft, but police determined his fob had been used just after midnight. His claim is denied. 

• Jump-in Johnny: A man files a claim with ICBC insisting he was injured while riding a bus that struck a parked fire truck. Security cameras at the bus terminal prove that the man arrived on scene after the crash. He is fined and ordered to spend a night in jail. 

ICBC says it opened 7,500 fraud investigations in 2015. They estimate fraud costs every B.C. driver over $100 on their insurance fees every year, and that 10 to 20 per cent of auto insurance claims contain an element of fraud or exaggeration.