16 due in court in connection with Cork 'fake car crashes' probe
Sixteen people are due in court in Cork today following a garda investigation into the staging of fake car crashes to make false insurance claims.
The 16 men and women (10 men and six women ranging in age from 22 to 60) were arrested and questioned over the last two years by gardaí as part of Operation Nascar - an investigation of car crashes around Cork city and county.
Operation Nascar was launched by gardaí in 2011 after concerns about what they described as "organised, structured and staged road traffic accidents".
The Irish Insurance Federation said that insurance fraud costs insurance companies in Ireland an estimated €100m a year — a cost which is ultimately borne by honest policyholders.
