Pothole damage faking solicitor is named and shamed by council

A personal injury solicitor who tried to hoodwink a council with fraudulent pothole damage claims has been named and shamed - and narrowly avoided jail. Alkyhaan Nourani, 37, submitted false claims of vehicle damage linked to potholes to Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2019 and 2021.

At Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court he was convicted by a jury in February of four frauds and last Thursday was handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence. Nourani - who has also been referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) - was also ordered to complete 300 hours unpaid work and a six-month 7pm-7am curfew.

Nourani, of Manchester, was also told by a judge to pay a staggering £30,000 in costs as well as the original £874 for the fraudulent invoice.

Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE said: "Let this be a clear warning - we will not tolerate fraud in this city."

The council explained how the shocking case was part of their ongoing work to tackle fraud and protect vital public funds.

It comes as the council has repaired more than 14,000 road defects in 12 months and is continuing its investment into improving the city's roads, backed by a record £22 million government funding.

The council said: "Nourani's submitted fraudulent pothole damage claims in November 2019 and April 2021.

"The claims were linked to vehicle damage but were later found to be false following a full investigation by the council's Corporate Fraud team.

"The fraud was first identified by an internal Insurance Officer who noticed anomalies with an invoice Nourani provided in April 2021 from a local main dealership. A similar pattern was found with an earlier invoice from November 2019.

"The judge highlighted Nourani's high level of culpability, stating that his role as a solicitor - regularly dealing with Personal Injury claims - was an aggravating factor."

The court heard from a probation officer, who also confirmed that Nourani "showed no remorse for his actions."

Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "Let this be a clear warning - we will not tolerate fraud in this city.

"We have robust checks in place to protect taxpayers' money and we will pursue fraudsters through the courts whenever necessary.

"Fraudulent clams take money away from essential public services like improving our road network.

"We've worked tirelessly to repair more than 14,000 defects in the last 12 months and with £22 million of government investment, we are committed to doing even more.

"I'd like to thank the individuals and businesses who have assisted this investigation and provided vital evidence in court. Fraud will not be ignored in Stoke-on-Trent - we will always take strong action to protect the public purse."

The RAC says the UK has over one million potholes across England and Wales-an average of six per mile-and another study claims it would take a staggering £17bn and a decade to fill them.

One of Britain's leading asphalt firms, who fix potholes - Holcim UK in Ashbourne - told us, "We've got to start funding our national highways better and ring-fence funding."

Holcim UK's technical director Phil Sabin said: "Instead of unveiling the next 12 months of funding for our roads, the government needs to be creating a five-year or 10-year strategy of funding, so local authorities know how they're going to spend their money.

"It would enable councils to do proper preventative maintenance up front, and stop us having to go back and do the emergency stuff.

"Local roads in particular are in a poor state - but they're not giving the funding to do it, so make short-term decisions, like pothole repair and patching, rather than long-term maintenance treatments."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We are determined to end Britain's pothole plague and we recognise the importance of long-term funding settlements for local highway authorities.

"We are already investing £1.6bn this year to help local authorities resurface local roads and fix the equivalent of up to seven million extra potholes.

"The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why we are asking councils to publish reports on their websites next month setting out exactly how they are spending the money.

"We will set out more detail on long-term funding after the Spending Review."