This wedding picture posted on Facebook helped to lift the lid on a possible £25,000 insurance scam. Champion bodybuilder Richard King and Patrick Allen filed an insurance claim after saying they were strangers who had a car crash. But after Allen demanded ­compensation from Direct Line, the insurance giants’ investigators turned to Facebook. When they examined King’s wedding pictures, they spotted a familiar face. Allen, from Dundee, was even wearing the same tartan as the groom. It suggested that the pair knew each other all along. Earlier this month, Forfar Sheriff Court threw out the compensation case, the Daily Record reported. Sheriff Pino Di Emidio even cast doubt on whether there had been a crash near Carnoustie, Angus, on August 18, 2014. He also ruled both men were not ­“credible” or “reliable” witnesses. Police are probing claims they faked the crash, which they claimed happened four months before the wedding. Direct Line said such cases only serve to push up premiums across the board. A spokesman said: “The judgment should serve as a stark warning to those who seek to commit insurance fraud.” King took full responsibility. King, 47, from Carnoustie, said he pulled out of a junction in his Nissan without being able to see properly in fog and crashed into the side of Allen’s Honda. Both agreed the fault lay with King and Allen, 35, launched a claim with Direct Line worth £25,544. But assessors became suspicious after examining the cars. The firm’s team then found the wedding snaps – which suggested the men were lying about being strangers – and refused to pay. Allen went to court but the sheriff ruled Direct Line did not owe the cash. The court also heard King and Allen attended the same gym and had each other’s mobile numbers. Sheriff Di Emidio said: “There was good reason in this case to think the alleged accident may have been ­fabricated.” Yesterday, Allen insisted: “I don’t know the gentleman at all. “I had been to his wedding because my partner had been invited – and I just tagged along, as you do. I admit it’s me in the picture but I really don’t know the guy. “There were 300 people at the wedding.” King could not be contacted for comment.
Insurer Direct Line turned to Facebook after a policy holder claimed £25,000 for a car accident that he said involved a complete stranger. But Direct Line refused the claim after finding a picture on social media of the two men together at one of the men's weddings. The company has since apologised and paid out the money. The court also heard that the two men used the same gym and had each other’s mobile numbers. Police are investigating if the crash was staged.