Patricia Rogers previously appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show
An insurance fraudster who faked a disability to claim nearly £500,000 compensation was caught out – after appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Patricia Rogers, 25, said she could not walk unaided and claimed damages worth £492,141 after a car crash in 2014.
But CCTV footage gathered by investigators and police showed her strolling for hours.
And she also appeared as a guest on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2017 and 2018, where she walked, stood and ran across the stage unaided.
She admitted fraud at Sheffield Crown Court and was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay £500 in compensation.
The court heard she suffered a ‘relatively minor injury’ aged 15 when she was a passenger in a car being driven by her stepfather that was involved in a crash.
The bogus claim – alleging Rogers had suffered a debilitating back injury, which left her unable to walk – was initiated by Rogers’ stepfather who has since passed away.
Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said as she grew older, not only did Rogers attempt to continue with the fraudulent claim, but she also ‘added to it’.
He told her: “Instead of pulling back from that fraud – initiated by your stepfather – you added to it. You went along with it, and the criminality therefore locked on to you.
“You informed the insurance company that you suffered from a debilitating back injury.
“You indicated that you were, in essence, unable to walk and suffered considerable pain.”
Patricia Rogers appeared perfectly able to walk freely
Rogers claimed the collision caused a back condition that severely disrupted her everyday life and left her unable to walk without a stick or crutches.
However, surveillance evidence gathered by insurance firm NFU Mutual showed she was able to walk unaided for an extensive period of time.
The court heard the insurance company felt it necessary to hire a private investigator to tail Rogers after spotting inconsistencies in her medical reports.
Surveillance footage showed Rogers travelled to a medical appointment in a taxi.
She walked to the vehicle with a walking stick hanging from her arm and – after leaving the taxi – entered the medical centre leaning heavily on the stick.
During the appointment, she completed a questionnaire in which she claimed she was unable to get dressed, washed with difficulty, and could not lift or carry anything.
She alleged that her back pain stopped her from standing up for more than 10 minutes at a time and that she could only walk with a stick or crutches.
However, surveillance footage from earlier that day showed Rogers walking her two dogs for around 40 minutes.
She held the lead of one of the dogs and walked unaided, with no obvious discomfort.
Rogers later went into a shop and emerged holding a walking stick. She used it for a short distance, then lifted it off the ground and walked back home.
In addition, she appeared as a guest on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2017 and 2018, where she walked, stood and ran across the stage unaided.
The claim was still in progress when Rogers, of Barnsley, South Yorks., went on The Jeremy Kyle Show, the court heard.
Rogers told police during interview she was able to walk around the set of The Jeremy Kyle Show unaided because she was feeling angry, which distracted her from the pain.
Her claim was ultimately rejected once her fraud was exposed, but she had received a £1,000 interim payment, of which she’d spent £500, the court heard.
Summarising the mitigating factors in Rogers’ case, Judge Richardson said: “I note your mother’s alcoholism, your abusive upbringing.
“You present as a very sad individual. It seems to me that in all of the circumstances of this case that a suspended sentence is the right course of action.
“This was a serious and protracted attempt to deceive an insurance company.”
Referring to what he described as Rogers’ ‘bizarre’ appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show, Judge Richardson continued: “As a result of your baleful family circumstances, you made what may only be described as an extraordinarily stupid decision to go on a television programme and discuss – in public – all of your family difficulties.
“That television programme was viewed by a lot of people, it would appear, albeit I gather it was on daytime television.
“It was inevitable that a disability – or rather lack of a disability – would be exposed.
“And so it was, you went for a medical examination in April 2021, as a result of the insurance company being concerned about the claim.
“You represented to the doctor that you were in considerable pain. You answered a medical questionnaire, setting out details that were comprehensively dishonest.
“You were no longer a child at that stage, and had locked on to the fraud fully by that period.”
Detective Constable Carley Parodi, from the City of London Police, said: “Rogers took advantage of a genuine car accident and, for almost a decade, kept up the pretense that it had a substantial effect on her life.
“It was astounding that she told medical professionals she could not walk unaided, but then appeared on national television doing just that.”