On 9th April, Sheffield Crown Court sentenced Patricia Rogers to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered her to pay £500 in compensation. She had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation after her personal injury and damages claim for almost £500,000, made to NFU Mutual, was referred to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.

Detective Constable Carley Parodi, from IFED, said: “Rogers took advantage of a genuine car accident and, for almost a decade, kept up the pretence that it had a substantial effect on her life.

“There was a huge difference between Rogers’ ability to carry out her day-to-day activities in the surveillance footage and the serious impact of the accident as she described during her medical appointments.”

Richard Turnell, claims specialist at NFU Mutual, added: “By exaggerating and inflating the extent of her injuries and losses, Patricia Rogers sought to fraudulently claim money in the sum of up to at least half a million pounds at the expense of NFU Mutual’s members.

“Over a period of almost a decade, Rogers attempted to mislead medical experts and investigators and even purchased props to support her deception – but she was observed on several occasions walking and running unaided.”