Driver said rogue rabbit caused crash: MPI's top 5 fraudulent claims of 2020

False income tax documents, a torched trailer and a person who said a rogue rabbit led to his car accident are among Manitoba Public Insurance's top five fraudulent insurance claims of 2020.

Every year, MPI publishes its top five fraud list to raise awareness about the costs associated with auto insurance fraud. 

These cases cost insurance payers roughly $50 per year, said MPI's Chief Operating Officer, Curtis Wennberg in a news release issued Tuesday.

By the end of November, claim savings totalled more than $13 million and nearly 1,000 fraud investigations were closed, according to the release.

Here are a few of the fraudulent claims that stood out.

Torched trailer caught on camera

A person claimed his new travel trailer had been stolen out of his rural Manitoba yard, but it was found 10 kilometres outside of town burned to the ground.

MPI says an investigator went to the burn site, took photos and found a surveillance camera on the most likely route taken by the thief.

The footage showed the trailer being towed around midnight by a pickup truck that closely resembled the make and model of the trailer's owner.

The investigator also discovered the owner was having financial difficulties.

Although the man denied having any involvement with the arson, he wouldn't let MPI have access to the truck to download data from it that could help the investigator determine where it was the night of the alleged theft.

A few days later, the man withdrew his claim and signed a waiver, saving MPI about $37,000.

Fabricated income tax documents

A woman who was injured in a car crash was eligible to receive income supports through MPI, which the Crown corporation calculated using her income tax documents.

However, an investigator found that she had fabricated documents as well as a letter which she claimed was from an accounting firm.

Many of the documents looked suspect and included entries that were misaligned, entries in varying sized fonts, incomplete and incorrect field entries, wrong totals and in two different years she reported the exact same income to the cent.  

The woman's income supports were cancelled, resulting in an estimated savings of $800,000, based on future payouts. MPI is also trying to recover $100,000.

Rogue rabbit

A driver told MPI he attempted to brake before crashing his vehicle into a light standard to avoid hitting a rabbit that had run out of the bushes.

However, when the 20-year-old man told the investigator what had happened, there were a number of irregularities.

The investigator also discovered the man was in financial trouble, compounded by a large vehicle payment.

The vehicle's crash data recorder also showed the car was accelerating — not braking — at the time of the crash.

The driver's claim was denied, and MPI saved $31,000.

Claimant 'volunteering' at retail store 

A man told MPI he wasn't able to return to his job that required physical labour after being involved in a car crash, and was receiving income supports from MPI.

Over a period of months, his case manager became suspicious of the claim and alerted an investigator.

The investigator found the man, 33, regularly worked at a retail store in Winnipeg. His work included helping customers, including the MPI investigator and others doing surveillance.

When confronted, the man said he was "volunteering" his services. His income supports were terminated, resulting in an estimated savings of nearly $300,000.

Realtor caught lying to MPI

MPI says a real estate agent collected income supports following a car accident while still working.

Following the accident, the man said being in a car was too traumatic, and coupled with his injuries, he wouldn't be able to return to work.

After parts of the man's story didn't check out, investigators looked into his case. They spotted him regularly showing houses, dealing with contractors at different renovation sites and driving to all parts of the city, without any apparent distress.

At one point, when the man's case manager called him, he whispered that he was at a doctor's office, when in fact investigators were watching him show a house.

Eventually, the man's claim was denied, saving MPI roughly $110,000.