TEN members of a family who operated Britain's biggest fraud factory by faking car crashes and serious injuries were yesterday found guilty of conspiracy to steal £3million.

Mohammed Sharif, 57, of Snow Street, Blackburn, his children and relatives, were trapped by a police inquiry code name Operation Ocarina after six years of large scale fraud.

Now the judge who heard the trial has warned them that they will almost certainly all be sent to jail.

One of the detectives involved in the investigation, Detective Sergeant Graham Herrmann, said: "They became so greedy they were prepared to act out injury, illness and serious incapacity to get their hands on money. It has been a remarkable charade for them to maintain without cracking."

At Preston Crown Court a jury found the family guilty of conspiracy to defraud state benefits, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and insurance companies of £3 million.

They had claimed over £550,000 from insurers as a result of stage managed crashes they faked in Blackburn and Preston.

The jury returned their verdicts after a six week trial before Mrs Justice Heather Steel.

The jury had heard how £1.75 million had been claimed from the Criminal Injuries Board on behalf of Sharif's 28-year-old son Zulfiqar who the family said had been completely disabled as a result of a street attack in Blackburn 1985 - when in fact he was fit and well. The rest of the money was spread between illicit claims for housing benefit, disabled living allowance, incapacity benefit and income support.

On the one hand they appeared to be the unluckiest family in Britain - tainted with tragedy. On the other - in reality - they were perfectly normal, educated, running profitable businesses seven days a week and enjoying family trips out and family celebrations.

The family is headed by Mohammed Sharif, 57, of Snow Street, Blackburn. His sons are Zulfiqar Sharif, 28, of Ribbleton Lane, Preston; Arif Sharif, 27, of Snow Street, Blackburn; Abid Sharif, 21, of Eldon Street, Preston; daughters Razia Ahmed, 24, of Ribbleton Lane, Preston; Parveen Sharif, 30, of Nimes Street, Preston; Yasmin Sarwar, 24, of Eldon Street, Preston; sons in law Abdul Raschid 31, of Ribbleton Lane, Preston and Mohammed Ramzan, 36, of Whalley Range, Blackburn, and Sain Ahmed, 43, of Snow Street, Blackburn.

Mohammed Sharif has been remanded in custody and all the other defendants have been bailed until May to allow the preparation of pre-sentence reports. They were ordered to forfeit their passports and attend their local police stations each day.

Justice Steel told Mohammed Sharif: "You are remanded in custody. I have no hesitation in thinking you will seek to manipulate the sentencing procedure either by illness real or fake or attempting to leave the country."

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