A woman who claimed nearly £500,000 in damages after an accident was caught exaggerating her injuries after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show. Patricia Rogers made the claim against NFU Mutual after an incident with a vehicle driven by a policy holder in 2014, which she claimed caused a back condition that left her unable to walk without a stick or crutches.
But when the 25-year-old from Barnsley appeared on the popular ITV show in 2017 and 2018, she was able to walk, stand, and run across the stage without her props. NFU mutual also gathered surveillance evidence which showed her walking unaided for an extensive period of time.
After an investigation by City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) Rogers pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Sheffield Crown Court on February 2 2024. On Tuesday (April 9) she was sentenced at the same court to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and must also pay £500 in compensation.
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IFED Detective Constable Carley Parodi 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.
“It was astounding that she told medical professionals she could not walk unaided, but then appeared on national television doing just that. Rogers thought she could convince medical professionals and the insurer using methods such as going to her medical appointments with a walking stick. The sentence handed down to her should serve as a reminder that, however clever you think you are being, committing insurance fraud will have repercussions.”
‘I was angry – it distracted me from the pain’
After noticing inconsistencies in medical reports submitted for her claim, including a doctor’s conclusion her condition was ‘either grossly exaggerated or due to an underlying psychological condition’, NFU Mutual gathered surveillance footage of her attending a medical assessment on April 26 2021.
The footage showed Rogers walking to her taxi with a walking stick hanging from her arm, but after leaving the taxi she entered the medical centre leaning heavily on the stick. In the appointment she claimed she was unable to get dressed, washed with difficulty, could not lift or carry things, and that her back pain stopped her standing for more than 10 minutes.
But the surveillance footage, from earlier that day, also showed Rogers walking her two dogs for around 40 minutes, unaided and with no obvious discomfort. Rogers later went into a shop and emerged holding a walking stick. She used it for a short distance, then lifted it off the ground and walked back home.
NFU Mutual referred the case to IFED in August 2021, and Rogers was interviewed in November that year. When shown the footage of her walking her dogs, Rogers told officers that she could not use a walking stick because she was holding a lead. She admitted that she bought a walking stick that day, but claimed that she had one in a different size at home.
Rogers also said she had been able to walk around the set of The Jeremy Kyle Show unaided because she was feeling angry, which distracted her from the pain.
‘Exaggerated and inflated’
Richard Turnell, Claims Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “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.
“Fraud of this kind is a crime which can and does have a real impact on innocent people and ultimately impacts premiums. We are determined to continue to protect our members from third party insurance fraud and we will continue to work with IFED to hold criminals to account for their actions.”
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