Abbi Murray
A footballer has been forced to cough up the cash after being fined for crashing his BMW into three parked cars... and buying insurance just minutes later.
Pa Omar Mbowe, 25, took out an hour-long policy moments after the collision occurred, then lied to police about the timings, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.
The incident, which occurred four years ago, saw Mbowe’s BMW 116i smash into the back of a parked car, causing a domino effect on two more vehicles in Hulme, Manchester.
The Macclesfield Town FC player took out the policy between 6.20am and 7.20am on 29 April 2018, and claimed the crash had taken place at 6.35am.
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However, the insurance company were contacted by another insurer claiming Mbowe had fallen asleep at the wheel at 7am, causing the accident.
Evidently aware of the discrepancies in timing, the case was referred to the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).
It was soon discovered a crash had been reported to Greater Manchester Police at 6.17am on 29 April, thereby suggesting Mbowe had been lying all along.
Nevertheless, the footballer showed remorse for his actions, as he admitted wrongdoing and said he had already given money to the owners of the damaged vehicles, City of London Police said on Wednesday (23 February).
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He was handed a conditional caution alongside an agreement that he would financially cover any damage caused to the two vehicles and any losses to the insurer of the third.
However, Mbowe failed to deliver, as he never met the deadline and refused to show up for his hearing.
Then, in a shocking turn of events, the footballer was tracked down and arrested.
Abdelkader Rezkallah, police staff investigator at City of London Police, explained: “There is no excuse for driving uninsured.
“Despite admitting to the offences when questioned, Mbowe failed to comply with the conditions of his caution.
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“He then wasted even more of our time by failing to turn up to his court hearing, resulting in the court having to issue a warrant for his arrest.
“Mbowe has finally faced the consequences of his actions, and will be trading in his team jersey for a high-vis vest over the next year.”
After four years, the footballer was finally sentenced in court last Friday, 18 February.
He was given a 12-month community order to do 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £3,695 in compensation to the owners of the parked cars.