Ontario man pleads guilty after falsely reporting vehicle sent to Nigeria as stolen

An Ontario man has pleaded guilty to public mischief for falsely reported a stolen vehicle that Aviva Canada said was sent to Nigeria, the insurer said Thursday.

Desmond Stewart, 55, from Whitby, Ont., has been ordered to pay $3,450, received one year’s probation, and is required to complete 100 hours of community service, according to the insurer.

Stewart was originally charged by Durham Regional Police with public mischief and fraud over $5,000.

In August, a vehicle was reported stolen by an Aviva Canada customer. One of the insurer’s adjusters noticed inconsistencies in the insured’s details and raised concerns with the company’s investigative team, Aviva said.

Working with Durham Regional Police, Aviva was able to trace the path of the vehicle to a shipping container that cleared Canadian customs and departed for Nigeria in July, the insurer said. It wasn’t until after the vehicle had cleared customs that the insured reported the vehicle stolen, it noted.

“Like staged accidents, unrecovered vehicles and staged thefts are becoming a bigger problem in Canada,” Greg Dunn,executive vice president of national claims with Aviva Canada commented in a statement.

“Insurance fraud costs everyone, but through continued cooperation with local authorities we can take these costs out of the system to help reduce premiums.”