City tenant was benefit fraudster

A City of London housing tenant has been found guilty of benefit fraud after failing to declare to the City of London Corporation’s Housing Benefit section that he had over £100,000 in savings in undeclared bank accounts.

Mr Nelio Cipolla, a City of London tenant for the past 30 years, pleaded guilty to six charges of dishonestly making a false representation to obtain benefit between February 2005 and December 2009.

Mr Cipolla was given a 12 week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months and is subject to a 12 month residency order. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £3,320. The overpaid benefit has been recovered in full by the City of London Corporation from the defendant’s bank account.

Benefit fraud is not a victimless crime, as it diverts vital resources from other needs within the community.

Chris Keesing, Corporate Fraud Investigator for the City of London Corporation, said: “People who commit benefit fraud should realise that they will be caught and, when they are, that they will have to re-pay the money they fraudulently obtained. They are also likely to end up with a hefty fine, having their assets seized and - if prosecuted - a criminal record and potential prison sentence.”

“The City of London Corporation uses all available resources to detect fraud and has dedicated staff within its Internal Audit Section constantly working on tackling this deceit; we take these matters very seriously and will seek to take appropriate action against perpetrators of these offences."