A group of men conspired to fake a dramatic accident involving four separate vehicles and extracted more than £150,000 (€190,000) from Guardian/ PMPA (now known as AXA) in various compensation claims, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr George Birmingham SC, told the jury of eight men and four women in his opening statement that it was "a very dramatic accident that never happened".
A retired garda, a taxi driver and a lorry driver have denied conspiring with others to defraud the Guardian/PMPA by staging the accident, which allegedly took place at Annaduff, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim, seven years ago.
Mr Birmingham said it allegedly involved a green Rover that collided with a Scania lorry, which was carrying another smaller Scania as well as a forklift on a low loader.
The accident allegedly resulted in all the vehicles going off the road into an embankment, causing the Rover to be written off, as well as major damage to all the other vehicles involved.
Taxi driver Mr Jeremiah O'Donovan (44), of Fairview, Birr, Co Offaly; lorry driver James Murphy (44), of Darragh Park, Old Warrenpoint, Newry; and retired garda Desmond McGonigle (58), of Knockvicar, Boyle, Co Roscommon, have each pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Guardian/ PMPA insurance company.
They deny conspiring with each other and "other persons not before the court" to defraud the company by falsely pretending that a road traffic accident had occurred at Annaduff, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim on January 28th, 1996.
Mr Birmingham explained to the jury that the "other persons" implicated in the conspiracy included Mr Michael Byrne, who was "the principal organiser" as the owner of a Longford garage called Michael Byrne Motors.
He said the second man named in the charge is Michael McDonald, a director of Portfleet Ltd, a company to which Guardian/PMPA paid £101,000 in compensation for the accident.
The driver of the Rover, Mr O'Donovan, received more than £18,000 in March 1996 and the driver of the Scania, Mr Murphy, received £15,000 in personal injury claims for the damage he allegedly sustained.
Ex-garda McGonigle's allegedly provided the insurance company inspectors with "an entirely fictitious Garda report", Mr Birmingham told the jury.
Mr Birmingham said the prosecution would be following a number of strings in its evidence to prove that the dramatic accident never happened and that the Rover in question had never been involved in an accident.
The accident, he said, involved vehicles that would have taken up 15-17 metres (48-55 feet) in height, weighing 24-25 tonnes. To move such vehicles from the scene of the accident would have required specialist removal equipment and imposition of vehicle restrictions of the area.
Mr Birmingham said there was no evidence to show that any such measures were taken and there were witnesses who would say there was only one vehicle at the scene of the alleged accident when they arrived shortly after.
Mr Birmingham said the prosecution would also produce evidence to show that the Rover allegedly involved in the accident has never been in any kind of accident.
Mr Birmingham is to conclude his opening statement before Judge Joseph Matthews today.