Man bucked immigration rules and was benefit thief

A bogus asylum seeker who returned to the UK after being deported has been sentenced for a £16,000 benefit fraud.

Erzen Selmani, from Harlesden, has been given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12-months, and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid community work.

We believe this criminal is meekly going to do this?

A lengthy investigation revealed that Selmani had first come to the UK from Kosovo in 2003 and used a false name and date of birth to claim asylum. He then used his fraudulently obtained asylum papers to claim benefit in Ealing and Brent and while in the country married a woman with a British passport.

When the Home Office became aware of Selmani’s fraudulent asylum claim he was deported, but later returned to the UK legally on a spousal visa. The benefit fraud only came to light when eagle-eyed council officers received a claim from Selmani’s wife in 2007.

Benefit claimants have to give details of their spouse and when officers checked they realised several years before there had been other claims from a man at the same address with a similar name. Because Selmani was originally living in the UK illegally and used false papers he was not entitled to the benefit he claimed.

Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance and performance at Ealing Council, said: “This man cheated honest tax-payers out of £16,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled. If it wasn’t for our eagle-eyed benefits officers this fraud could have gone undetected. I hope this sends a strong message to people that even if their fraud was many years ago or they change their name, we will still track them down.”

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Lead Member for Resources at Brent Council, said: “I’d like to congratulate officers from both councils who worked together to bring about this case. Stealing from one council is bad enough but to steal from two is horrendous and shows a high level of greed. Brent Council will not stop in its pursuit of benefit thieves and anyone falsely claiming benefits should beware.”

Selmani pleaded guilty to six offences at a hearing at the court on 24 October. He will now have to repay all the money he fraudulently claimed.

Hm, right.