Pothole injury fraudster jailed for three years

A CASINO worker has been jailed for more than three years after trying to fraudulently claim £135,000 from Cardiff council in a bogus personal injury claim.

Luboya Tshibangu, 38, was found guilty of fraud following a two-day trial at Cardiff Crown Court and appeared at the same court yesterday to be sentenced.

The defendant, who worked at the Grosvenor Casino, claimed a pothole in a path by Bute East Dock, Cardiff Bay, knocked him off his bike on December 16, 2012, causing him to fracture his ankle and leaving him unable to work.

But this claim was found to be false after it was established that Tshibangu had come off his bike on a slippery path on Galleon Way, Atlantic Wharf, and then lied about the location in a false claim for personal injury compensation.

The court he submitted a claim to Cardiff council for £15,912.91 for lost earnings and £119,861.14 for future lost earnings, and submitted photographs of the pothole which he had taken nine months after the incident.

Despite seeking and gaining representation from a number of solicitors, Tshibangu discontinued his claim against the council in May 2017 after a 999 call from a witness was found, exposing his lie about the location of the fall.

Prosecutor Heath Edwards said: “The culpability of the defendant is high because the fraudulent activity was sustained over a period of time from 2013-17 and the defendant went through more than one firm of solicitors to pursue the false allegation.

“There was significant planning on behalf of the defendant who identified an area where he know a pothole exists, went to that site, took photographs of it and instructed solicitors on a number of occasions.”

The court also heard about the impact on the council, and while the defendant’s claim was not successful, meaning no compensation was paid to him, the local authority had considerable expenses relating to legal fees and insurance and had set aside more than £100,000 in case the defendant’s claim was successful which meant these funds were unavailable for the council’s budget for three years.

Defence barrister David Maunder said his client came to the UK from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2006 as a political refugee following threats of violence to himself and his family due to his membership of an opposition party to the country’s government.

He said the defendant’s previous convictions for fraud and benefit fraud related to him having a passport that did not belong to him so he could escape the DRC and the fact he did not sufficiently understand the paperwork relating to his benefit claim.

The barrister added: “It’s unlikely Mr Tshibangu would have received anywhere near the amount suggested. It’s my suggestion this claim would have resulted in a five-figure sum rather than a six-figure sum.”

Sentencing, Judge Tracey LloydClarke said: “You decided to use this misfortune to make money for yourself and decided to make a civil claim against Cardiff council. Following the accident you began to claim that the accident took place on the footpath that is not well maintained and you found a large pothole, took a photograph of it to support your claim and asked solicitors to act on your behalf.

“You said you fell off your bicycle because the front wheel went into the pothole and it was the failure of Cardiff council to maintain the pothole which led to your injury.”

She added: “This was quite clearly a serious fraud where you tried to use the justice system in order to defraud the taxpayer and it quite clearly crosses the custody threshold.”

Tshibangu, of Adamscroft Place, in Adamsdown, Cardiff, was sentenced to three years and six months in jail.