tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:42:45 +0000News &amp; views about benefit fraud in the UK<br> Contact me through <a href="http://www.benefitfraud.org.uk/">the benefit fraud website</a>http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (John Page)Blogger852125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-7187405720525535695Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +00002010-01-06T07:00:02.160Zlight sentenceA Zimbabwean nurse plundered the public purse of £44,000 in benefits after working in two Leeds care homes – while claiming she was too sick to walk properly. Rudo Murdizi, who now lives in Leeds, arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe in 2002 when she began working at a care home as an agency nurse. She was granted leave to remain in the UK and claimed for income support even though she was already http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/light-sentence-for-44k-benefit-frauds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-762704551023292619Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:37:00 +00002010-01-05T19:38:30.548ZNearly 500 people have been reported to Scarborough Council for housing and council tax benefit fraud over the past year since April, reports Scarborough Evening News . The figures are a significant increase on last year – 480 cases have been referred to the authority's counter fraud investigation team since April this year, compared with 374 in the same period in 2008. Of these 65 have either http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/benefit-fraud-increases-in-scarborough.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-3021705573840824788Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:54:00 +00002010-01-05T16:54:18.090ZAn interesting report in London's Evening Standard, about a Palestinian asylum seeker who lived rent free in a council flat while apparently earning £75,000 a year as a carpenter and builder. Fahd El-Hajj pocketed £43,500 in a four-year swindle at the taxpayers' expense after moving to Britain from Palestine. He arrived in Britain in 1999 and in January 2004 made a bogus claim for housing http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/failed-asylum-seeker-was-benefit-thief.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-1204406629706327598Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:42:00 +00002010-01-05T15:42:38.154Zdata matchingDonna Harris-Morris has been ordered to carry out a supervised 12 month Community Order for fraudulently claiming benefits totalling £3,651 between October 2008 and May 2009. Mrs Harris-Morris claimed Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit in September 2008 on the basis she lived alone and was working part time. But a data match identified that shehad failed to declare she was receiving Tax http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/data-matching-catches-redditch-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-6225022181764627286Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +00002010-01-05T07:00:04.636Zdisabled blue badge fraudHundreds of blue badges belonging to people who have died have been cancelled in a council crackdown to stop them being used by relatives or sold on, reports The Sentinel. The blue badges had not been returned to Stoke-on-Trent City Council, despite the badge holders being dead. So relatives were contacted by council officers - and now 494 badges have been returned or cancelled. The figure doeshttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/stoke-toughens-blue-badge-regime.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-30426667522669143Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +00002010-01-04T07:00:04.433ZMore than £250,000 is being recovered from fraudsters following a crackdown by Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils. The Vale is clawing back more than £154,000 in benefit overpayments, and has issued 24 cautions, three penalty fines and successfully prosecuted eight people since April. South Oxfordshire is set to recover more than £109,000 in overpayments and has issued http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/oxfordshire-councils-announce-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-591144311501575860Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:01:00 +00002010-01-03T12:01:31.492Zlight sentenceA benefit fraudster who dishonestly claimed over £62,000 worth of taxpayers money over three years has received a 40 week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to completed 180 hours of unpaid work. Andrea Kingdon from Lee Chapel North had pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to notify a change in circumstances. As well as a suspended custodial sentence and http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-prison-for-62k-benefit-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-10132713959284936Sat, 02 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +00002010-01-02T10:36:22.034ZHere. Welfare dependency is a choice openly made by people who are happy to have children they won't work to support, knowing that the state will pick up the tab. Some political party somewhere has to grip this. Not all those on welfare deserve it. These life choices insult the rest of us - financially and morally.http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/netmums-deplore-benefit-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-5509664329089566686Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +00002010-01-02T07:00:02.190Zlight sentenceRabiya Jinnah from West Hendon, who worked 40 hours a week as a nanny while falsely claiming £35,018 in benefits, has got away with a a four month prison sentence suspended for two years and a two year supervision order.She was also told to pay back the money she overclaimed. No real punishment there then. htp Davehttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/small-punishment-for-23k-benefit-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-6868000338718181525Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:23:00 +00002010-01-01T17:23:15.577Zsingle person fraudlight sentencehousing benefit fraudDavid Cohen from Upminster has pleaded guilty at court to dishonestly making false statements to get more than £18,800 in housing benefit. He was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 160 hours of unpaid work and pay back housing benefit from November 2003, for renting a room and stating on his forms he was not related to his landlord, who was in fact hishttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-prison-for-substantial-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-1795910945952384660Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +00002010-01-01T07:00:03.948ZA council cleaner who fraudulently claimed £29,554 in benefits has been jailed for nine months. Benita Liu carried on claiming income support and job seeker allowance even after she got a job with Liverpool Direct Limited (LDL), a company part-owned by Liverpool City Council. Liu, of Gloucester Court, Kensington, gave a false name, fake National Insurance number and made-up date of birth to LDLhttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2010/01/jail-for-29k-benefit-thief-but-wheres.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-1480003946062378617Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:03:00 +00002009-12-31T12:03:12.021Zdisabled blue badge fraudMurat Hassa, from Bayswater, is wanted by police for allegedly misusing a blue badge while driving a mini-cab in Palmers Green. He failed to answer a summons to Enfield Magistrates on December 17 for the offence and a warrant for his arrest. Since October, we are told, 14 people have been prosecuted for blue badge fraud in Enfield. Three more people were fined on December 17 for using them when http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-blue-badge-fraud-in-enfield.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-8643605418337511985Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:35:00 +00002010-01-02T20:23:39.336Zsingle person fraudlight sentenceassets fraudA big concern is the sheer number of benefit frauds, which enforcement officers will never keep up with. Some examples from December: Stephen Ellis from Altrincham failed to declare that he lived with his partner and had an occupational pension. He falsely obtained £4,050. He was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 250 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £150 costs. Donna http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/smaller-benefit-frauds-roundup.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-1217579438428868800Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +00002009-12-31T07:00:02.342ZKaren Jones, from Weston Rhyn, admitted two charges of failing to notify a change of circumstances which led to her working while falsely claiming £10,356 in income support over a period of three years. She had jobs which would have affected her entitlement to income support. She had legitimately claimed benefit in 2003 but later failed to notify them that she had obtained work. The first http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/no-compensation-order-for-10k-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-1605302990291987196Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:09:00 +00002009-12-30T16:10:14.327Zsingle person fraudA Wisbech resident who claimed more than £7,000 in Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit has been found guilty of fraud following a trial lasting a day and a half at Wisbech Magistrates Court. Fenland District Council investigators found that her husband was living with her throughout the period of her claim despite declaring herself as a single parent. Zdenka Kanalosova came to the UK aroundhttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/czech-immigrant-was-benefit-thief.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-8040863984659818029Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:05:00 +00002009-12-30T12:05:26.480Zlight sentenceassets fraudA woman who failed to tell authorities about an inheritance of £17,000 has got away with a community order. Kelly Morris, of Fulbeck, Widnes, admitted dishonestly failing to promptly notify the council of a change in circumstances and received a 12-month community order with a requirement to undertake 50 hours’ unpaid work. She must also pay a contribution of £100 towards the council’s costs http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/benefit-thief-didnt-reveal-inheritance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-9015168782850753402Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:49:00 +00002009-12-30T08:49:05.209ZA council owed £31,000 by a benefit cheat may be forced to re-house her if she becomes homeless to raise the cash. Morehttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/benefit-thief-may-have-to-be-rehoused.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-4909020989503860191Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +00002009-12-30T07:00:03.025Zsingle person fraudlight sentenceMichelle Cooper, from Basingstoke, received £19,009 over seven years after telling officials her partner did not live with her and her three children. Her deception was exposed when investigators saw she had written on her Facebook page that they had in fact lived together for 10 years. Magistrate David Nattrass told Cooper that he was satisfied that the offence was so serious the only http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/light-sentence-for-19k-benefit-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-669278326719711300Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +00002009-12-29T07:00:02.644Zlight sentenceYet another benefit thief effectively unpunished. Katie Collins has appeared before Redditch Magistrates charged with fraudulently claiming £5,879 of benefits. Collins had been receiving Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Income Support totalling between February 2008 and November 2008 but failing to declare that she was living with her partner. After hearing the details of the offences http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/conditional-discharge-for-another.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-5268866656722915115Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:58:00 +00002009-12-28T21:00:49.819Zlight sentenceA man who conned £2,644 through illegitimate benefits has been prosecuted. Tony Luckett, from Filkins, was caught after he failed to report changes in his circumstances while he claimed housing and council tax benefits. He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £75. West Oxfordshire District Council will seek to recover the outstanding amount of benefits http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/no-punishment-for-benefit-thief.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-8444840007083412155Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +00002009-12-28T08:00:06.028Z"Meet the mum and dad with an incredible FOURTEEN kids who prove Britain's benefits system has gone bonkers - showering them with a whopping tax-free £36,847 a year in handouts", invites The News of the World. Iain Duncan Smith's review concentrated on simplifying the benefits system and smoothing marginal tax rates so as not to discourage people from going back to work because they could keep http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/they-dont-need-fraud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-8381599580179497282Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +00002009-12-27T08:00:01.913ZSusan Humphreys, from Grays, has been giving a suspended sentence for claiming more than £23,000 in benefits. When her husband returned to work in July 2007, he trusted her to post a letter to the council and the DWP telling them of the change in their circumstances. She did not post the letter and continued to receive benefits, deceiving her husband into believing he was paying the rent and http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/suspended-sentence-for-ill-23k-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-5215871388089595985Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:11:00 +00002009-12-26T08:11:04.771ZJohn Howard from Middesborough worked as an offshore scaffolder while he also received more than £11,000 in Incapacity Benefits for four-and-a-half years. He walked free from court after a judge heard he had landed a lucrative two-year contract on rigs that meant he could quickly repay the money. The debt will not be settled, however, until the spring because prosecutors have begun confiscationhttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/scaffolder-claimed-incapacity-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-3528870276525447934Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +00002009-12-24T07:00:04.314Zsingle person fraudYork's city leaders have collected nearly quarter of a million pounds extra in council tax after a crackdown on incorrect claims, reports The Press. A review of people claiming the single person discount on their tax resulted in £237,000 extra income for the council. The review matched claimants’ records with credit references, to check claims were correct. NOTE: posting will resume after thehttp://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/single-person-discount-crackdown-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-2696919941576576830Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +00002009-12-23T07:00:05.581ZA benefit thief has received an eight-month suspended sentence after claiming £10,115 in housing benefit and council tax. Monique Astruc was found guilty on six counts of making false representation to the Royal Borough while living in Maidenhead, and received a jail sentence of eight months for each of the counts, to be served concurrently. The sentence was suspended for 24 months and a 12-http://benefitfraud.blogspot.com/2009/12/suspended-sentence-for-10k-benefit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Page)1