Leading members of an organised crime gang who defrauded British insurers by making false motor claims have been jailed.

Ten fraudsters pocketed more than £320,000 ($665,000) in payouts for car crashes that were intentionally induced or never took place, the non-profit Insurance Fraud Bureau says.

Scam participants were paid to pose as claimants, according to the bureau. WhatsApp conversations showed they were given scripts for reporting incidents and attending medical examinations.

“The group would cause deliberate collisions by slamming on their vehicle’s brake so innocent drivers behind would collide into them,” the bureau said.

“Some incidents were also paper-based fabrications. The group then submitted fraudulent repair invoices to an accident repair credit business, [which] would ... seek recovery from the ‘at fault’ insurer.”

The group was caught following an investigation by City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, supported by the bureau.

“Crash-for-cash fraud puts motorists at risk and contributes to the rise in premiums for everyone who buys insurance,” Detective Sergeant Adam Maskell said.

“The level of planning involved in this scheme shows the greed of calculated insurance criminals and the measures they will take to gain financially.”

The gang’s two ringleaders submitted repair finance claims totalling £275,548 ($573,246) for 39 crashes from December 2015 to October 2016. The repair finance service made payments into a bank account opened by one of the criminals.

A total of £321,055 ($667,885) was paid into the bank account over the period and was withdrawn as cash or transferred to other accounts.

Ringleaders Raju Patel and Kamlesh Vaduku were sentenced last month at Birmingham Crown Court to jail terms of five years and four years and one month respectively.

Seven other members were either jailed for 19-24 weeks or must serve 12-month community orders. Another was given a 12-month conditional discharge.