A DUBLIN solicitor, a member of a prominent legal family, is expected to face charges in relation to a "staged" car accident network which defrauded insurance companies of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Gardai have almost completed an extensive investigation into the fraud network and have already brought charges against 60 people.
The solicitor, who lives in a house valued at around £500,000, is one of the last figures involved in the fraud to be dealt with. A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about his role, and a direction concerning charges is expected shortly.
It is understood he has not been in practice since it emerged earlier this year, that he had processed fraudulent claims against insurance companies on behalf of a number of people, some of whom have already been convicted of fraud.
The frauds took place between 1989 and 1993. Dozens of accidents were staged, mostly in Dublin.
In some of the later cases, multiple claims, some in concocted names, were lodged for the same staged accident.
A number of minor criminal figures were involved in setting up the "accidents" using cars belonging to people they knew. In many cases, the vehicle owners were under financial pressure and agreed to comply.
It is also accepted that, in some cases, pressure was placed on people to allow their vehicles to be used for the fraud.
Claims were made against several insurance companies which may, in turn, now seek compensation from the Incorporated Law Society because of the involvement of one of its members.
Cases against minor figures involved in the fraud have been coming before the courts since last year.
Last January an actor, Thomas Jordan, who has appeared in the RTE soap opera, Fair City, admitted he had allowed his car to be used in setting up a fake accident as part of a single fraud against Cornhill Insurance.
Like most of the minor figures Jordan was paid around £500 by the men at the centre of organising the fake accidents. The District Court heard he was paid to run his Ford Cortina into the back of a taxi in Donaghmede, in north Dublin.
There was one passenger in Jordan's car, and two passengers and the driver in the taxi. In all, claims totalling £35,651 were paid out by Cornhill Insurance to the participants, who claimed to have suffered whiplash and other injuries.
The court heard that Jordan had been unemployed for seven months before the fraud in February 1989 and was desperate for money. He had since gained employment with RTE. He was ordered to pay back £500 to the insurance company and to do 220 hours of community service.
The fraudulent claims are understood to be all similar in nature, and it eventually became apparent that a fraud network was involved. In some cases claimants from Northern Ireland were involved.
The affair has taken almost two years of investigation by Garda detectives. The case was first dealt with by the old Fraud Squad in Harcourt Street and has since been completed by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI), which was set up last year with a rem it to tackle fraud on a State-wide basis.
The alleged principal figure who organised the staged accidents network is already before the courts but has not been dealt with.