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."
30 Oct 2011
Fine defaulters on benefits could lose £25pw
People who fail to pay their fine after they have been convicted for criminal behaviour could lose up to £25 a week in benefits, the government has said.
PM David Cameron said the measure was being introduced as a deterrent, adding that the current system was "too soft". At the moment, people who fail to pay a fine on time can have £5 a week deducted from their benefit payments. The increase will start in 2013 when the Universal Credit comes into force.
IDS said:
And 35% - 500 - were claiming an out-of-work benefit, compared with 12% of the general working population in England.
In all, 100 people were found to be claiming disability living allowance and 60 had been claiming incapacity benefit. Some may have been claiming both.
PM David Cameron said the measure was being introduced as a deterrent, adding that the current system was "too soft". At the moment, people who fail to pay a fine on time can have £5 a week deducted from their benefit payments. The increase will start in 2013 when the Universal Credit comes into force.
IDS said:
I do not want to be in the business of leaving people without any money to support themselves but, equally, individuals must know that they cannot commit crime that impacts on the livelihoods and the communities of hard-working people without consequences.Of the 1,350 people who appeared in court for their part in the unrest that hit the streets of England in August, 40% were claiming a state benefit of some kind, according to official figures.
And 35% - 500 - were claiming an out-of-work benefit, compared with 12% of the general working population in England.
In all, 100 people were found to be claiming disability living allowance and 60 had been claiming incapacity benefit. Some may have been claiming both.
29 Oct 2011
Humphrys' welfare state programme misses the mark
Fraser Nelson found Thursday's John Humphrys programme on the welfare state excellent. Sadly it wasn't. (This blog previewed some of its findings here.)
For instance, the programme's account of US benefits was fuzzy and partly contradicted itself (did claimants have to do work or look for work?).
The US is often seen in this country as harsh. So why not look at prosperous European countries where welfare provision might be expected to be more comparable to the UK?
The programme provided some telling interviews - for instance with the Ecuadorian/Spanish family put up in a roomy Islington flat - but was feeble in its unambitious analysis.
A missed opportunity.
For instance, the programme's account of US benefits was fuzzy and partly contradicted itself (did claimants have to do work or look for work?).
The US is often seen in this country as harsh. So why not look at prosperous European countries where welfare provision might be expected to be more comparable to the UK?
Most wage-replacement benefits in Spain — which top out at about 1,400 ($2,000) monthly for workers with two children — run out or significantly decline by 24 months, compared with three to five years in some countries, including Belgium and Denmark.That from the Wall Street Journal (my bold). Discussion of limited benefits in countries like Denmark or Belgium which aren't the Great Satan would have been interesting television. "The systems in Australia are closer to what Chris Grayling has in mind", Fraser tells us. So what happens there?
The programme provided some telling interviews - for instance with the Ecuadorian/Spanish family put up in a roomy Islington flat - but was feeble in its unambitious analysis.
A missed opportunity.
Skiving on Saturday
The Mail runs a feature on "the 'disabled' benefit fraudsters who deserve gold medals for brazen dishonesty".
You can decide for yourself whether the criminals got the sentences they deserved.
You can decide for yourself whether the criminals got the sentences they deserved.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
28 Oct 2011
Judge criticises sentencing guidelines for benefit fraud
A 47-year-old man with long-standing health problems has avoided going to jail after falsely claming more than £40,000 in benefits.
Kevin Hayward began to legally claim severe disablement allowance in 1996, as he was unable to work, and disability living allowance in 1998.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday that Hayward was suffering from asthma, bladder and kidney problems, found it difficult to bend over and could only walk very slowly with assistance.
But as his health improved, he went on to gain employment with three companies, including a five-year spell with a computer firm where he would work 37 hours per week, getting paid £10 per hour.
Hayward, from Fenton, was overpaid £41,398 after failing to notify authorities of a change in his circumstances.
Esther Harrison, prosecuting, said: "This was a legitimate claim at the start but as he took medication and his medical condition fluctuated, it would go from being lawful to unlawful at times.
"He worked for three companies, including a spell at ICT Networks between 2002 and 2007.
"He told them he was asthmatic but didn't disclose his disabilities and said in his CV he enjoyed playing golf.
"When questioned, he said he needed the money at home and his plan was to work for 12 to 18 months and see if he could come off the benefits completely.
"Clearly he didn't do this and he became dependent on the money."
Hayward pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify the authorities about his change of circumstances.
Robert Smith, defending, asked for a suspended prison sentence for his client.
He said: "The defendant has no previous convictions and is extremely remorseful.
"He has historically suffered from poor health and now has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"His idea was to start to work to see if he could sustain the employment and therefore would be able to come off the benefits altogether.
"In 1998 when he started to claim it was lawful and legitimate and he wants to make it clear that he never intended to defraud the taxpayer.
"He lives in a ground floor flat which is a lifeline for his health and he would lose that if he went into custody."
Hayward was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also given a 12-month supervision requirement and a four-month electronically tagged curfew, between the hours of 9pm and 5am.
Judge Paul Glenn said:
Kevin Hayward began to legally claim severe disablement allowance in 1996, as he was unable to work, and disability living allowance in 1998.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday that Hayward was suffering from asthma, bladder and kidney problems, found it difficult to bend over and could only walk very slowly with assistance.
But as his health improved, he went on to gain employment with three companies, including a five-year spell with a computer firm where he would work 37 hours per week, getting paid £10 per hour.
Hayward, from Fenton, was overpaid £41,398 after failing to notify authorities of a change in his circumstances.
Esther Harrison, prosecuting, said: "This was a legitimate claim at the start but as he took medication and his medical condition fluctuated, it would go from being lawful to unlawful at times.
"He worked for three companies, including a spell at ICT Networks between 2002 and 2007.
"He told them he was asthmatic but didn't disclose his disabilities and said in his CV he enjoyed playing golf.
"When questioned, he said he needed the money at home and his plan was to work for 12 to 18 months and see if he could come off the benefits completely.
"Clearly he didn't do this and he became dependent on the money."
Hayward pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify the authorities about his change of circumstances.
Robert Smith, defending, asked for a suspended prison sentence for his client.
He said: "The defendant has no previous convictions and is extremely remorseful.
"He has historically suffered from poor health and now has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"His idea was to start to work to see if he could sustain the employment and therefore would be able to come off the benefits altogether.
"In 1998 when he started to claim it was lawful and legitimate and he wants to make it clear that he never intended to defraud the taxpayer.
"He lives in a ground floor flat which is a lifeline for his health and he would lose that if he went into custody."
Hayward was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also given a 12-month supervision requirement and a four-month electronically tagged curfew, between the hours of 9pm and 5am.
Judge Paul Glenn said:
I don't particularly like benefit fraud cases because the victims are the honest taxpayers.
I think the sentencing guidelines are low but I am bound to follow them.
27 Oct 2011
Benefit claimant worked and saved money
A mother of two failed to disclose she had managed to save more than £30,000 out of the disability living allowance she received in respect of one of her sons.
As a result Donna Davison received more than £28,000 in income support and housing and council tax benefit payments to which she was not entitled.
Davison, from Chelmsley Wood, pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify a change in circumstances when making her claims.
She was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for 12 months, with 12 months supervision, and was ordered to take part in a ‘victim workbook’ course.
Prosecutor Kevin Grego said Davison began claiming child benefit in January 1995 on the basis that she was a lone parent with two sons and that she had no savings.
Her only income was child and disability benefit payments she received for her children and, since 1994, she had also been claiming housing and council tax benefits.
But in November 2009, after enquiries which revealed in excess of £30,000 in bank accounts, the Department for Work and Pensions asked to speak to her.
The accounts showed Davison was receiving regular weekly payments of £20 to £40 as well as various one-off deposits ranging from £24 to £1,800.
When she was interviewed Davison gave a statement in which she accepted having various bank accounts.
She said that in respect of one of her children she received disability living allowance - but had never touched that money, which she considered to be her son’s, and had paid it into an account where it had accrued.
Davison also accepted that she did some part-time cleaning work earning £24 a week, received commission payments from a Littlewoods catalogue and had occasionally received maintenance payments from her former partner.
Mr Grego said that between 2004 and November 2009 Davison had received £22,209 in income support and £6,481 in housing and council tax benefit to which she was not entitled.
Matthew Brook, defending, said: “She accepts she was dishonest about the sources of income from her cleaning job, the commission and the maintenance payments.
“But she does not accept she was dishonest in relation to the disability living allowance. It was a state payment, and she believed the state would know about it.”
He added that Davison has repaid £1,500 of the money, and some of the £30,000 has been spent on living expenses after her benefit payments were stopped during the investigation.
Judge Robert Orme said that although the offences crossed the ‘custody threshold,’ it was possible to suspend the sentence.
As a result Donna Davison received more than £28,000 in income support and housing and council tax benefit payments to which she was not entitled.
Davison, from Chelmsley Wood, pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify a change in circumstances when making her claims.
She was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for 12 months, with 12 months supervision, and was ordered to take part in a ‘victim workbook’ course.
Prosecutor Kevin Grego said Davison began claiming child benefit in January 1995 on the basis that she was a lone parent with two sons and that she had no savings.
Her only income was child and disability benefit payments she received for her children and, since 1994, she had also been claiming housing and council tax benefits.
But in November 2009, after enquiries which revealed in excess of £30,000 in bank accounts, the Department for Work and Pensions asked to speak to her.
The accounts showed Davison was receiving regular weekly payments of £20 to £40 as well as various one-off deposits ranging from £24 to £1,800.
When she was interviewed Davison gave a statement in which she accepted having various bank accounts.
She said that in respect of one of her children she received disability living allowance - but had never touched that money, which she considered to be her son’s, and had paid it into an account where it had accrued.
Davison also accepted that she did some part-time cleaning work earning £24 a week, received commission payments from a Littlewoods catalogue and had occasionally received maintenance payments from her former partner.
Mr Grego said that between 2004 and November 2009 Davison had received £22,209 in income support and £6,481 in housing and council tax benefit to which she was not entitled.
Matthew Brook, defending, said: “She accepts she was dishonest about the sources of income from her cleaning job, the commission and the maintenance payments.
“But she does not accept she was dishonest in relation to the disability living allowance. It was a state payment, and she believed the state would know about it.”
He added that Davison has repaid £1,500 of the money, and some of the £30,000 has been spent on living expenses after her benefit payments were stopped during the investigation.
Judge Robert Orme said that although the offences crossed the ‘custody threshold,’ it was possible to suspend the sentence.
Britons support welfare state but want tighter control
British people are overwhelmingly in favour of having a welfare state, but most want it tightened up, a poll for BBC News suggests.
More than 90% agreed there was a need for a benefits system that provides a safety net for everyone who needs it.
But more than three-quarters of people wanted stricter tests for incapacity benefit, and cuts to benefits for jobless people refusing work.
Most wanted those claiming housing benefit in expensive areas to be moved.
The 92% in favour of the welfare state is an unusually high figure according to Ben Page of polling organisation Ipsos Mori which carried out the survey.
"It shows that the British public's belief in the welfare state is absolutely rock solid. There are very few things that people would agree with more in this country."
Last year the government announced plans to cut £7bn in welfare spending, including changes to incapacity, housing benefit and tax credits.
These are being implemented in the Welfare Reform Bill currently going through Parliament, including some of the most radical reforms since the 1940s and the creation of the welfare state.
Among planned changes are an overall cap on a family's benefits of £26,000, limits to housing benefit, new tests for those claiming incapacity benefit and tighter rules for job seekers offered work.
More than 90% agreed there was a need for a benefits system that provides a safety net for everyone who needs it.
But more than three-quarters of people wanted stricter tests for incapacity benefit, and cuts to benefits for jobless people refusing work.
Most wanted those claiming housing benefit in expensive areas to be moved.
The 92% in favour of the welfare state is an unusually high figure according to Ben Page of polling organisation Ipsos Mori which carried out the survey.
"It shows that the British public's belief in the welfare state is absolutely rock solid. There are very few things that people would agree with more in this country."
- 92% want a benefits system providing a safety net for all (4% disagree).
- 63% doubt the UK benefits system works effectively (23% disagree).
- 72% want politicians to do more to cut the benefits bill (15% disagree).
- 84% want to see stricter testing for incapacity benefits (10% disagree)
- 78% want job seekers to lose benefits if they refuse work they can do (16% disagree).
- 57% want those on housing benefit in expensive areas to be moved (29% disagree).
Last year the government announced plans to cut £7bn in welfare spending, including changes to incapacity, housing benefit and tax credits.
These are being implemented in the Welfare Reform Bill currently going through Parliament, including some of the most radical reforms since the 1940s and the creation of the welfare state.
Among planned changes are an overall cap on a family's benefits of £26,000, limits to housing benefit, new tests for those claiming incapacity benefit and tighter rules for job seekers offered work.
Another simple benefit fraud long undetected
A council care manager who conned £130,000 in benefits out of her employer with her husband has been jailed.
Lindy Sumner, 41, and husband Maurice, 55, told Enfield Council they were homeless and claimed council tax and housing benefits for the property they were given in Lindal Crescent.
But Mrs Sumner was actually working full-time at a housing association in Willesden, as well as holding down a part-time job at the council as a out-of-hours care manager.
After council officers alerted the Metropolitan Police's Fraud Squad to the discrepancies in 2009, police found that the Sumners were also sub-letting a house provided to them by Haringey Council, and had claimed the same benefits there.
After finding that Lindy had also defrauded HM Revenue and Customs by receiving £32,000 in tax credits, officers arrested the couple in May this year.
Detective Inspector Tim Dowdeswell, of the Met’s Fraud Squad, said:
Her husband Maurice was given a six-month prison sentence for conspiracy to defraud Enfield Council.
Lindy Sumner, 41, and husband Maurice, 55, told Enfield Council they were homeless and claimed council tax and housing benefits for the property they were given in Lindal Crescent.
But Mrs Sumner was actually working full-time at a housing association in Willesden, as well as holding down a part-time job at the council as a out-of-hours care manager.
After council officers alerted the Metropolitan Police's Fraud Squad to the discrepancies in 2009, police found that the Sumners were also sub-letting a house provided to them by Haringey Council, and had claimed the same benefits there.
After finding that Lindy had also defrauded HM Revenue and Customs by receiving £32,000 in tax credits, officers arrested the couple in May this year.
Detective Inspector Tim Dowdeswell, of the Met’s Fraud Squad, said:
This investigation highlights the effectiveness of partnership working in cases of this nature.Lindy Sumner was jailed for two and half years after pleading guilty to three fraud charges and one of dishonest representation.
Lindy and Maurice Sumner abused the benefits system to the tune of £150,000 and believed they had got away with their deception.
The commitment and determination shown by both the Enfield Investigation Team and the Fraud Squad should send out a clear message to benefit cheats who engage in criminality that they will be caught.
Her husband Maurice was given a six-month prison sentence for conspiracy to defraud Enfield Council.
25 Oct 2011
Easy, really
A former Croydon Council employee has been jailed for a year after falsely claiming more than £68,000 in benefits.
Ganiat Olateju lied to officials that she was a single parent with dependent children to obtain more than £40,000 in housing and council tax benefits and £28,000 in income support over a 10-year period.
She used her maiden name of Jaiyeola Alli on the forms, while at the same time securing a job with Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT) using her married name.
Croydon Crown Court heard Olaeju, from Merstham, used one National Insurance number to claim benefits and the other for work.
She was dismissed from CALAT after it was discovered that the day after being signed off on long-term sick leave she began working for West Thames College in Isleworth through an agency.
The fraud came to light when she applied for a permanent position at the college and staff contacted Croydon Council for a reference in both her maiden and married names.
Olateju, whose husband also worked full time, pleaded guilty at a court hearing earlier this month and was told to expect a custodial sentence because of the 'serious, criminal, cynical and sophisticated nature' of the fraud.
On Wednesday last week (October 19), Judge Ruth Downing said the 43-year-old was 'deeply dishonest', and said a clear message must be sent that her behaviour was 'wholly unacceptable'.
Councillor Dudley Mead, Croydon Council's cabinet member for finance and resources, said:
The investigation was undertaken jointly by Croydon Council's corporate anti-fraud team and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The council now intends to reclaim the money.
Ganiat Olateju lied to officials that she was a single parent with dependent children to obtain more than £40,000 in housing and council tax benefits and £28,000 in income support over a 10-year period.
She used her maiden name of Jaiyeola Alli on the forms, while at the same time securing a job with Croydon Adult Learning and Training (CALAT) using her married name.
Croydon Crown Court heard Olaeju, from Merstham, used one National Insurance number to claim benefits and the other for work.
She was dismissed from CALAT after it was discovered that the day after being signed off on long-term sick leave she began working for West Thames College in Isleworth through an agency.
The fraud came to light when she applied for a permanent position at the college and staff contacted Croydon Council for a reference in both her maiden and married names.
Olateju, whose husband also worked full time, pleaded guilty at a court hearing earlier this month and was told to expect a custodial sentence because of the 'serious, criminal, cynical and sophisticated nature' of the fraud.
On Wednesday last week (October 19), Judge Ruth Downing said the 43-year-old was 'deeply dishonest', and said a clear message must be sent that her behaviour was 'wholly unacceptable'.
Councillor Dudley Mead, Croydon Council's cabinet member for finance and resources, said:
I am pleased the courts have recognised the seriousness of the crime and sentenced this woman accordingly.It was no thanks to you that she was caught, though. She did get away with it for ten years. Basically, her simple fraud worked.
She has shown no remorse for her fraudulent actions and had expected to get away it.
Hopefully this case will send a message out that not only will the council always prosecute, but that it can lead to a spell behind bars for some.
The investigation was undertaken jointly by Croydon Council's corporate anti-fraud team and the Department for Work and Pensions.
The council now intends to reclaim the money.
Welfare benefits for criminals
One in eight of the rioters who have appeared before the courts was on incapacity benefits and unfit for work.
A total of 100 of the suspects were claiming disability living allowance and there were a further 60 incapacity benefit claimants.
Too sick to work but not too sick to riot?
So far 1,344 people have appeared before the courts over the looting and widespread disorder which swept across Britain in early August.
The official figures revealed 530 people - or 40% - were on some form of benefit compared with just 15% of the population.
However, for all serious crimes committed last year, 48% of defendants were on benefits.
There were calls for those involved in rioting and looting to have their benefits taken away from them and an e-petition attracted more than 240,000 signatures.
Amid calls for rioters to lose their entitlements, Iain Duncan Smith said at the time:
Of the 1,344 people to go before the courts, the Ministry of Justice could only match 1,046 of them to people on Department of Work and Pensions databases. This raises the possibility that more of the defendants were also claiming benefits.
A total of 100 of the suspects were claiming disability living allowance and there were a further 60 incapacity benefit claimants.
Too sick to work but not too sick to riot?
So far 1,344 people have appeared before the courts over the looting and widespread disorder which swept across Britain in early August.
The official figures revealed 530 people - or 40% - were on some form of benefit compared with just 15% of the population.
However, for all serious crimes committed last year, 48% of defendants were on benefits.
There were calls for those involved in rioting and looting to have their benefits taken away from them and an e-petition attracted more than 240,000 signatures.
Amid calls for rioters to lose their entitlements, Iain Duncan Smith said at the time:
We already accept that if people who are receiving benefits do not, are not prepared to seek work, take the work that's available to them, we take the benefit off them. And if you go to prison we take your benefit off you.Well, if you're in prison your keep is found, so why would prisoners get benefits?
So what we're looking at is, for criminal charges, should we take the benefit? And the answer is yes.Hm. Why should someone lose benefits just because they're charged? That can't be right. But equally, why should law abiding taxpayers be forced to subsidise convicted criminals?
Of the 1,344 people to go before the courts, the Ministry of Justice could only match 1,046 of them to people on Department of Work and Pensions databases. This raises the possibility that more of the defendants were also claiming benefits.
24 Oct 2011
Proceeds of crime hearing for benefit thief
A fraudster who illegally claimed nearly £50,000 in state benefits could lose her home after being ordered to pay the money back.
Dorothy Hodkinson from Longridge failed to report a change in circumstances and received nearly £50,000 in income support, housing and council tax benefit.
The 42-year-old of Queen's Drive appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing after being overpaid £49,281.
Judge Russell ordered Hodkinson to pay back £41,635 within six months or face a prison sentence and the seizure of her home.
The defendant has already paid back £7,646.
The court heard that Hodkinson had assets worth more than £131,500 and that she would have to sell or remortgage her home in order to settle the debt to the state.
Hodkinson's home had been bequeathed to her in a relative's will, the court heard.
A Ribble Valley Borough Council spokesman said: "Committing benefit fraud can lead to prosecution, fines, or imprisonment, or both, and in all cases claimants will have to repay any money they were not entitled to.
"If claimants deliberately fail to report a change in their circumstances, or are dishonest about information supporting their benefit claim, they are treated as having committed benefit fraud.
"Ribble Valley Borough Council takes benefit fraud seriously and will not hesitate to take action."
In June this year Hodkinson received a six-month suspended sentence and 120 hours community work.
Dorothy Hodkinson from Longridge failed to report a change in circumstances and received nearly £50,000 in income support, housing and council tax benefit.
The 42-year-old of Queen's Drive appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing after being overpaid £49,281.
Judge Russell ordered Hodkinson to pay back £41,635 within six months or face a prison sentence and the seizure of her home.
The defendant has already paid back £7,646.
The court heard that Hodkinson had assets worth more than £131,500 and that she would have to sell or remortgage her home in order to settle the debt to the state.
Hodkinson's home had been bequeathed to her in a relative's will, the court heard.
A Ribble Valley Borough Council spokesman said: "Committing benefit fraud can lead to prosecution, fines, or imprisonment, or both, and in all cases claimants will have to repay any money they were not entitled to.
"If claimants deliberately fail to report a change in their circumstances, or are dishonest about information supporting their benefit claim, they are treated as having committed benefit fraud.
"Ribble Valley Borough Council takes benefit fraud seriously and will not hesitate to take action."
In June this year Hodkinson received a six-month suspended sentence and 120 hours community work.
21 Oct 2011
Light sentences for substantial benefit thefts
Two benefits fraudsters who between them conned authorities out of almost £50,000 have been successfully prosecuted.
An anonymous tip off from a member of the public alleged that Devinder Singh Matharu, from Hounslow, was working whilst claiming benefits.
An investigation by the council and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found that Mr Matharu had an undeclared bank account with savings in excess of £130,000. The permitted limits for claiming income support and housing and council tax benefits are £16,000.
Mr Matharu was convicted at Feltham Magistrates Court of defrauding both the DWP and the council of £33,669. As well as having to repay the money, he was given a 12 month suspended sentence, and will be electronically tagged with a three month curfew between 8pm to 7am.
Which doesn't seem that much of an inconvenience for that large sum of money.
In a separate case, Mrs Fowzia Osman, from Feltham, received a two year conditional discharge after claiming she lived alone with her five children to receive benefits she was not entitled to.
A joint investigation by the council and the DWP found that she was living with her husband, who worked full time for eight months.
She pleaded not guilty to the fraud, but after hearing the evidence, magistrates at Feltham Magistrates Court found her guilty of defrauding of £13,521 in benefits paid by the council and the DWP.
Mrs Osman was sentenced to two years conditional discharge and must repay the money she had been overpaid, as well as costs of £250.00.
Cllr Ed Mayne, cabinet member for community safety and regulatory services at the council, said: "These people committed these planned and deliberate acts to line their own pockets at the taxpayer’s expense.
"The fact we were alerted to Mr Matharu’s crime by a member of the public shows that people are sick of seeing people take advantage of a system meant to help those who need it the most.
"These cases should be a warning to others that we are determined to crack down on those who try to abuse the benefits system - we will find you, we will catch you and you will have to pay for your crime."
An anonymous tip off from a member of the public alleged that Devinder Singh Matharu, from Hounslow, was working whilst claiming benefits.
An investigation by the council and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found that Mr Matharu had an undeclared bank account with savings in excess of £130,000. The permitted limits for claiming income support and housing and council tax benefits are £16,000.
Mr Matharu was convicted at Feltham Magistrates Court of defrauding both the DWP and the council of £33,669. As well as having to repay the money, he was given a 12 month suspended sentence, and will be electronically tagged with a three month curfew between 8pm to 7am.
Which doesn't seem that much of an inconvenience for that large sum of money.
In a separate case, Mrs Fowzia Osman, from Feltham, received a two year conditional discharge after claiming she lived alone with her five children to receive benefits she was not entitled to.
A joint investigation by the council and the DWP found that she was living with her husband, who worked full time for eight months.
She pleaded not guilty to the fraud, but after hearing the evidence, magistrates at Feltham Magistrates Court found her guilty of defrauding of £13,521 in benefits paid by the council and the DWP.
Mrs Osman was sentenced to two years conditional discharge and must repay the money she had been overpaid, as well as costs of £250.00.
Cllr Ed Mayne, cabinet member for community safety and regulatory services at the council, said: "These people committed these planned and deliberate acts to line their own pockets at the taxpayer’s expense.
"The fact we were alerted to Mr Matharu’s crime by a member of the public shows that people are sick of seeing people take advantage of a system meant to help those who need it the most.
"These cases should be a warning to others that we are determined to crack down on those who try to abuse the benefits system - we will find you, we will catch you and you will have to pay for your crime."
- Nice rhetoric, shame about the facts, Hounslow Council. You don't find them all - Mr Matharu was handed to you on a plate. As to the sentences, a bit of a curfew isn't a lot of punishment for stealing £33,000, while a conditional discharge for making off with £13,000 is just a joke. Is that having to "pay for your crime"? I'm afraid Hounslow Council are gilding the lily.
Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
20 Oct 2011
Light sentences for benefit thieves in Cornwall
Three benefit cheats have pleaded guilty after admitting fraudulently receiving thousands of pounds of taxpayer cash.
Lauren Kellow, aged 19, of Mawla, Redruth was given an 18 month conditional discharge at Truro Magistrates Court on Thursday, October 13 for her part in a housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud totalling £3,908. Kellow pleaded guilty to failing to promptly notify a change in circumstances by failing to disclose her true income details, Kellow was also ordered to pay £50 towards the Council’s investigation and legal costs.
Also on October 13, Steven Whitehead, from Hayle was charged with eight counts of failing to promptly notify changes in circumstances by failing to disclose his true household income details. Whitehead pleaded guilty to all eight counts and was given a three year conditional discharge with costs awarded to the value of £377.48 towards the council’s investigation and legal costs.
A third case on the same day saw a Penzance woman fined £330 for housing benefit and council tax fraud totalling £6,003. Yvonne Wood pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to promptly notify changes in circumstances by failing to disclose her true household income details and was fined £330 and ordered to pay costs of £264.19.
Lauren Kellow, aged 19, of Mawla, Redruth was given an 18 month conditional discharge at Truro Magistrates Court on Thursday, October 13 for her part in a housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud totalling £3,908. Kellow pleaded guilty to failing to promptly notify a change in circumstances by failing to disclose her true income details, Kellow was also ordered to pay £50 towards the Council’s investigation and legal costs.
Also on October 13, Steven Whitehead, from Hayle was charged with eight counts of failing to promptly notify changes in circumstances by failing to disclose his true household income details. Whitehead pleaded guilty to all eight counts and was given a three year conditional discharge with costs awarded to the value of £377.48 towards the council’s investigation and legal costs.
A third case on the same day saw a Penzance woman fined £330 for housing benefit and council tax fraud totalling £6,003. Yvonne Wood pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to promptly notify changes in circumstances by failing to disclose her true household income details and was fined £330 and ordered to pay costs of £264.19.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
19 Oct 2011
Wheelchair-bound benefit thief jailed
Grace Smith (63) has admitted obtaining a total of £37,445 from the Department of Work and Pensions and Dundee City Council over six years.
She appeared in court on Monday in a wheelchair and, given her condition, solicitor John Boyle appealed to Sheriff Hughes not to jail her. Mr Boyle suggested the sheriff could consider a restriction of liberty order.
Sheriff Hughes told Mr Boyle, however, that he had no alternative but to impose a 12-month custodial sentence, adding that he had discounted the sentence from one of 18 months due to her early guilty plea.
The distraught pensioner was wheeled away by Reliance officers to go to prison.
Smith had admitted that between June 27 2003 and January 21 2008, at her flat in Pentland Crescent, the Department of Work and Pensions, Lindsay House and elsewhere, she had knowingly made false statements to the DWP that she was a single person living alone, while living with her partner David Maxwell, and did not declare that, obtaining income support of £19,181.18.
She also admitted that between January 8 2003 and August 10 2009, at Dundee City Council revenues division she obtained housing benefit of £13,557.85, and council tax benefit of £3,464.22.
She admitted obtaining, between December 10 2007 and May 17, 2009, pension credit totalling £1,241.82.
At a previous hearing, the court heard she first applied for income support on October 14, 1997. On the application form, she ticked her marital status as single and while it was believed she received income support from then, the documentation relating to payments made for that period is no longer available.
During an investigation, Mr Maxwell's employer said he was aware that Mr Maxwell had been living with his partner, Smith, during the time of his employment, since 1984.
Employment records also showed that Mr Maxwell had given the accused's address as his address throughout his period of employment, had provided the accused's details to his employer as next of kin and described the accused as his common-law wife.
The accused was sent yearly letters from the Department of Work and Pensions asking her to report any change of circumstances, but Smith continued to complete renewal forms with her marital status listed as single and did not declare any other income.
On July 7 2009 a verifying officer with Dundee City Council visited her, and she said she was the only person living at the flat, but also said her friend Mr Maxwell visited on a regular basis to help her. She said he did not live there.
However two months later she told the council Mr Maxwell had moved in on August 30 that year.
She appeared in court on Monday in a wheelchair and, given her condition, solicitor John Boyle appealed to Sheriff Hughes not to jail her. Mr Boyle suggested the sheriff could consider a restriction of liberty order.
Sheriff Hughes told Mr Boyle, however, that he had no alternative but to impose a 12-month custodial sentence, adding that he had discounted the sentence from one of 18 months due to her early guilty plea.
The distraught pensioner was wheeled away by Reliance officers to go to prison.
Smith had admitted that between June 27 2003 and January 21 2008, at her flat in Pentland Crescent, the Department of Work and Pensions, Lindsay House and elsewhere, she had knowingly made false statements to the DWP that she was a single person living alone, while living with her partner David Maxwell, and did not declare that, obtaining income support of £19,181.18.
She also admitted that between January 8 2003 and August 10 2009, at Dundee City Council revenues division she obtained housing benefit of £13,557.85, and council tax benefit of £3,464.22.
She admitted obtaining, between December 10 2007 and May 17, 2009, pension credit totalling £1,241.82.
At a previous hearing, the court heard she first applied for income support on October 14, 1997. On the application form, she ticked her marital status as single and while it was believed she received income support from then, the documentation relating to payments made for that period is no longer available.
During an investigation, Mr Maxwell's employer said he was aware that Mr Maxwell had been living with his partner, Smith, during the time of his employment, since 1984.
Employment records also showed that Mr Maxwell had given the accused's address as his address throughout his period of employment, had provided the accused's details to his employer as next of kin and described the accused as his common-law wife.
The accused was sent yearly letters from the Department of Work and Pensions asking her to report any change of circumstances, but Smith continued to complete renewal forms with her marital status listed as single and did not declare any other income.
On July 7 2009 a verifying officer with Dundee City Council visited her, and she said she was the only person living at the flat, but also said her friend Mr Maxwell visited on a regular basis to help her. She said he did not live there.
However two months later she told the council Mr Maxwell had moved in on August 30 that year.
18 Oct 2011
Pitiful sentence for mature student
A student who falsely claimed benefits while receiving loans has been prosecuted and told to pay the money back.
Gholamreza Abbaszadehmosaiiebi, 45, from Uxbridge, collected more than £6000 in housing and council tax benefit over nearly two years from September 2007 whilst receiving a student loan, but the scam was foiled after the National Fraud Initiative cross-checked his data.
In a joint investigation carried out by Hillingdon Council’s Corporate Fraud team and the Department for Work and Pensions, Mr Abbaszadehmosaiiebi was interviewed under caution and owned up to not declaring his student money on his benefit form.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of failing to notify Department Work Pensions of a change of circumstances, and was fined £250 in total, and told to pay £50 costs.
Gholamreza Abbaszadehmosaiiebi, 45, from Uxbridge, collected more than £6000 in housing and council tax benefit over nearly two years from September 2007 whilst receiving a student loan, but the scam was foiled after the National Fraud Initiative cross-checked his data.
In a joint investigation carried out by Hillingdon Council’s Corporate Fraud team and the Department for Work and Pensions, Mr Abbaszadehmosaiiebi was interviewed under caution and owned up to not declaring his student money on his benefit form.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of failing to notify Department Work Pensions of a change of circumstances, and was fined £250 in total, and told to pay £50 costs.
17 Oct 2011
DWP lies to the public
A benefit cheat who claimed he could not walk was secretly filmed racing to victory in a British motocross competition.
Jake Preston, 20, claimed he had a condition called syringomyelia, causing him severe pain in his neck and spine, Bolton magistrates heard.
He fraudulently claimed £15,128 from September 2007 to March 2010.
Preston, of Bolton, was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay costs of £150 and must now pay back the benefit payments he fraudulently claimed.
He admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change in circumstance which would affect his claim.
Preston claimed the higher rate of disability living allowance (DLA) for mobility and care needs.
William Birtwell, prosecuting, told the court the higher rate was for people who needed "significant care" during the day and night.
Preston said he could not walk a yard without severe pain and stopping to rest. He said he would fall and stumble and had problems going up and down stairs.
But Preston, who had been racing bikes from the age of 10, was filmed winning a race and coming third in another at the British Masters Motocross Championships in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
He had "quite a talent" at handling the off-road bikes across rough terrain, the court heard.
He also attended Bolton College, travelling there in a mobility car paid for by taxpayers.
Joe O'Conner, defending, told the court there was "no dishonesty" from Preston as he "relied on the advice of other people" to fill in the form and simply signed it off.
So it's part of the defence that there was no responsibility from Preston either.
Mr O'Conner said although Preston accepted his claim form did not "accurately reflect his condition" he said his illness was not an invented "flight of fancy" and he had been treated by specialists for his recognised medical complaint since childhood.
Competing in motocross was one way of battling through the pain, he said. He often had to pull out of events and would suffer afterwards, he added.
Carlton Janson, chairman of the bench, said: "In the future, Mr Preston, when you fill in any forms it will stand you in good stead if you read them first and then you can understand them as well."
Speaking after sentencing, north west regional fraud manager for the DWP, Vernon Sanderson, said:
No plea was entered and she is due to return to court next week.
h/t Dave
Jake Preston, 20, claimed he had a condition called syringomyelia, causing him severe pain in his neck and spine, Bolton magistrates heard.
He fraudulently claimed £15,128 from September 2007 to March 2010.
Preston, of Bolton, was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay costs of £150 and must now pay back the benefit payments he fraudulently claimed.
He admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change in circumstance which would affect his claim.
Preston claimed the higher rate of disability living allowance (DLA) for mobility and care needs.
William Birtwell, prosecuting, told the court the higher rate was for people who needed "significant care" during the day and night.
Preston said he could not walk a yard without severe pain and stopping to rest. He said he would fall and stumble and had problems going up and down stairs.
But Preston, who had been racing bikes from the age of 10, was filmed winning a race and coming third in another at the British Masters Motocross Championships in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
He had "quite a talent" at handling the off-road bikes across rough terrain, the court heard.
He also attended Bolton College, travelling there in a mobility car paid for by taxpayers.
Joe O'Conner, defending, told the court there was "no dishonesty" from Preston as he "relied on the advice of other people" to fill in the form and simply signed it off.
So it's part of the defence that there was no responsibility from Preston either.
Mr O'Conner said although Preston accepted his claim form did not "accurately reflect his condition" he said his illness was not an invented "flight of fancy" and he had been treated by specialists for his recognised medical complaint since childhood.
Competing in motocross was one way of battling through the pain, he said. He often had to pull out of events and would suffer afterwards, he added.
Carlton Janson, chairman of the bench, said: "In the future, Mr Preston, when you fill in any forms it will stand you in good stead if you read them first and then you can understand them as well."
Speaking after sentencing, north west regional fraud manager for the DWP, Vernon Sanderson, said:
It could take years but we always recover the money in every case, no matter how long it takes".This looks like a straightforward lie, given that some people are given until they're over 100 to repay at a measly weekly rate.
It will be recovered for the taxpayer.While Preston was at the magistrates court, his mother Julie Ann Preston, 43, was at Bolton Crown Court charged with failing to notify a change in circumstances, relating to her claim for DLA for her son from the age of 11 to 16.
This is a blatant fraud. He represented himself as being unable to walk.
Clearly the evidence available showed a young man who was able to take part in strenuous sport. It was totally at odds with the information given to the department.
We have had many cases in the recent past when people have been caught out playing golf. Motocross would tax even the most able-bodied person.
No plea was entered and she is due to return to court next week.
h/t Dave
14 Oct 2011
She was never going to prison
A benefits cheat with two children claimed almost £24,000 she wasn't entitled to by not letting on her estranged husband had moved back in, a court heard.
Hayley Hawke, 27, was getting income support, council tax and housing benefits, because she was supposedly a single parent, in the three-and-a-half year fraud.
She was caught out after the Department for Work and Pensions carried out surveillance and saw David Hawke leaving her home early each morning, Burnley Magistrates were told.
Hawke had been warned she was facing jail, but escaped with a suspended term after admitting three counts of failing to notify a change in circumstances, in that she was living with David Hawke, to the DWP and Pendle Borough Council, between November 2007 and March 2011.
She had no previous convictions.
The defendant was given eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, with supervision, 150 hours unpaid work and an eight-week curfew, between 9pm and 7am, seven days a week.
She was never going to be sent to prison.
She must pay £75 costs.
The bench chairman told her the offences were extremely serious and added: “You could so easily have ended up in custody."
Richard Taylor, prosecuting for the DWP, told the court Hawke was overpaid £23,939.
She claimed income support from June 2007 as a single parent with two dependent children.
Surveillance was carried out between December last year and February and her husband was seen leaving the address and being picked up in a van.
Mr Taylor said officers from the police and the department searched the defendant's home in March and found bank statements showing regular payment of wages into her account and utility bills addressed to Mr Hawke.
Hawke was overpaid £12,938 in housing benefit, £2,616 in council tax benefit and £8,384 in income support.
The prosecutor said when the defendant was interviewed under caution in March and told about the surveillance, she admitted the parties reconciled in about November 2007 and she had not told the authorities.
John Nuttall, for Hawke, said she made the claim when she and her husband separated as all the money had gone with him and she had nothing.
Hayley Hawke, 27, was getting income support, council tax and housing benefits, because she was supposedly a single parent, in the three-and-a-half year fraud.
She was caught out after the Department for Work and Pensions carried out surveillance and saw David Hawke leaving her home early each morning, Burnley Magistrates were told.
Hawke had been warned she was facing jail, but escaped with a suspended term after admitting three counts of failing to notify a change in circumstances, in that she was living with David Hawke, to the DWP and Pendle Borough Council, between November 2007 and March 2011.
She had no previous convictions.
The defendant was given eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, with supervision, 150 hours unpaid work and an eight-week curfew, between 9pm and 7am, seven days a week.
She was never going to be sent to prison.
She must pay £75 costs.
The bench chairman told her the offences were extremely serious and added: “You could so easily have ended up in custody."
Richard Taylor, prosecuting for the DWP, told the court Hawke was overpaid £23,939.
She claimed income support from June 2007 as a single parent with two dependent children.
Surveillance was carried out between December last year and February and her husband was seen leaving the address and being picked up in a van.
Mr Taylor said officers from the police and the department searched the defendant's home in March and found bank statements showing regular payment of wages into her account and utility bills addressed to Mr Hawke.
Hawke was overpaid £12,938 in housing benefit, £2,616 in council tax benefit and £8,384 in income support.
The prosecutor said when the defendant was interviewed under caution in March and told about the surveillance, she admitted the parties reconciled in about November 2007 and she had not told the authorities.
John Nuttall, for Hawke, said she made the claim when she and her husband separated as all the money had gone with him and she had nothing.
Gateshead council smug about catching benefit thief
A Gateshead man who illegally claimed almost £40,000 in benefits has been handed a 3-month custodial sentence by Newcastle Crown Court.
Dennis Garrity, 60, appeared before Newcastle Crown Court charged with dishonestly failing to notify a change in circumstances.
An anonymous tip off led to a joint investigation by Gateshead Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The investigation uncovered that Mr Garrity’s wife had begun living with him in 2006 and had been working full time, a fact that he had deliberately failed to tell benefit officers.
The investigation revealed that Mr Garrity had illegally claimed a total of £17,331.11in housing benefits, £3,292.66 in council tax benefit and £18,905.97 in income support.
After the investigation Mr Garrity eventually admitted that he had been living with his wife and after a period of withholding his plea, pleaded guilty at Magistrates. The case was then referred to Crown Court for sentencing.
Derek Coates, director of finance at Gateshead Council, said:
How much better it would have been to thank the public for stopping the theft of public money, and explain how we were going to get out money back.
Mr Coates emerges as unimaginative and smug.
Dennis Garrity, 60, appeared before Newcastle Crown Court charged with dishonestly failing to notify a change in circumstances.
An anonymous tip off led to a joint investigation by Gateshead Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The investigation uncovered that Mr Garrity’s wife had begun living with him in 2006 and had been working full time, a fact that he had deliberately failed to tell benefit officers.
The investigation revealed that Mr Garrity had illegally claimed a total of £17,331.11in housing benefits, £3,292.66 in council tax benefit and £18,905.97 in income support.
After the investigation Mr Garrity eventually admitted that he had been living with his wife and after a period of withholding his plea, pleaded guilty at Magistrates. The case was then referred to Crown Court for sentencing.
Derek Coates, director of finance at Gateshead Council, said:
This is yet another example of someone who has been caught deliberately committing fraud by claiming benefits that they are not entitled to.Mr Coates' standard boilerplate would be fine, except that Mr Garrity's wife had been living with him since 2006, and he seems only to have been caught as a result of an anonymous tip-off, after fooling both the council and the DWP for years.
Gateshead Council and our partner agencies use a wide range of investigation techniques to find these people and once identified, we take all the necessary steps to ensure that action is taken against them through the courts.
How much better it would have been to thank the public for stopping the theft of public money, and explain how we were going to get out money back.
Mr Coates emerges as unimaginative and smug.
13 Oct 2011
Jail for £100k benefit thief
A Ramsgate mum-of-five was jailed for 14 months after cheating taxpayers out of more than £100,000.
Christine Godwin, 60, claimed that for 14 years she was bringing up her family as a lone parent.
But Canterbury Crown Court heard that she was married to Robert Godwin and they lived together at Fairfield Road.
Her lies were exposed when fraud investigators spotted that she was still wearing her wedding ring.
Prosecutor David Jugnarain told how Godwin had also gone to Paris with her family around her 35th wedding anniversary.
He said: "The benefit fraud spanned 14 years between 1996 and 2010. The essence was she failed to declare that she was living with her husband."
The prosecutor told that she fraudulently received income support, jobseekers allowance and council tax benefits totalling £100,792.
He said: "During the investigation, evidence was obtained from a variety of sources that demonstrated that she was living with Mr Godwin.
"There were financial links including join bank accounts. Mr Godwin was paying for some of the utilities to the property. Birth certificates for their children, school records, and evidence from a family friend [were obtained].
"There was evidence in relation to holidays they had taken together with their children, including a trip to Paris that coincided with their 35th wedding anniversary."
The court heard that the family also enjoyed holidays in Majorca, Turkey and the Isle of Wight.
During the investigation she told officials that her husband was gay and living in France "with a male partner". She also denied he was the father of her youngster child.
She was still wearing her wedding ring and claimed she hadn't divorced him "because she didn't want the bother".
But Judge Adele Williams told her that they had all been lies and Godwin admitted nine fraud charges.
Peter Forbes, defending, denied Godwin had used the money to pay for "a lavish lifestyle".
He said that the claims were legitimate at the beginning but "one small lie and deception escalated and continued," he added.
The judge said it had been "persistent dishonesty over some period of time".
Christine Godwin, 60, claimed that for 14 years she was bringing up her family as a lone parent.
But Canterbury Crown Court heard that she was married to Robert Godwin and they lived together at Fairfield Road.
Her lies were exposed when fraud investigators spotted that she was still wearing her wedding ring.
Prosecutor David Jugnarain told how Godwin had also gone to Paris with her family around her 35th wedding anniversary.
He said: "The benefit fraud spanned 14 years between 1996 and 2010. The essence was she failed to declare that she was living with her husband."
The prosecutor told that she fraudulently received income support, jobseekers allowance and council tax benefits totalling £100,792.
He said: "During the investigation, evidence was obtained from a variety of sources that demonstrated that she was living with Mr Godwin.
"There were financial links including join bank accounts. Mr Godwin was paying for some of the utilities to the property. Birth certificates for their children, school records, and evidence from a family friend [were obtained].
"There was evidence in relation to holidays they had taken together with their children, including a trip to Paris that coincided with their 35th wedding anniversary."
The court heard that the family also enjoyed holidays in Majorca, Turkey and the Isle of Wight.
During the investigation she told officials that her husband was gay and living in France "with a male partner". She also denied he was the father of her youngster child.
She was still wearing her wedding ring and claimed she hadn't divorced him "because she didn't want the bother".
But Judge Adele Williams told her that they had all been lies and Godwin admitted nine fraud charges.
Peter Forbes, defending, denied Godwin had used the money to pay for "a lavish lifestyle".
He said that the claims were legitimate at the beginning but "one small lie and deception escalated and continued," he added.
The judge said it had been "persistent dishonesty over some period of time".
12 Oct 2011
Council moving faster on benefit fraud repayment
AN Edgware man and a Colindale woman have received suspended prison sentences following recent investigations by Barnet Council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team.
These investigations exposed fraudulent benefits claimed to the value of around £50,000, and are the first to be dealt with by the council's team using the powers which are part of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
They are just starting to use 2002 powers? Or are these powers newer?
Bajram Bytyqi, 41, admitted illegally claiming more than £30,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
He was sentenced on September 29 to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
The council was alerted to the fraud by the Metropolitan Police through its major operation, Operation Rize, to disrupt organised crime by searching the contents of hundreds of safety deposit boxes.
Met detectives raided three safe depositories, one in Edgware and two in central London in June 2008.
A safety deposit box kept by Bytyqi at the Edgware Safe Depository was found to contain almost £50,000 in cash which, according to the 41-year-old, was partly generated from the proceeds of a land sale in Kosovo and cash given to him by his brother.
In interview he later admitted failing to declare the cash and a bank account when claiming tax credits and Housing Benefits.
He pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on September 29 to two counts of making a false representation on an application form by failing to declare the cash and not declaring a bank account containing income.
Following a successful request by the corporate anti-fraud team (CAFT) for a restraint order on a portion of the cash, the judge in the case granted a confiscation order requiring Bytyqi to repay £27,482.84 to the council within 28 days.
In a second case, a Colindale woman was been sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for falsely claiming housing benefits.
Janet West, of Wiggins Mead, was ordered to repay £21,541 after she admitted falsely claiming Housing Benefit and was sentenced on September 23 to the six-month suspended imprisonment and 100 hours unpaid work.
Despite claiming benefits as a council tenant the 51-year-old was found to be the joint owner of a property and to have been in paid employment for a number of years.
Financial Investigators successfully secured a restraint order in relation to the property.
After being interviewed by CAFT investigators, Ms West pleaded guilty to three offences of completing false Housing Benefit application forms during a hearing at Hendon Magistrates’ Court on August 18.
Councillor Daniel Thomas, Deputy Leader of Barnet Council and Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, said:
These investigations exposed fraudulent benefits claimed to the value of around £50,000, and are the first to be dealt with by the council's team using the powers which are part of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
They are just starting to use 2002 powers? Or are these powers newer?
Bajram Bytyqi, 41, admitted illegally claiming more than £30,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
He was sentenced on September 29 to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
The council was alerted to the fraud by the Metropolitan Police through its major operation, Operation Rize, to disrupt organised crime by searching the contents of hundreds of safety deposit boxes.
Met detectives raided three safe depositories, one in Edgware and two in central London in June 2008.
A safety deposit box kept by Bytyqi at the Edgware Safe Depository was found to contain almost £50,000 in cash which, according to the 41-year-old, was partly generated from the proceeds of a land sale in Kosovo and cash given to him by his brother.
In interview he later admitted failing to declare the cash and a bank account when claiming tax credits and Housing Benefits.
He pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court on September 29 to two counts of making a false representation on an application form by failing to declare the cash and not declaring a bank account containing income.
Following a successful request by the corporate anti-fraud team (CAFT) for a restraint order on a portion of the cash, the judge in the case granted a confiscation order requiring Bytyqi to repay £27,482.84 to the council within 28 days.
In a second case, a Colindale woman was been sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for falsely claiming housing benefits.
Janet West, of Wiggins Mead, was ordered to repay £21,541 after she admitted falsely claiming Housing Benefit and was sentenced on September 23 to the six-month suspended imprisonment and 100 hours unpaid work.
Despite claiming benefits as a council tenant the 51-year-old was found to be the joint owner of a property and to have been in paid employment for a number of years.
Financial Investigators successfully secured a restraint order in relation to the property.
After being interviewed by CAFT investigators, Ms West pleaded guilty to three offences of completing false Housing Benefit application forms during a hearing at Hendon Magistrates’ Court on August 18.
Councillor Daniel Thomas, Deputy Leader of Barnet Council and Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, said:
The council is now able to recover substantial sums of taxpayers' money in less time thanks to the capabilities, training and qualifications that officers in the Corporate Anti Fraud Team now possess.
These recent cases reinforce the message to those who are intent on cheating the system that you will be caught and that you will have to repay every penny of the money you have claimed illegally.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
A suspended prison sentence and only having to repay what you stole doesn't seem to be much of a punishment.
Repeat criminal stole £100k+ in benefits
A man from Uxbridge in west London has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after stealing £108,000 in benefits while owning a house worth £640,000.
Fayaz Ahman was sentenced by Harrow Crown Court after an investigation carried out by Hillingdon Council established he had lied about his income, various undisclosed bank accounts and the fact he was director of a car hire business.
Mr Ahman also owned a property worth over half a million pounds in Iver, Buckinghamshire, which he failed to disclose. He bought the property for £640,000 in June 2007.
The Ahmad family fraudulently claimed £100,907 in housing benefit and £7,567 in council tax benefit, totalling £108,474.73 over nine years.
Garry Coote, Hillingdon’s Corporate Fraud Team Manager, said: “We’re always pleased when another benefit cheat is caught – after all it’s your money they are stealing.
“This is a case where the deception was planned from the onset involving thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money and would not have been discovered had it not been thoroughly investigated by Hillingdon Council.
“I’m always surprised that each and every year we still find people defrauding taxpayers totalling tens of thousands of pounds.”
On sentencing Judge White said: "I am afraid you are going to prison today. This was a calculated fraud... You are an intelligent man and a businessman and defrauded the London Borough of Hillingdon of £108,000.
"What makes it worse is your conviction in November 2002 for another offence of dishonesty – but that didn’t stop you."
Fayaz Ahman was sentenced by Harrow Crown Court after an investigation carried out by Hillingdon Council established he had lied about his income, various undisclosed bank accounts and the fact he was director of a car hire business.
Mr Ahman also owned a property worth over half a million pounds in Iver, Buckinghamshire, which he failed to disclose. He bought the property for £640,000 in June 2007.
The Ahmad family fraudulently claimed £100,907 in housing benefit and £7,567 in council tax benefit, totalling £108,474.73 over nine years.
Garry Coote, Hillingdon’s Corporate Fraud Team Manager, said: “We’re always pleased when another benefit cheat is caught – after all it’s your money they are stealing.
“This is a case where the deception was planned from the onset involving thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money and would not have been discovered had it not been thoroughly investigated by Hillingdon Council.
“I’m always surprised that each and every year we still find people defrauding taxpayers totalling tens of thousands of pounds.”
On sentencing Judge White said: "I am afraid you are going to prison today. This was a calculated fraud... You are an intelligent man and a businessman and defrauded the London Borough of Hillingdon of £108,000.
"What makes it worse is your conviction in November 2002 for another offence of dishonesty – but that didn’t stop you."
11 Oct 2011
Woman admits £100k benefit fraud
A Newport woman was warned she will be jailed after admitted fraudulently claiming more than £100,000 in benefits.
Amanda Matthews, 34, was Friday told to prepare herself for prison after she pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions, and Newport City Council, of a change in circumstances.
Newport Crown Court heard Matthews first moved her partner into her home on Constable Drive in April 2004.
At the time she was claiming income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
But, the court heard, over the course of the next four years she failed to tell the authorities her boyfriend was living there, despite the fact he was in employment, and continued claiming benefits until February 16 2010.
Defending, Ruth Pickford said Matthews’ partner was not living there full-time, however, and that a witness had confirmed he spent time at an address in Ynysybwl two or three nights a week.
But she accepted that there was a change in her cirumstances and that the relevant parties should have been notified, she added.
Prosecutor John Harrison said sometimes the partner would come and go but that basically he was living with Matthews.
As such a total of £100,271 was wrongly claimed, he added, over a four-year period.
A stonking amout to accumulate in just four years - if it was four years.
Matthews remains on bail until sentencing takes place on November 7.
But she was warned by Judge Rhys Rowlands that a custodial sentence was 'quite inevitable in this case'.
Amanda Matthews, 34, was Friday told to prepare herself for prison after she pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions, and Newport City Council, of a change in circumstances.
Newport Crown Court heard Matthews first moved her partner into her home on Constable Drive in April 2004.
At the time she was claiming income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
But, the court heard, over the course of the next four years she failed to tell the authorities her boyfriend was living there, despite the fact he was in employment, and continued claiming benefits until February 16 2010.
Defending, Ruth Pickford said Matthews’ partner was not living there full-time, however, and that a witness had confirmed he spent time at an address in Ynysybwl two or three nights a week.
But she accepted that there was a change in her cirumstances and that the relevant parties should have been notified, she added.
Prosecutor John Harrison said sometimes the partner would come and go but that basically he was living with Matthews.
As such a total of £100,271 was wrongly claimed, he added, over a four-year period.
A stonking amout to accumulate in just four years - if it was four years.
Matthews remains on bail until sentencing takes place on November 7.
But she was warned by Judge Rhys Rowlands that a custodial sentence was 'quite inevitable in this case'.
10 Oct 2011
Compulsive fraudster was benefit thief too
A Llanelli woman who claimed to be a doctor to gain a housing tenancy agreement has been jailed.
Swansea Crown Court heard how Sarah Fiona Hillier had a penchant for offences of dishonesty, with convictions spanning more than 20 years.
In July 2010 the 43-year-old falsely claimed to be a doctor working at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, to secure accommodation in Pen y Morfa, Llangunnor. Her current address was given in court as Caroline Street, Llanelli.
Hillier also obtained benefits she was not entitled to.
Frank Phillips, prosecuting, said: "The defendant submitted benefit claims that were fraudulent. She was awarded various benefits on the basis that she was a single parent, when she was in fact living with her partner."
Mr Phillips said that Hillier declared Justin Hillier, who she married in March 2010, as her brother. He said she submitted housing benefit applications purporting to be signed by landlords at her two addresses which were forgeries.
Hillier, who admitted multiple charges of dishonesty, pocketed £2,689 in benefits to which she was not entitled.
When interviewed by a fraud manager and police officer, Hillier said she had moved from the Cardiff area and did not want anyone to know that they had moved and that they were a couple because they might be traced and threats had been made.
In July, last year, Hillier completed an application form for a tenancy in Pen y Morfa. The court heard she provided an employer's reference, which claimed she was a doctor. The reference was later discovered to be false and the NHS Trust confirmed that Hillier had never been employed there.
Mr Phillips said Hillier had also committed a string of offences involving catalogue companies where she set up accounts in other people's names and ordered goods.
She then went on to commit similar offences while on bail earlier this year.
Nicola Preece, defending, said that while Hillier had committed many offences of dishonesty over the years, she had also suffered periods of extreme difficulty in her life including the tragic deaths of two of her children.
She said when the benefit frauds were committed Hillier had not wanted her ex-husband to track her and her current partner down and said a psychiatric report said her offending behaviour "may be linked to her emotional behaviour and well being".
But Judge Huw Davies, who jailed Hillier for eight weeks, pointed out that the same report stated that the benefit fraud "could not be seen as an impulsive way of lifting her mood".
Swansea Crown Court heard how Sarah Fiona Hillier had a penchant for offences of dishonesty, with convictions spanning more than 20 years.
In July 2010 the 43-year-old falsely claimed to be a doctor working at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, to secure accommodation in Pen y Morfa, Llangunnor. Her current address was given in court as Caroline Street, Llanelli.
Hillier also obtained benefits she was not entitled to.
Frank Phillips, prosecuting, said: "The defendant submitted benefit claims that were fraudulent. She was awarded various benefits on the basis that she was a single parent, when she was in fact living with her partner."
Mr Phillips said that Hillier declared Justin Hillier, who she married in March 2010, as her brother. He said she submitted housing benefit applications purporting to be signed by landlords at her two addresses which were forgeries.
Hillier, who admitted multiple charges of dishonesty, pocketed £2,689 in benefits to which she was not entitled.
When interviewed by a fraud manager and police officer, Hillier said she had moved from the Cardiff area and did not want anyone to know that they had moved and that they were a couple because they might be traced and threats had been made.
In July, last year, Hillier completed an application form for a tenancy in Pen y Morfa. The court heard she provided an employer's reference, which claimed she was a doctor. The reference was later discovered to be false and the NHS Trust confirmed that Hillier had never been employed there.
Mr Phillips said Hillier had also committed a string of offences involving catalogue companies where she set up accounts in other people's names and ordered goods.
She then went on to commit similar offences while on bail earlier this year.
Nicola Preece, defending, said that while Hillier had committed many offences of dishonesty over the years, she had also suffered periods of extreme difficulty in her life including the tragic deaths of two of her children.
She said when the benefit frauds were committed Hillier had not wanted her ex-husband to track her and her current partner down and said a psychiatric report said her offending behaviour "may be linked to her emotional behaviour and well being".
But Judge Huw Davies, who jailed Hillier for eight weeks, pointed out that the same report stated that the benefit fraud "could not be seen as an impulsive way of lifting her mood".
9 Oct 2011
The slow slow legal process
Slough Borough Council has successfully investigated a benefits cheat, who has been jailed and ordered to pay back more than £93,593.18.
This tale starts nearly two years ago, when Dennis Kelly, aged 54, from Cippenham, near Slough, pleaded guilty to benefit fraud on October 22 2009 at Reading Crown Court after he failed to declare savings.
In November 2009 Kelly was sentenced to four months imprisonment and the council requested confiscation proceedings against him. Kelly was released in January 2010, serving six weeks for fraudulently receiving £15,626 in benefits.
Move on - way on - to August 6, 2010 at Reading Crown Court, where the Judge ruled Kelly had to pay a Confiscation Order obtained under The Criminal Justice Act 1988:
As a result, on March 21, 2011, a hearing took place at Reading Crown Court which determined the original Order was correct and the court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to deal with any further applications. All matters would need to be dealt with by Dover Magistrates Court - the South East region's confiscation enforcement court.
On June 24, 2011 a hearing was convened at Dover Magistrates Court which Mr Kelly did not attend. As a result, Dover issued a warrant for Mr Kelly’s arrest.
Mr Kelly was arrested on September 30 and transferred to Folkestone Magistrates Court for a hearing where he was sent to prison for 22 months.
Mr Kelly will serve the full term or until the confiscation order is paid. Even after the 22 months has been served, the money will still be owed.
Confused yet? How much is this costing us?
Come on, let's get legal administration into the modern era.
This tale starts nearly two years ago, when Dennis Kelly, aged 54, from Cippenham, near Slough, pleaded guilty to benefit fraud on October 22 2009 at Reading Crown Court after he failed to declare savings.
In November 2009 Kelly was sentenced to four months imprisonment and the council requested confiscation proceedings against him. Kelly was released in January 2010, serving six weeks for fraudulently receiving £15,626 in benefits.
Move on - way on - to August 6, 2010 at Reading Crown Court, where the Judge ruled Kelly had to pay a Confiscation Order obtained under The Criminal Justice Act 1988:
- Total criminal benefit figure of £93,593.18
- Of this figure compensation of £15,626 payable to Slough Borough Council for benefits received
- Was given six months to pay
- Given 22 months default sentence.
As a result, on March 21, 2011, a hearing took place at Reading Crown Court which determined the original Order was correct and the court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to deal with any further applications. All matters would need to be dealt with by Dover Magistrates Court - the South East region's confiscation enforcement court.
On June 24, 2011 a hearing was convened at Dover Magistrates Court which Mr Kelly did not attend. As a result, Dover issued a warrant for Mr Kelly’s arrest.
Mr Kelly was arrested on September 30 and transferred to Folkestone Magistrates Court for a hearing where he was sent to prison for 22 months.
Mr Kelly will serve the full term or until the confiscation order is paid. Even after the 22 months has been served, the money will still be owed.
Confused yet? How much is this costing us?
Come on, let's get legal administration into the modern era.
8 Oct 2011
7 Oct 2011
Benefits thief had £190k savings
A £4,000 benefits cheat, said to have had almost £200,000 savings, has been given a month to pay back the money and save himself from possible jail.
Raja Khan, 55, had been claiming income support and council tax benefits, but omitted to mention to the authorities that he had more than £190,000 in capital in Pakistan, in high interest savings certificates.
Police also found £3,700 cash, currently the subject of civil proceedings, when officers raided his Accrington home in a money laundering investigation last October, Burnley Crown Court heard.
The defendant, who has admitted two fraud charges, was given until November 1, to pay back the £4,003 – £1,497 to the Department for Work and Pensions, and £2,506 to Hyndburn Borough Council.
If Khan does not pay back the money, he could not only get a tougher sentence, but will face a proceeds of crime investigation.
Judge Simon Newell told Khan, of Richmond Street, if he paid up he could be given greater credit when it came to sentence.
He said: “If you do not pay that money, then the sentence may be different.”
The judge also told the hearing he planned to make a £2,000 costs order against the defendant.
Nicholas Courtney, prosecuting, told the court that Khan applied for income support originally in February 2007 and signed a declaration in relation to the details he had given the Department for Work and Pensions on the phone through a staff member who spoke the same language.
He doesn't even speak English?
There was no mention of the substantial number of savings certificates in Pakistan.
Raja Khan, 55, had been claiming income support and council tax benefits, but omitted to mention to the authorities that he had more than £190,000 in capital in Pakistan, in high interest savings certificates.
Police also found £3,700 cash, currently the subject of civil proceedings, when officers raided his Accrington home in a money laundering investigation last October, Burnley Crown Court heard.
The hearing was told Khan, who alleged the deception was a mistake, was now on incapacity benefit – but that was contributions based and not means tested, and he is allowed to claim it despite having a large amount of assets.
Mad
The defendant, who has admitted two fraud charges, was given until November 1, to pay back the £4,003 – £1,497 to the Department for Work and Pensions, and £2,506 to Hyndburn Borough Council.
If Khan does not pay back the money, he could not only get a tougher sentence, but will face a proceeds of crime investigation.
Judge Simon Newell told Khan, of Richmond Street, if he paid up he could be given greater credit when it came to sentence.
He said: “If you do not pay that money, then the sentence may be different.”
The judge also told the hearing he planned to make a £2,000 costs order against the defendant.
Nicholas Courtney, prosecuting, told the court that Khan applied for income support originally in February 2007 and signed a declaration in relation to the details he had given the Department for Work and Pensions on the phone through a staff member who spoke the same language.
He doesn't even speak English?
There was no mention of the substantial number of savings certificates in Pakistan.
6 Oct 2011
Gypsy criminal stole £63k benefits
A mother of nine claimed almost £63,000 in benefits by pretending she was single despite living with her husband in their caravan.
Chavelle Price, 33, told the council she lived alone on a travellers’ site which featured on the Channel 4 series My Big Fat Gipsy Wedding last year.
But investigators discovered she was actually living with her husband Patrick Dunne on the Coven Heath site, near Wolverhampton.
She originally told the Department for Work and Pensions that she was living in her parents’ caravan after separating from her husband in 1997.
However, all of her children, born between 1997 and 2008, had Mr Dunne listed as the father on their birth certificates.
Appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Price pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming benefits between June 3, 1999, and December 10, 2010. In a three-minute hearing, Price, wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans and black shoes, with her brown hair tied up, spoke only to confirm her name and enter her plea.
The fraud came to light after the DWP received an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public, who said Price was married.
Using public records, investigators discovered Price married Mr Dunne in October 1995. She had claimed they wed in February 1997 and their marriage only lasted two weeks.
When asked why Mr Dunne was listed as the father of all nine children, she replied that she had permission from him to put his name down as the father, due to their strict Roman Catholic faith.
Which makes huge sense - who did this "strict Catholic" say the fathers were?
Investigators also discovered that a planning application made to South Staffordshire Council to build caravan sites for her husband’s family at Coven Heath was made in both their names.
A local newspaper reported last year how an application at the site was granted on appeal in 2008 to ‘Patrick and Chavelle Dunne’ following a six-year battle with the council.
Emma Boon, campaign director for the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
Why did we need a QC to prosecute a guilty plea in a three minute hearing?
Judge John Warner adjourned the case so a pre-sentence report can be produced.
Price, who has previous convictions for fraudulently obtaining goods in 2003 and 2001 (so she should have been checked carefully), will be sentenced on October 12.
Chavelle Price, 33, told the council she lived alone on a travellers’ site which featured on the Channel 4 series My Big Fat Gipsy Wedding last year.
But investigators discovered she was actually living with her husband Patrick Dunne on the Coven Heath site, near Wolverhampton.
She originally told the Department for Work and Pensions that she was living in her parents’ caravan after separating from her husband in 1997.
However, all of her children, born between 1997 and 2008, had Mr Dunne listed as the father on their birth certificates.
Appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Price pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming benefits between June 3, 1999, and December 10, 2010. In a three-minute hearing, Price, wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans and black shoes, with her brown hair tied up, spoke only to confirm her name and enter her plea.
The fraud came to light after the DWP received an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public, who said Price was married.
Using public records, investigators discovered Price married Mr Dunne in October 1995. She had claimed they wed in February 1997 and their marriage only lasted two weeks.
When asked why Mr Dunne was listed as the father of all nine children, she replied that she had permission from him to put his name down as the father, due to their strict Roman Catholic faith.
Which makes huge sense - who did this "strict Catholic" say the fathers were?
Investigators also discovered that a planning application made to South Staffordshire Council to build caravan sites for her husband’s family at Coven Heath was made in both their names.
A local newspaper reported last year how an application at the site was granted on appeal in 2008 to ‘Patrick and Chavelle Dunne’ following a six-year battle with the council.
Emma Boon, campaign director for the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
It is shocking that this mother got away with wrongly claiming thousands of pounds for so long.Harbinder Lally QC, prosecuting, indicated the prosecution will be looking for compensation under the proceeds of crime act.
Without tough penalties for serious benefits cheats who scam the system over years, there is little to discourage potential fraudsters.
This is yet another shocking example of an abuse of benefits that highlights the desperate need for welfare reforms that will reduce fraud.
Taxpayers can only hope that some of the money in this case can be clawed back.
Why did we need a QC to prosecute a guilty plea in a three minute hearing?
Judge John Warner adjourned the case so a pre-sentence report can be produced.
Price, who has previous convictions for fraudulently obtaining goods in 2003 and 2001 (so she should have been checked carefully), will be sentenced on October 12.
- Of course this blog agrees with the Taxpayers' Alliance.
Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
5 Oct 2011
Couple get different sentences for benefit fraud
A landlord has escaped a trip to jail for using taxpayers’ money to fund his bid to cash in on the property boom.
Mark Wilfrid Craven, 44, ran simultaneous benefit frauds in two cities on two properties by claiming to be the landlord of Suzanne Millns, who was his girlfriend and the mother of his child, York Crown Court heard.
When City of York Council prosecuted him, he left her to face justice alone while he fled to Thailand, where he has a wife and other children.
He was arrested when he returned to the UK two years later and brought before the courts. Jim Withyman, prosecuting, said Craven cheated his way to £23,000 over four years between 2003 and 2007.
Judge Colin Burn told Craven:
Craven pleaded guilty to three offences of benefit fraud.
Nicholas Johnson, mitigating, said Craven had “hoped to rise on the back of the property boom”. But he had lost everything and his properties had been sold with negative equity. He now suffered from hallucinations, depression and anxiety and had been on a nightly curfew for six or eight hours a night since getting bail on September 10. He was also repaying the money at £33 a time.
Mr Withyman said Craven claimed housing benefit as Ms Millns’s landlord, although they lived together as partners, first in Bradford and then simultaneously in Bellhouse Way, Foxwood.
Millns, now 36, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of benefit fraud and was jailed for nine months. She falsely claimed £33,000 in benefit by claiming Craven was her landlord and by being involved in a false claim by a 71-year-old pensioner.
Before he fled to Thailand, Craven was charged in connection with the pensioner fraud.
But the prosecution dropped those charges when he agreed to plead guilty to the ones involving Bradford and Bellhouse Way.
Mark Wilfrid Craven, 44, ran simultaneous benefit frauds in two cities on two properties by claiming to be the landlord of Suzanne Millns, who was his girlfriend and the mother of his child, York Crown Court heard.
When City of York Council prosecuted him, he left her to face justice alone while he fled to Thailand, where he has a wife and other children.
He was arrested when he returned to the UK two years later and brought before the courts. Jim Withyman, prosecuting, said Craven cheated his way to £23,000 over four years between 2003 and 2007.
Judge Colin Burn told Craven:
This is not simply a case of someone filling in a form when they have no means in order to provide themselves with a legitimate source of income. You had other means. You were a property owner. Essentially, you were seeking to get City of York Council to cover the costs of your property.The judge then suspended a six-month prison sentence for 18 months on condition Craven did 18 months’ supervision, including mental health care and a three-month curfew from 10pm to 6am.
I have no doubt the ratepayer in York would think you should go straight to jail.
Craven pleaded guilty to three offences of benefit fraud.
Nicholas Johnson, mitigating, said Craven had “hoped to rise on the back of the property boom”. But he had lost everything and his properties had been sold with negative equity. He now suffered from hallucinations, depression and anxiety and had been on a nightly curfew for six or eight hours a night since getting bail on September 10. He was also repaying the money at £33 a time.
Mr Withyman said Craven claimed housing benefit as Ms Millns’s landlord, although they lived together as partners, first in Bradford and then simultaneously in Bellhouse Way, Foxwood.
Millns, now 36, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of benefit fraud and was jailed for nine months. She falsely claimed £33,000 in benefit by claiming Craven was her landlord and by being involved in a false claim by a 71-year-old pensioner.
Before he fled to Thailand, Craven was charged in connection with the pensioner fraud.
But the prosecution dropped those charges when he agreed to plead guilty to the ones involving Bradford and Bellhouse Way.
4 Oct 2011
Crisis loans gang get away with £136,000
A gang of 16 helped claim more than £130,000 in Nottingham by applying for fake 'crisis loans'.
The gang – who came from St Ann's, Colwick, Forest Fields, The Meadows and Radcliffe-on-Trent – claimed they needed emergency loans for rent, to stop them becoming homeless.
But they gave bogus details when they made the application to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
This included using other members of the gang to act as fake 'landlords' when the claim was being checked out.
In total, the DWP received 312 fraudulent crisis loans, resulting in £136,391 being lost from public funds.
Thirteen of the gang have now been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court.
Judge John Milmo, QC, described the fraud as "serious" as the crisis loans fund was finite and any fraud reduced the amount available to the most needy. He said the fraud had taken place "over a significant period".
Most of the cheques were made at the Job Centre in Upper Parliament Street and then cashed at the Post Office in Queen Street.
Members were initially recruited as "fish" to go along to the Job Centre armed with a fake tenancy agreement to support their claim.
They would be "minded" by a member of the gang as they collected their cheque and cashed it at the Post Office. The cash would then be divided with the "claimant" and more senior members of the conspiracy.
The fraud ran between June and November last year.
The gang were caught through a combination of surveillance, telephone evidence and fingerprints found on application forms.
All of them admitted conspiracy to defraud the DWP.
Sentences and more details here.
h/t Jake
The gang – who came from St Ann's, Colwick, Forest Fields, The Meadows and Radcliffe-on-Trent – claimed they needed emergency loans for rent, to stop them becoming homeless.
But they gave bogus details when they made the application to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
This included using other members of the gang to act as fake 'landlords' when the claim was being checked out.
In total, the DWP received 312 fraudulent crisis loans, resulting in £136,391 being lost from public funds.
Thirteen of the gang have now been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court.
Judge John Milmo, QC, described the fraud as "serious" as the crisis loans fund was finite and any fraud reduced the amount available to the most needy. He said the fraud had taken place "over a significant period".
Most of the cheques were made at the Job Centre in Upper Parliament Street and then cashed at the Post Office in Queen Street.
Members were initially recruited as "fish" to go along to the Job Centre armed with a fake tenancy agreement to support their claim.
They would be "minded" by a member of the gang as they collected their cheque and cashed it at the Post Office. The cash would then be divided with the "claimant" and more senior members of the conspiracy.
The fraud ran between June and November last year.
The gang were caught through a combination of surveillance, telephone evidence and fingerprints found on application forms.
All of them admitted conspiracy to defraud the DWP.
Sentences and more details here.
h/t Jake
3 Oct 2011
Tiny punishments for benefit thieves
The appearance of two more benefits cheats in the dock should be taken as a lesson by others, Reading Borough Council is urging.
Charlotte Tipper, from Linden Road, and Anthony Withers, of London Road, were both fined by Reading magistrates for falsely claiming housing and Council Tax benefits.
Now the council wants to remind others they could face the same punishment if they don’t inform the authority of changes to their financial circumstances.
Anyone found guilty of benefit fraud by a court will have to pay back the falsely claimed benefits, on top of any sentence.
Tipper was fined £115 and ordered to pay £250 in costs for wrongly claiming £7,298. She told the council when she first applied for benefits she lived with her partner and their two children, and their only income was from child benefit, tax credits and her part-time earning.
But the council received information from the Department for Work and Pensions data matching service showing her partner had been employed by a recruitment firm.
Withers, meanwhile, falsely claimed £4,006 in housing benefit. He told the council his only income was from job seeker’s allowance, but investigation revealed he was earning £320-a-week scaffolding.
He was fined £135 and ordered to pay £125 in court costs.
Council leader Jo Lovelock said: “The council will always prosecute where deliberate benefit fraud is discovered – it’s only fair to the vast majority of law-abiding residents.”
People caught cheating the benefits system can be fined up to £5,000 and given a maximum of six months’ imprisonment by magistrates. Crown Court can impose an unlimited fine or up to seven years imprisonment, or both.
Charlotte Tipper, from Linden Road, and Anthony Withers, of London Road, were both fined by Reading magistrates for falsely claiming housing and Council Tax benefits.
Now the council wants to remind others they could face the same punishment if they don’t inform the authority of changes to their financial circumstances.
Anyone found guilty of benefit fraud by a court will have to pay back the falsely claimed benefits, on top of any sentence.
Tipper was fined £115 and ordered to pay £250 in costs for wrongly claiming £7,298. She told the council when she first applied for benefits she lived with her partner and their two children, and their only income was from child benefit, tax credits and her part-time earning.
But the council received information from the Department for Work and Pensions data matching service showing her partner had been employed by a recruitment firm.
Withers, meanwhile, falsely claimed £4,006 in housing benefit. He told the council his only income was from job seeker’s allowance, but investigation revealed he was earning £320-a-week scaffolding.
He was fined £135 and ordered to pay £125 in court costs.
Council leader Jo Lovelock said: “The council will always prosecute where deliberate benefit fraud is discovered – it’s only fair to the vast majority of law-abiding residents.”
People caught cheating the benefits system can be fined up to £5,000 and given a maximum of six months’ imprisonment by magistrates. Crown Court can impose an unlimited fine or up to seven years imprisonment, or both.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
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