Jailed data theft copper forced to pay back £300,000

A bent police officer, who was jailed in October 2017 for selling car crash victims’ data to claims management firms to fund a luxury lifestyle, must cough up more than £300,000 after being told that “you will pay for your crimes in every possible way”.
Former PC Nigel Mungur, of Liverpool, received a five-year jail sentence last year at Chester Crown Court, but the sentence was reduced to four years after his lawyers complained the jail term was far too tough.
His crimes came to light in 2014, after an investigation conducted by Lancashire Police found Mungur had accessed over 20,000 accident logs over seven years. He then sold the information on to ”no win-no fee” claims management companies – including John Helton of Liverpool-based law firm GT Law – who used the data to cold call crash victims to offer to get them compensation.
Mungur even set up his own firm, called the Personal Injury Company, to sell his leads on.
Last week, a proceeds of crime hearing at Chester Crown Court heard Mungur had made £367,772.50 from the scam. A Confiscation Order will remain in place until the full amount has been repaid, although Mungur’s lawyer argued he did not have the means to repay the money.
John Helton had also previously been given a £115,000 Confiscation Order.
Detective superintendent Pete Simm, head of Lancashire Constabulary’s Professional Standards Department, said: “No-one working within Lancashire Constabulary will be allowed to profit from corruption. Police officers and staff are hugely privileged in terms of the data they have access to and members of the public should be able to trust the integrity of that data.
“Nigel Mungur clearly and blatantly breached the trust placed in him as a serving police officer. Lancashire Constabulary will continue to act where we find malpractice and wrongdoing within the organisation and take swift action to root it out, to ensure the public can have confidence and trust in us.”
Ben Fletcher, director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, which assisted the investigation, added: “This result is another victory in this shocking case. It is only right that money he used to fund his extravagant lifestyle is recuperated back, hitting him exactly where it hurts. Our message is clear, punishment doesn’t stop at a prison sentence, you will pay for your crimes in every possible way.”