Paralegals among 16 people arrested over ‘crash-for-cash’ scams in Hong Kong

2026.03.19 12:20 Police take away boxes from a law firm in Mong Kok during an operation last month. Photo: Handout Hong Kong police have arrested 16 more people, including paralegals, over traffic accident compensation claims worth more than HK$3.6 million (US$459,290) tied to a wave of “crash-for-cash” scams. The suspects, 11 men and five women aged 28 to 65, included three paralegals at a law firm in Mong Kok that was raided last month, the force said on Thursday. The other suspects were the claimants and worked in a variety of jobs, including IT technician, beautician, logistics worker, tutor, property management worker and electrician. The 16 suspects were arrested over 11 insurance claims totalling HK$3.6 million, all originating from the same law firm, according to police. In one case, an IT technician claimed about a month of sick leave after a traffic accident that did not involve any collision. “Investigations found that the person continued to go to work during the sick leave period, receiving HK$60,000 in salary, but he had claimed to an insurance company that he had lost over HK$100,000 of income,” Superintendent Charles Fung Pui-kei of the commercial crime bureau said. Police were last month investigating more than 100 cases tied to crash-for-cash scams, in which claimants filed massive insurance claims or civil claims long after authorities had closed minor traffic cases. Some claims listed accidents for which no record existed at all. The latest investigation revealed four tactics used to submit the fraudulent claims, according to police. The perpetrators fabricated income proof to increase the amount of compensation and made false claims about lost income during prolonged sick leave. They also exaggerated the severity of injuries with falsified doctor’s notes and submitted fake purchase receipts for claims. Fung said some claimants were out of the city on the dates shown on their doctor’s certificate, leading to suspicions they had conspired with som

原文链接: 南华早报