Uthayakanthan "Mano" Thirunavukkarasu was sentenced Thursday in an insurance scam that faked 13 car crashes. STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Toronto man who staged car collisions in an insurance fraud is sent to prison
Published 12 minutes ago
Uthayakanthan “Mano” Thirunavukkarasu was sentenced Thursday in an insurance scam that faked 13 car crashes.
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Betsy Powell
Courts Bureau

An insurance-scamming “choreographer” of 13 staged collisions on Toronto’s busy streets was sent to prison for 3½ years Thursday.

Uthayakanthan “Mano” Thirunavukkarasu, 38, was one of the leaders of a criminal organization that recruited and directed a deceitful cast of participants, including dozens of so-called drivers and passengers who faked injuries for fraudulent insurance claims costing insurers $1.5 million.

Of that, $1.2 million flowed through Thirunavukkarasu’s business account. He has been ordered to pay restitution of $375,000.

Tow truck drivers, body repair shops and rehab clinics were also drawn into the “extremely sophisticated” scam by Thirunavukkarasu, who had “tentacles in every part of the plan,” Ontario Superior Court Justice John McMahon said in passing sentence.

“These aren’t staged in abandoned parking lots,” McMahon said. “Disaster could have struck any time.”

It did, in fact, in May 2007 when a staged crash in Scarborough went awry, leaving a man with permanent brain injury.

Thirunavukkarasu pleaded guilty earlier this year to 17 charges relating to 13 crashes in 2007, including instructing a criminal organization, fraud and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The Crown had asked for four years. Defence lawyer Barry Fox had suggested two years, but said two to four years was in the appropriate range.

Thirunavukkarasu was 6 when he saw his parents and sister macheted to death in Sri Lanka, court heard. He was under psychiatric care in his homeland but has functioned well since coming to Canada in 1990 where he has worked steadily since graduating from Grade 12.

The married father of three sought psychiatric care last year and is on medication for depression. There is no evidence mental health was an issue in 2007.

“What I did was terribly wrong. I’m very sorry for it,” Thirunavukkarasu said through a Tamil interpreter as tearful family members listened in court.

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Article posted in Communities, Crime, Crime (type), Crime by ethnicity, Criminal refugees/illegal immigrants, Fraud/Forgery/Scam/Impersonation/Identity theft, Gang/Drugs/Organized crime, Immigration, Multiculturalism, Non-European crime, Refugees, South Asian crime, Sri Lankan community
  • RS

    This scoundrel should have been sentenced for atleast ten years. Why can’t the RCMP follow his relatives and his associates and publish the plces of their births, which could lead to the discovery of the gang.

    • Euonymus

      That would be “racist”, wouldn’t it?

  • RS

    We are not showing any discriminations against a specific race. These are some dangerous elements in the specific race. I suspect that some sharks are freely moving and mingling in the society with this loot after establishing some business and buying mansions.

  • RS

    Apparently, there is a rumour recently that a fraud had borrowed some books of tickets from Ayappan Temple and sold the tickets and got away with the money. If this is true, can’t the RCMP quietly inquire from the management of the temple and trace from such a fraud. It may lead to the discovery of many frauds.

    • Euonymus

      If a member of this community knows anything about this alleged fraud, this person should contact the RCMP.

      But is there one honourable person who has the morals to do so?

  • RS

    It is only a rumour. It is for the manangement of the Temple who should take action. What happens if the management turnn out and say nothing of that sort happened. Perhaps the management would have been threatened. No one knows what is really happening.

  • RS

    One thing is certain. These unscrupulous characters have links with the banned organization. If the RCMP can lend me a helping hand, it will not take time to encircle this ruthless group.

  • John

    Typical Canadian idiots. Almost all accident lawyers, starting from Diamond and Diamond who is advertising on every news paper of the city, is part of this ring. When you get in an accident and you want a lawyer they will send you to their own doctors so you can get prescriptions, massages and who knows what. They found this Sri Lankan guy and made it seem as if he is the mastermind behind everything. There are hundreds of Jewish Italian and Greek lawyers that are part of similar “businesses”.
    It makes me sick to read your comments. Why are you born Canadians so stupid and naive?? Canadian government, city and police are heavily corrupt and you still blame immigrants. Enough they put it on newspapers or Tv and you would believe it.
    Three example you morons
    1- garbage contracts
    2- Massage parlors owned by bikers and protected by police.
    3- Road maintenance contracts (every major highway has only two signs M construction and D construction. no names

    You idiots that post online will never know whats going on in reality because you are to brainwashed to believe your fu*ing country is corrupt as hell.

    • http://www.cireport.ca/ CIReport.ca

      Mr John,
      Our readers would benefit from your vast knowledge on the subjects you have mentioned.
      Feel free to share.

    • Euonymus

      @John,
      Your arrogant tone is not appreciated.

  • RS

    Time and again I would like to stress that this is a gang which operates in a most sophisticated manner. From my experience I can smell it and it is my view that the network of this gang would have employed several people (may be innocent or not innocent) such as cooks, drivers, agents and engaged them various activities such as credit card fraud, gorgery, human trafficking and even clerks, etc. I would appreciate if the RCMP read all these comments and trace these culprits. As a Canadian, I am prepared to discuss with them and lend a helping hand to the RCMP in the best interests of our Canada. It is always better to start finding information from this culprit, Uthayakanthan, and then proceed with his associates.

  • James

    Every last person involved in this scam should be removed from the country. No recourse to any appeals process. I worked in the healthcare system for years. The extent to which it’s exploited/ripped off by immigrants would make you weep. At a minimum, we are one giant walk-in clinic for the third world. At worst, we see scams like this that cost Canadians millions, one way or the other.

  • RS

    Yes, you are absolutely correct. But before deporting these unscrupulous characters, RCMP should collect all what they have acquired illegally. That is why I am ready to lend a helping hand to the RCMP.