Taxi driver pocketed more than £30,000 after inventing fictitious dogs dying in bizarre accidents including chasing seagull off Blackpool pier

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:09, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 18:09, 18 August 2026 A conman taxi driver pocketed more than £30,000 with a string of bogus insurance claims after inventing dogs which had supposedly died in bizarre accidents. During an elaborate campaign of fraud, Romania-born Robert Cretu took out dozens of policies for pets which never actually existed. He then invented tragic stories of how they had supposedly met their deaths, including one named Leo which had apparently jumped into the sea from Blackpool Pier. Another – called Lola – was struck by a lorry during a trip to the Lake District, he maintained.  However other claims were rejected after suspicions were raised over the documents he had submitted. Finally Cretu was hauled to court where he admitted five counts of fraud by false representation. He had been motivated by financial difficulties due to his taxi repeatedly breaking down, his barrister told Liverpool Crown Court. The 40-year-old puffed out his cheeks in apparent relief after narrowly avoiding being jailed. Conman taxi driver Robert Cretu, 40, (pictured) puffs his cheeks out as he leaves court with a suspended prison sentence after raking in over £30,000 by making bogus insurance claims for multiple fictitious dogs. Cretu made a total of 30 false claims to five different insurers relating to fictitious dogs supposedly being killed, 'usually by being hit by a car', the court heard on Monday.  He submitted false documents and veterinary notes between December 2023 and August 2025, pocketing a total of £31,700.  Sarah Egan, prosecuting, described how Cretu took out the majority of the insurance policies in fake names, with payments also being made into bank accounts under the names of others.  Eight of these claims were made to Pinnacle Pets UK, including one which saw him paid £1,100 in March 2024 after alleging a dog called Lola had died after being hit by a lorry in the Lake District.  Cretu also falsely reported to several of the insurers that another pet, named Leo, had fallen into the sea from Blackpool Pier while chasing a seagull.  However, some did not result in payment after suspicions were raised over fraudulent activity.  One, in relation to an apparently deceased Doberman, was rejected due to 'excessive costs' and a lack of confirmation that a supposed subsequent cremation had actually taken place.  Cretu, who has no previous convictions, confessed to his crimes when interviewed by detectives and 'said the money had been spent on family finances'.  Sarah Griffin, defending, told the court he was an 'otherwise hard working man' and the 'sole bread-winner' for his family. 'He stopped working as a factory supervisor and had very low income from his delivery jobs,' she said.  'He bought a taxi and says that the taxi broke down multiple times. It sounds as though it has been a combination of factors.'  Cretu intends to repay the insurers from his earnings, Ms Griffin said.  Appearing in the dock wearing a khaki green long-sleeved shirt, Cretu, of Kirkby, Merseyside, was handed a 20-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.  Judge Gary Woodhall told him the cost to insurers of weeding out fraudulent claims 'increases fees for everybody else'. But sparing him immediate custody, he told Cretu: 'I am just about persuaded that your remorse, the admissions from the outset and the fact there has been no further offending may well allow for a conclusion that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community.'