Ghenoua Fadel lies about car accident

Fadel and Gmrawi

A single mother of four - who supports herself on Centrelink benefits - wanted a new car but couldn't afford it, so she staged a car accident that would give her the means to buy one.  And she almost got away with it.

Fadel placed a pillow over her pregnant stomach to protect her unborn child from the steering wheel, and then crashed her Toyota RAV4 into a stationary car parked in the middle of the road, put there by Jamal Gmrawi, a friend of her husband.  After placing the car in position, Gmrawi jumped out seconds before Fadel ploughed into it.

But what they didn't know was that CCTV footage showed that the whole thing was staged. Crash investigators tracked down the CCTV footage which shows Gmrawi parking the car in the middle of the street while a third man was seen driving nearby in another vehicle, keeping watch.

When police arrived, they found two badly damaged vehicles and a dazed Fadel who said she missed the stop sign and was having serious stomach and back pain.  

She later lodged a $24,440 claim with NRMA while Gmrawi claimed $45,500 from AAMI.

They both kept up their stories until they were shown the CCTV footage and realizing the game was up, Fadel then insisted on being dealt with under section 32 of the Mental Health Act.

Yesterday she appeared in Bankstown Court and received a 13 month jail term to be served as home detention, but that decision is still subject to an assessment from the Bankstown Community Corrections District Office.  She was released on bail and will return to court on 18 December.

Mr Gmrawi has also applied to be dealt with under Section 32 of the Mental Health Act and his case has been adjourned until 17 December.