A businessman from High Wycombe has been jailed for nine months for car insurance fraud.

Shafiq Sultan, director of On Time Claims, in Desborough Avenue, is reported to have staged an accident in the hope of claiming around £35,000.

When Admiral, his insurance company, investigated the claim, they said they found “discrepancies”, including damage to both cars inconsistent with the accident reported.

Bosses at Admiral said Sultan, who is reported to be a licensed member of the Ministry of Justice, was also trying to claim for recovery and storage of the vehicles, and when the insurance company rejected the claims, he tried to issue proceedings against it.

Head of counter fraud at Admiral, Susan Evans, said: “Alarm bells started ringing when we spoke with Mr Sultan and he provided conflicting information about his choice of recovery agent – at the same time he seemed very well-versed in the claims process.

“Further examination identified links to other staged accident investigations we have made. As a precaution, we instructed investigators to interview both parties and to forensically assess the damage to their cars.

“These reports convinced us the claims were bogus and should be rejected.”

Admiral said it started criminal proceedings against Sultan for contempt of court after a district judge is reported to have “made it clear” that he had committed fraud and that his “entire claim was dishonest” at a hearing last June.

They added that the day before the case came to trial, Sultan confirmed he would be pleading guilty to contempt of court.

Commenting on the sentence, Ms Evans said: “Shafiq Sultan engineered a staged accident where he expected to benefit to the tune of £35,000.

“He produced engineer’s reports and medical reports as evidence of his fabricated claim. Being involved in the accident management industry and being licensed by the Ministry of Justice, he was all too familiar with the claims process.

“When he realised Admiral had uncovered his scam he attempted to discontinue his court action.

“It has taken a long time to get to this point but we’re happy with the nine month prison sentence he received and also that he will no longer be able to hold a licence from the Ministry of Justice when he is released from prison.

“We hope this illustrates that Admiral will pursue fraudsters as far as the law allows us.”