A woman has been jailed for committing the largest fraud ever prosecuted by Merton Council.
Samina Ahmed, 53, was sentenced to eight months in prison for falsely claiming £104,000 in housing benefit and council tax benefit over a 14-year period while living in Mitcham.
Using the false name of Mrs Choudry, Ahmed created counterfeit documents in which she claimed she paid rent to a fictitious private landlord, Kingston Crown Court heard.
Council officers were duped into paying her £160 a week housing benefit from 1997, which continued until last year, during which time she was living at her husband’s house all along.
Her husband, Nazir Ahmed, was cleared of fraud charges after a trial at the same court earlier this year.
Merton Council, which described this case as “the largest fraud” it has ever uncovered, is now looking to recover the money through the Ahmed family property.
1 comments:
tip of the iceberg, lots of "single" mothers claim HB with male landlords. When they move, its to another property owned by the same landlord.
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