Two brothers have been jailed after staging a road traffic collision in order to share the proceeds of a bogus insurance claim against the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland or (MIBI).

29-year old Les Markham, and 24-year-old Ronnie Markham, also known as Ronnie Dearman, pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court.

Presiding judge, Tom O’Donnell, said what the brothers did was “a crime against all motorists”.

The court heard Les Markham, with an address in Friary Court, Askeaton, purchased a Honda Civic online, gave his brother the keys, and told him to rear end a Volkswagen Passat he’d be traveling in, at a prearranged time and location.

Ronnie Dearman, with an address at Rose Court, Keyes Park, in Limerick, rear-ended the Passat in which his brother was traveling in and fled the scene on foot.

DNA found on an air bag in the Honda showed up on a Garda database as a match for Dearman and the brothers were arrested and admitted their roles in the ruse.

The brothers are well known in equestrian circles, the court heard. Markham had a promising career as a jockey cut short by illness and Dearman works for a point-to-point horse trainer.

Markham was jailed for a year and Dearman for nine months.

Reporting from David Raleigh in Limerick