Pair arrested over fake Chihuahua claim (From Your Local Guardian)

Pair arrested over fake Chihuahua claim

1:00pm Thursday 16th February 2012 in Croydon By Nick Hitchens

A mother and daughter pair have been arrested on suspicion of inventing two fancy pets, as part of an insurance scam.

The women submitted a £6,000 insurance claim after reporting their Chihuahuas, Jet and Gizmo, had been stolen from Norwood Park.

Detectives from the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, (IFED) searched the women's homes in Acton and Denmark Hill but could find no evidence of the animals existence.

The insurance company alleges the mother, 51, and daughter, 30, supported their claim by sending them photos of dogs taken from the internet and providing false receipts for veterinary bills and the costs of the missing posters.

DS Craig Mullish, from IFED, said: "There is still a public perception that making bogus claims to insurance companies about stolen property, missing or injured pets, or ill health is somehow acceptable.

"IFED making arrests in London and across the UK is evidence of how determined we are to change this culture."

The report was passed to IFED detectives, who arrested the two women on January 16 and January 19 on suspicion of conspiring to commit fraud by false representation.

The pair remain on police bail.