Latvian Elina Jaksone and Cypriot partner Gagik Manucharyan went to Mauritius on the proceeds of their crimes

by Paul Hooper

Customs investigators have cracked what is believed to be the UK's biggest car insurance fraud - run by a couple in Thanet.

The couple ran a "ghost" brokerage offering cheap price insurance by lying to legitimate companies.

It meant that had drivers had accidents their policies would not have paid out for damage or personal injuries.

And the couple who ran the con, Latvian Elina Jaksone, 36, and Cypriot partner Gagik Manucharyan, 40, used the scam to service a champagne lifestyle.

This included having five star trips to Jamaica, Mexico, Tokyo and Mauritius, luxury cars... and even sending their child to be privately educated.

A judge at Canterbury Crown Court heard that for seven years the two, from Thanet Road, Westgate-on-Sea didn't pay a single penny in tax... despite earning almost £1m.

The couple lived the high life, with luxury holidays and fast cars

Instead they raked in money and even claimed pension credits to fund their high living... defrauding taxpayers by nearly £350,000 to fund the holidays, two Mercedes cars - one which cost £56,000.

But now the two have been given five-year sentences for the frauds, which could have had disastrous consequences for drivers.

And after they have served their sentences, Judge James O'Mahony has ordered the "greedy and selfish" fraudsters be booted out of the country.

A jury at Canterbury Crown Court heard how the two set up their "ghotst" operation where drivers needing car insurance were offered reduced deals - not suspecting that the devious Jaksone was offering policies with fake details.

More than 30 drivers gave evidence at the trial telling how they believed the insurance deals were legitimate.

The couple had contacted the insurance companies posing as their clients - who were mostly East European - and gave false information to secure cheaper policies, pocketing £100 a time.

But what Jaksone and Manucharyan were doing were feeding legitimate insurers with false details, knowing it would produce policies with lower premiums.

The judge was told that no banned driver had been able to get insurances - and there had been no accidents resulting in claims being rejected.

Luxury home where the pair lived

But he told the "highly intelligent and resourceful" pair that they "couldn't have cared less" if people had suffered financial loss from their double dealings.

He said their seven-year business was "partially honest and partially dishonest", which had made "a considerable amount of money... but you paid not one penny piece of tax!"

He added: "You spared yourself little of the best things in life; expensive cars, holidays in Mauritius and Jamaica and private education for one of your children.

"In this country now and for some time, many honest tax payers are struggling to make ends meet, pay their rent and mortgages and for some the idea of a holiday of any kind is beyond their dreams, let alone Mauritius and Jamaica."

Jaksone pleaded guilty to two other benefits frauds which netted her and her partner more than £82,000 - by posing as a single mother.

Then she used her mother's details to claim pension credits, the winter fuel allowance - and even tried the same scam using her father-in-law's details.

"jaksone and manucharyan cheated honest, law abiding people, spending their ill-gotten gains on a lifestyle that many of us can only dream of" – hmrc's david margee

He said the couple had complained that since they were remanded in prison they were missing their children.

But the judge told them that it was their "greedy and selfish conduct" that was behind "your misery""; adding: "That misery of being kept away from your children, is of your own making.

"You had plenty of time to have thought about what you were doing and the implications," he added.

Manucharyan was jailed for a total of five years and two months and Jaksone for five years - and they now face a financial investigation by the authorities to recover some of their money.

After telling the two he was recommending their deportation, the judge praised Revenue and Customs officer Naomi Stickens for her work in investigating the crooked pair.

David Margee, HMRC's assistance director said: "Jaksone and Manucharyan cheated honest, law abiding people, spending their ill-gotten gains on a lifestyle that many of us can only dream of. They also cheated their customers by providing them with inadequate insurance policies .

"HMRC will not tolerate fraud. We work closely with other agencies, including the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the financial sector to tackle all forms of fiscal fraud and protect the interests of the public."

Jaksone was found guilty of three counts of insurance fraud and she admitted one count of cheating the Revenue, and one count of tax credit fraud.

Her partner was convicted of three charges of insurance fraud and he admitted one charge of cheating the Revenue.