Failure to keep up pretence earns prison sentence
22/12/11: A bodybuilder who attempted to scam millions in compensation was jailed after being found to be perfectly normal.
Michael Richards, aged 31, in fact sustained minor fractures and injuries to the head in a serious road traffic accident which caused the death of two people.
Mr. Richards claimed that he had sustained serious brain injuries and was in constant need of care in order to win a £2.3 million compensation claim against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).
While he was assessed by a neuro-psychologist in London he said only 15 words. When he was interviewed days later, in an unrelated event, it was found he could speak perfectly and fluently by the police.
The bodybuilder was also caught training at the gym, interacting with friends, shopping, and driving, without a carer.
The call centre worker of Bletchley, Milton Keynes, was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of court.
Mr. Richard’s foster father, Alan Bassnet, aged 65, was given a 14 day suspended sentence for six months for lying about the severity of his foster son’s injuries. The bodybuilder’s sister, Serina Richards, was sentenced to 14 days for the same offense.
Mike Pope, who acted on behalf of the MIB in court, claimed that the case was a message against con artists who would attempt to defraud the MIB.
It was also revealed that Mr. Richards attempted to claim compensation previously in Milton Keynes in 2004.
In that crash he was a passenger in the car which crashed into a house and took the lives of two people.
Lawyers who looked at Mr. Richards’ medical records also discovered that he was attempting to claim £10,000 for a sporting injury in 2002. When, however, he went to talk to the GP about this claim, his GP admitted that he spoke perfectly and fluently, and this was how it was shown that the brain damage story was a lie.
When presented with this evidence Mr. Richards attempted to settle for £10,000, but the MIB went through the courts instead.
Other evidence, which Mr. Pope revealed, showed that he had used different addresses with the claim and with the officers.
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