British Columbia

They tried to stage a car crash in Surrey, but ICBC caught them

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Insurer said 13 people involved in connected fraudulent claims, but only 2 found liable, ordered to pay $40K

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has ordered two men to pay ICBC more than $40,000 in damages. (Peter Scobie/CBC)

When Yasir Khayyoo smashed into the back of Basim Mansur's Porsche at a Surrey, B.C., intersection on Aug. 17, 2013, everything was going according to plan.

What Mansur didn't expect was that B.C.'s public auto insurer would catch on to their middle-of-the-road theatrics and that Khayyoo, his partner in crime, would later confess to their scheme in court.

Now, the two men must pay ICBC more than $40,000 in damages after a B.C. Supreme Court judge found them liable for making fraudulent claims and staging a vehicle collision.

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ICBC initially sued 13 different people for fraud over three different collisions between 2010 and 2013, but Justice Michael Brundrett dismissed all other allegations in a lengthy ruling released Dec. 31.

Mansur and Khayyoo's plan to stage an accident was set in motion soon after the two Iraqi-Canadians met in 2013. Mansur is referred to as "the initiator of the plot" in court documents.

Khayyoo, who had recently moved to Canada, told Mansur of his need for money after the recent death of his father, according to the reasons for judgment.

Mansur, who testified that he always tries to help the Iraqi community in B.C., told Khayyoo that he could "help him make money" and concocted a plan, the ruling said. Khayyoo agreed to the plan after Mansur convinced him it couldn't fail.

Only a few weeks after meeting, the staged collision occurred.

Alleged connections between 3 crashes

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After the collision, both men promptly made personal injury claims to ICBC, with the corporation paying out a combined amount of more than $34,000.

But ICBC caught on to the premeditated nature of the crash because of its connection to two previous collisions, one involving Mansur and another involving Khayyoo's brother.

The three crashes are referred to as collisions 1, 2 and 3 in court documents.

Mansur was involved in Collision 1, a crash on May 29, 2010. ICBC claimed he was never in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but jumped in on the claim thinking he could receive a financial payout.

However, Brundrett dismissed this theory due to a lack of evidence.

ICBC tried to argue that fraudulent claims were made over three separate accidents and two of those accidents were staged. (David Horemans/CBC)

Collision 2 occurred on Aug. 11, 2013, six days before the staged Surrey accident for which Mansur and Khayyoo have been found liable. (Collision 3).

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ICBC alleged there were several connections between those involved in both collisions.

The insurer claimed that in Collision 2, Khayyoo's brother was a passenger in the rear of one of the vehicles, and their cousin was the driver of the other vehicle.

ICBC claimed that similar explanations were given by the drivers supposedly at fault in both collisions — that they had "accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake."

Brundrett dismissed these allegations and said there was no direct evidence Collision 2 was staged, but added that "there are certainly suspicious aspects to the circumstances surrounding [it]."

The two men's stories differed in court, with Mansur claiming innoncence, while Khayyoo admitted to staging the accident. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

Mansur's defence

Throughout his trial, Mansur maintained that Collision 3 was not staged.

He testified that he would not have intentionally wrecked his Porsche, "a car that was special to him." He also denied he needed the money.

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In turn, he claimed ICBC investigators were conspiring to get him.

But Brundrett accepted a simpler explanation.

"I find it reasonably probable that in his enthusiasm to help a fellow immigrant, Mr. Mansur went too far and concocted a plan to stage a car accident to benefit himself and Mr. Khayyoo," he said in the documents.

Brundrett ordered Mansur to pay an additional $10,000 in punitive damages for planning the collision.