A man who claims he was injured in a collision at a roundabout in Clonsilla has denied he is involved in a "massive fraud" and was not even in his car when it was hit by another vehicle whose driver allegedly left the scene.
David Nolan SC put to Victor Olaru at the High Court on Thursday he is an "inveterate liar" and a "fraudster" involved in "an illegal scam to get compensation".
What is going on here is “like a Netfix movie”, counsel said.
Mr Nolan said hospital records do not support Mr Olaru’s claim to have been injured in a collision between vehicles as they showed no evidence of bruising, glass cuts or injuries consistent with the seatbelt Mr Olaru claimed to have been wearing at the time.
Mr Olaru, a native of Moldova with an address in Clonsilla, denied telling lies and said he had suffered damage to his body, including back injuries and a swollen testicle, in the collision on April 9th, 2009 between his Cherokee jeep and a Pajero jeep.
He has sued Yagoslav Bogoysky, of Moyglass Road, Lucan, the alleged driver of the other vehicle, and the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland. Mr Bogoysky is unrepresented.
Mr Nolan, with Paul O’Neill BL, for the MIBI whose defence is being run by insurer Aviva, said Mr Olaru knew Mr Bogoysky before the accident but had not told gardaí that some days later when making a statement about his injuries and expressing frustration gardaí had not identified the driver.
Mr Olaru, who had said he was never asked if he knew the driver, said he sometimes confused him with another man.
He agreed he had later provided Mr Bogoysky’s insurance details and date of birth to Hibernian Insurance.
Cash for a van
He said he had first met Mr Bogoysky in Dublin in 2008 and had paid him €20,000 cash for a van.
He said Mr Bogoysky had arrived at his apartment with the van in 2008 and left it there for two days but then left in the van, saying he was going to register it, and had not returned.
Mr Nolan asked Mr Olaru how he got the insurance details of Mr Bogoysky, whom he had reported missing three weeks before the accident happened in 2009 and who had then “bizarrely” turned up in the accident.
When counsel suggested Mr Bogoysky himself gave Mr Olaru the insurance details, Mr Olaru said he did not remember how he got them.
Now representing himself, Mr Olaru agreed he has had three previous solicitors and had been advised to withdraw his case and had been told in a solicitor’s letter a barrister had advised it would be found to be fraudulent.
He reiterated his denial of involvement in any fraud.
He agreed he came here in 2000 as an asylum seeker and has worked for one year since. He said he does not smoke or drink and eats little.
He denied he has any involvement in crime. He had earlier said he got the €20,000 cash for the van from his mother in Moldova and another €12,000 from his sister in Italy to buy vehicles.
On Thursday, Mr Nolan put to him he was not in his car at the time of the accident, has “little or no problems with injury” and had faked the accident “from beginning to end”.
Mr Olaru said he was in his car, was injured and was not involved in a fraud.
A father of four, he had earlier in the case said he suffered damage to his body, his family life and sex life had been adversely affected as a result of the accident and he and his wife had separated. He agreed his wife had previously obtained protection orders against him.
The case continues on Friday before Mr Justice Bernard Barton.
