Man who falsely claimed to be the driver of a car that had been rear ended avoids jail term

By Fiona Ferguson

A man who falsely claimed to be the driver of a car that had been rear-ended during a personal injuries claim has avoided a jail term.

Artur Muizininks (43) told gardaí he had claimed to be the driver as he was to only person insured to drive the car.

He said he had actually been sitting in the rear as he had alcohol taken.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that a second man had also claimed to be the driver, prompting the investigation by the gardaí and the insurance company. Dashcam footage of the incident also revealed Muizininks was not the driver.

Garda Michael Owens told Judge Martin Nolan the insurance company was at a loss of €21,400 after their investigation.

The judge remarked, “You are underpaid garda, that’s all I can say.”

Muizininks of Main Street, Esker, Dublin pleaded guilty to making a statement in an affidavit that he knew to be false or misleading at Swords, on November 21, 2019.

Judge Nolan noted there had been an accident in which the accused man’s car was rear-ended and in due course he made a personal injuries claim against the offending vehicle indicating he had been the driver. He swore a verifying affidavit to this effect but footage revealed he was not the driver.

Judge Nolan said Muizininks then indicated he was in the rear of the car but noted this cannot be verified as the footage was too indistinct for a positive identification.

The judge said as soon as Muizininks’ lies were pointed out he withdrew the PI claim.

Judge Nolan said the question was if he was in the vehicle at all and said as there was no independent evidence one way or another the court had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He said if he had not been in the car at all his culpability would be much higher.

Judge Nolan said lying in these circumstance was serious. “All court procedures rely on people telling the truth,” he said.

The judge said he had concluded Muizininks was in the car and probably sustained an injury and was entitled to compensation but said he was not entitled to lie.

He noted Muizininks had dependent children and his record indicated he was not criminally orientated.

He said it would be unjust to imprison him and imposed two years which he suspended.