English lessons for mum

English lessons for mum
times.series@archant.co.uk11 May 2010
A mother who pleaded guilty to falsely claiming more than £27,000 in state benefits was given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to attend English lessons.Asina Akbari, who lives in Randall Avenue, Neasden, pleaded guilty to three charges of making false statements resulting in benefit fraud, at Brent Magistrates' Court.She was sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to attend 60 English classes.Investigators found that Ms Akbari was improperly receiving housing and council tax benefit since January 2007. She falsely claimed that she was a single mother living with her children in her home in Neasden, and that neither she, nor her children were related to the owner of the property. But council investigators discovered the landlord, Mohammed Asif, was the father of at least one of her children - a relationship that would disqualify Ms Akbari from receiving benefits. Ms Akbari admitted she may have made mistakes on her benefits application form, but claimed this was due to her poor grasp of English. She was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards legal costs at £50 per month, and agreed with Brent Council to repay the overpaid sum.Simon Lane, of Brent Council, said: "Once again the hard work of council investigators has paid off. "We will always go after those who are defrauding the council and residents out of money which could be spent on other public services.