Kildare resident falsely claimed car was stolen to claim insurance

A man who falsely claimed his Mercedes-Benz had been stolen in order to process an insurance claim while living in Kildare has been given a suspended sentence.

Donatas Sadauskas (41) never owned the car and later produced a false purchase order, which claimed he had bought the vehicle from a named man in November 2016.

He said he bought the car for £16,000 from a person in the UK, but gardaí were never able to identify the seller.

The claim was not processed, and no payment was made to Sadauskas.

Mr Sadauskas, previously of Sallins Pier, Sallins, Co. Kildare, but now living in the UK, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making a false statement at Dun Laoghaire Garda Station on December 17, 2016, tending to show that an offence had been committed.

Detective Garda Daniel Treacy previously told Caroline Latham BL, prosecuting, that Mr Sadauskas reported to gardaí that the car had been stolen from Victoria Road in Dalkey on December 17, 2016.

He said he was a car dealer, that he had bought the car and had last seen it when he parked it on Victoria Road on November 3, 2016. He showed gardaí the key for the car and his driving licence.

Mr Sadauskas had initiated a claim with AXA insurance in relation to the theft of the car a few days before reporting it to gardaí. He had a motor trader policy with the insurance company, which counsel said was an open policy allowing Mr Sadauskas to be insured on a number of different cars.

Det Gda Treacy confirmed Mr Sadauskas did not own the car and never owned it. 

When asked by Judge Orla Crowe why Sadauskas chose this particular car, the detective replied: “That is what I am dying to find out.” Det Gda Treacy said the purchase order later proved to be a false document.

He said Sadauskas moved to the UK and then on to Belgium. Gardaí secured a European Arrest Warrant and he was extradited back to Ireland. He was remanded on bail and has abided by those bail conditions, which allow him to travel back and forth for court appearances from his home in England.

Sarah Connolly BL, defending, said Mr Sadauskas had been working in Ireland until 2015 when he was made redundant from the factory where he worked. He then began to work in the car trading business but left Ireland to live in England. He would regularly return to Ireland due to his involvement in the car industry.

Ms Connolly said her client made “a grave error” but submitted that he did not actively pursue the claim once he made it.

She said he took “a stupid risk to pull a fast one” but she said the fraud was “very quickly uncovered”.

On Thursday, Judge Crowe described the defendant’s scheme as sophisticated and very elaborate.

She noted that he had moved here from his native Lithuania 22 years ago and had just two minor road traffic convictions from 2010 before becoming involved in it.

“His aim and the deliberate planning were to cause loss to another and gain to himself,” she said. “An abundance of resources had to be expended to pursue this matter.” She described as laudable the fact that he had donated vehicles to a charitable foundation related to the war in Ukraine and said she would take this into account.

She imposed an 18-month sentence but suspended it for three years.