Used bogus certs to get cheaper car insurance

An Ashbourne woman who used a fake No Claims Bonus Certificate to get car insurance at a reduced rate was spared jail or a fine at Trim Circuit Court.

Fifty-three-year-old Alena Jones of Maple Drive, Ashbourne pleaded guilty to using a false instrument to get insurance from Aviva Insurance, Galway on 27th August, 2018.

Sgt John Trimble told prosecutor Carl Hanahoe BL that in February 2019 the insurance company checked and discovered that Jones had proffered a no claims bonus cert allegedly from AIG to take out insurance in August 2018.

Based on the bogus cert the defendant who should have had to pay €1,000 only paid €536.12.

When later interviewed by gardai the defendant said she had paid €150 to a male sourced through the web to get the fake document.

The garda said he later supervised an attempt by the woman to retrace her steps on the internet to identify the man but she had been unable to do so.

Replying to Judge Terence O'Sullivan the sergeant said that Aviva had cancelled the defendant's policy and had refused to refund her the money she had paid them.

A defence barrister said his client had ended up without insurance or her money. The judge said the defendant was clearly not a career criminal and in view of the unusual circumstances applied the Probation Act and directed she sign a bond to keep the peace for a year.

Separately, 37-year-old Grigori Cerneaga, Avondale Sq. Dunboyne pleaded guilty to submitting a false no claims bonus cert to Royal Sun Alliance in February, 2020 to get a discount of €917 on insurance that should have cost €2,115.54.

The court heard he had the insurance for a year before being detected.

When questioned by gardai the defendant declined to reveal the identity of the source of the certificate but said he had got the fake document from a so-called broker online after getting his details from a Facebook group.

The defendant's barrister said his client had €1,000 in court as a token and Judge O'Sullivan who applied the Probation Act directed the money be paid to Women's Aid and bound the defendant to keep the peace for a year.