AN ex council flat is said to house 500 PEOPLE in a benefit fraud which has cost taxpayers at least £1million.
Nigerian crooks have used the three-bedroom home to steal family tax credits and child benefits using the names of unsuspecting real people.
Corrupt insiders at the Department for Work and Pensions supplied the IDs of genuine claimants whose benefits ended after they got jobs.
The gang then made new claims from 25 Brookstone Court in Peckham, South East London. Direct debit benefit payments were routed to Nigeria.
The con exploited the weakness of Government computer systems which failed to spot the same address. A source said: "We believe it went on for several years and easily involves over £1million, or higher."
The co-owner of the flat - bought for £67,000 from Southwark Council in 2004 - was arrested last week.
Akinmayone Aiyeloa was quizzed over allegations of conspiracy to defraud over £20,000.
Two DWP employees have also been arrested and dismissed. Further arrests are expected.
Officials believe similar scams are being run nationwide. Benefit fraud costs the country £5.2billion a year.
A source said: "This is just one element of a huge swindle.
"A weakness has been detected and exploited by foreign gangs.
"We are talking about many millions being stolen when a simple computer programme could have stopped it."
When The Sun called at 25 Brookstone Court there was no answer.
A neighbour said: "About four people live there, but not a family."
Last night, former Scotland Yard commander John O'Connor called the scam "utterly outrageous".
He said: "Simple checks by auditors should have stopped this."
__________________
Friday 25 February 2011
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Thief caught on camera by friend is jailed for two years
Thief caught on camera by friend is jailed for two years
1:00pm Friday 4th June 2010
By Julie Magee »
A BUNGLING robber who was brought to justice after a “friend” took a picture of him carrying out the theft has been jailed for two years.
Gary Thompson, 30, was so drunk he couldn’t even remember being captured on the mobile phone camera as he snatched £700 from the till of a Bournemouth restaurant.
But the long arm of the law caught up with him when the incriminating photograph led to his arrest on March 3 this year, five days after the robbery at the Lazy Shark in Christchurch Road, Boscombe.
Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, Angela England said Thompson, from Grosvenor Gardens, Boscombe, had been drinking with two other men at the bar before owner Anthony Wright overheard one saying: “We are going to take your money.”
Miss England added: “Mr Wright thought it was a joke but he was unnerved when the defendant stood up and gave him a deadly stare.
“The men began arguing and he heard one saying: ‘Don’t do it – you know the consequences’.
“But Mr Thompson ignored that advice and demanded money from the till.
“When Mr Wright refused, Mr Thompson threatened him before grabbing him around the throat. One of the other men had a mobile phone and, as Mr Thompson had his hands in the till, he took a picture.
“Before leaving Mr Thompson head-butted the owner, causing him to fall to the floor. The man who had taken the photograph was arrested and police seized his phone. Officers discovered the photograph and enquiries led them to Mr Thompson.”
The court heard how Mr Wright had suffered neck and chest pains, had trouble sleeping and had not wanted to return to work following his ordeal.
Thompson admitted the robbery on February 26.
Defending, Frank Abbott said his client had apologised for “this completely inexplicable incident”, adding: “They had a fantastic amount to drink and the man took the photograph as a joke, which is quite extraordinary.
“Mr Thompson was being egged on. He pleaded guilty although he can’t remember anything about it.”
Sentencing Thompson, Judge John Harrow told him: “I can’t pretend to understand why you committed this offence; clearly heavy drinking had a part to play. You took advantage of Mr Wright’s vulnerability.”
1:00pm Friday 4th June 2010
By Julie Magee »
A BUNGLING robber who was brought to justice after a “friend” took a picture of him carrying out the theft has been jailed for two years.
Gary Thompson, 30, was so drunk he couldn’t even remember being captured on the mobile phone camera as he snatched £700 from the till of a Bournemouth restaurant.
But the long arm of the law caught up with him when the incriminating photograph led to his arrest on March 3 this year, five days after the robbery at the Lazy Shark in Christchurch Road, Boscombe.
Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, Angela England said Thompson, from Grosvenor Gardens, Boscombe, had been drinking with two other men at the bar before owner Anthony Wright overheard one saying: “We are going to take your money.”
Miss England added: “Mr Wright thought it was a joke but he was unnerved when the defendant stood up and gave him a deadly stare.
“The men began arguing and he heard one saying: ‘Don’t do it – you know the consequences’.
“But Mr Thompson ignored that advice and demanded money from the till.
“When Mr Wright refused, Mr Thompson threatened him before grabbing him around the throat. One of the other men had a mobile phone and, as Mr Thompson had his hands in the till, he took a picture.
“Before leaving Mr Thompson head-butted the owner, causing him to fall to the floor. The man who had taken the photograph was arrested and police seized his phone. Officers discovered the photograph and enquiries led them to Mr Thompson.”
The court heard how Mr Wright had suffered neck and chest pains, had trouble sleeping and had not wanted to return to work following his ordeal.
Thompson admitted the robbery on February 26.
Defending, Frank Abbott said his client had apologised for “this completely inexplicable incident”, adding: “They had a fantastic amount to drink and the man took the photograph as a joke, which is quite extraordinary.
“Mr Thompson was being egged on. He pleaded guilty although he can’t remember anything about it.”
Sentencing Thompson, Judge John Harrow told him: “I can’t pretend to understand why you committed this offence; clearly heavy drinking had a part to play. You took advantage of Mr Wright’s vulnerability.”
Monday 21 June 2010
Gang jailed for 'prolific' chip-and-pin scam
The gang modified chip-and-pin readers in petrol garages
A gang of chip-and-pin fraudsters has been jailed after carrying out one of the UK's "most prolific" scams.
The gang modified chip-and-pin machines at petrol forecourts in Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Kent, Bristol and Sussex, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Ringleader Theogenes De Montford, 29, of Hayes, west London, was given a four-and-a-half year jail sentence.
He admitted conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to possess articles for use in the course of fraud.
Rajakumar Thevathasan, 34, of Wimbledon, south London, Rashid Hassan, 26, of Anerley, south-east London, and Usman Mahmood, 26, of Streatham, south-west London, were each jailed for three-and-a-half years after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
The gang covertly installed devices in chip-and-pin readers that allowed them to clone cards used by customers and steal their money.
A small hole was burned in the back of the reader and a memory device and bluetooth reader inserted.
Continue reading the main story
Since [De Montford's] arrest there has been a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UKAdam Budworth Prosecutor
On other occasions sales staff at the garages were signed up to the scam.
In total the nine-month fraud caused losses totalling £725,000.
De Montford, a Sri Lankan national, will be deported upon his release.
When he was arrested his laptop was found to contain details for 35,000 cards, 7,000 of which came from just one garage in Maidstone, Kent.
Garage franchise owner Amrik Kalsi saw business drop by 47% and his forecourt was subjected to a "campaign of vilification" because customers had money taken from their accounts after visiting it. 'Tip of the iceberg'
During a campaign described as "totally unjustified" by the judge, a Facebook group urged people not to use the forecourt and he suffered verbal abuse.
Adam Budworth, prosecuting, said: "He [De Montford] was perhaps one of the most prolific chip-and-pin fraudsters in the UK.
"Since his arrest there has been a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UK."
Mr Budworth added that the cases highlighted in court were "only the tip of the iceberg".
De Montford was a software engineering graduate and used his expertise to carry out the fraud, which could have netted millions of pounds.
Recorder Nicholas Rhodes QC told him: "The motivating factor was greed and the huge profits you could make with your skills from this crime."
A gang of chip-and-pin fraudsters has been jailed after carrying out one of the UK's "most prolific" scams.
The gang modified chip-and-pin machines at petrol forecourts in Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Kent, Bristol and Sussex, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Ringleader Theogenes De Montford, 29, of Hayes, west London, was given a four-and-a-half year jail sentence.
He admitted conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to possess articles for use in the course of fraud.
Rajakumar Thevathasan, 34, of Wimbledon, south London, Rashid Hassan, 26, of Anerley, south-east London, and Usman Mahmood, 26, of Streatham, south-west London, were each jailed for three-and-a-half years after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
The gang covertly installed devices in chip-and-pin readers that allowed them to clone cards used by customers and steal their money.
A small hole was burned in the back of the reader and a memory device and bluetooth reader inserted.
Continue reading the main story
Since [De Montford's] arrest there has been a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UKAdam Budworth Prosecutor
On other occasions sales staff at the garages were signed up to the scam.
In total the nine-month fraud caused losses totalling £725,000.
De Montford, a Sri Lankan national, will be deported upon his release.
When he was arrested his laptop was found to contain details for 35,000 cards, 7,000 of which came from just one garage in Maidstone, Kent.
Garage franchise owner Amrik Kalsi saw business drop by 47% and his forecourt was subjected to a "campaign of vilification" because customers had money taken from their accounts after visiting it. 'Tip of the iceberg'
During a campaign described as "totally unjustified" by the judge, a Facebook group urged people not to use the forecourt and he suffered verbal abuse.
Adam Budworth, prosecuting, said: "He [De Montford] was perhaps one of the most prolific chip-and-pin fraudsters in the UK.
"Since his arrest there has been a significant reduction in the number of chip-and-pin frauds in the UK."
Mr Budworth added that the cases highlighted in court were "only the tip of the iceberg".
De Montford was a software engineering graduate and used his expertise to carry out the fraud, which could have netted millions of pounds.
Recorder Nicholas Rhodes QC told him: "The motivating factor was greed and the huge profits you could make with your skills from this crime."
Friday 18 June 2010
£65,000 Bushey benefit fraudster sentenced to eight months in prison
£65,000 Bushey benefit fraudster sentenced to eight months in prison
11:45am Thursday 17th June 2010
By Chris Hewett »
A Bushey benefit fraudster was sent to prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to fraudulently claiming nearly £65,000.
Ola Fagbenle, of Melbourne Avenue, falsely claimed the money after failing to inform the authorities his wife was in full time employment since 2000.
He obtained £13,253 in housing benefit and £3,651 in council tax benefit from Hertsmere Borough Council and the rest from Brent Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
An investigation began in 2008, two years after Fagbenle's first claim, when the Hertsmere Borough Council received information from the DWP.
At the hearing at St Albans Crown Court, the 36-year-old was sentenced to eight months imprisonment by Judge Clifford Smith.
This was made up of three months for false income support claims to the DWP, and five months for false claims relating to housing benefit made to the London Borough of Brent and Hertsmere Borough Council.
Councillor John Graham, finance portfolio holder at Hertsmere Borough Council, said: "We take fraud very seriously. People should be warned that we will not tolerate fraudulent benefit claims and will use our powers wherever possible to catch people who try to milk the system.”
11:45am Thursday 17th June 2010
By Chris Hewett »
A Bushey benefit fraudster was sent to prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to fraudulently claiming nearly £65,000.
Ola Fagbenle, of Melbourne Avenue, falsely claimed the money after failing to inform the authorities his wife was in full time employment since 2000.
He obtained £13,253 in housing benefit and £3,651 in council tax benefit from Hertsmere Borough Council and the rest from Brent Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
An investigation began in 2008, two years after Fagbenle's first claim, when the Hertsmere Borough Council received information from the DWP.
At the hearing at St Albans Crown Court, the 36-year-old was sentenced to eight months imprisonment by Judge Clifford Smith.
This was made up of three months for false income support claims to the DWP, and five months for false claims relating to housing benefit made to the London Borough of Brent and Hertsmere Borough Council.
Councillor John Graham, finance portfolio holder at Hertsmere Borough Council, said: "We take fraud very seriously. People should be warned that we will not tolerate fraudulent benefit claims and will use our powers wherever possible to catch people who try to milk the system.”
Thursday 17 June 2010
Benefits bill overpayments hit £3.1 BILLION in a year - and a third of that was down to bungling officials
Benefits bill overpayments hit £3.1 BILLION in a year - and a third of that was down to bungling officials
By Mail Online ReporterLast updated at 12:12 PM on 17th June 2010
More than £3billion was overpaid in benefits last year - amounting to almost £100 every second - it emerged yesterday.
Mistakes by bungling officials accounted for £1.1billion of the mistakes - the highest margin of error for a decade.
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) officials were responsible for just over a third of overpayment blunders while fraud and customer error accounted for the rest.
The DWP annual report revealed errors by officials were responsible for a staggering 35per cent of overpayments in 2009/10.
Bungling: Officials at the Department For Work And Pensions at Whitehall paid out more than £1.1bn in incorrect benefits last year
That is compared to just 12per cent in 2000/01, when mistakes cost £400million.
Errors in the last financial year were also up significantly on 2008/09 - increasing from £800million of overpayments that year to an all-time high of £1.1billion.
The estimated total benefit expenditure, geniune and overpayment, amounts to £148 billion each year.
More...
Couple living together but claiming singles' benefits caught after appear on WIFE SWAP
Council chief received staggering £365,000 pay-off when he quit job after just 12 months
But the £3.1 billion overpaid in 2009/10 is equal to around half of the coalition government's proposed £6 billion spending cuts.
Mathew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayer's Alliance, criticised DWP officials for the huge number of errors.
'This is a stupendous amount to be lost through fraud and mistakes,' he said.
Reform: Lord David Freud said the government would overhaul the system
'When the government is talking about making £6 billion of spending cuts, this figure puts into perspective the urgent need for welfare reform.
'The system is too complicated to understand and administer, simplifying the way benefits are handed out would mean less mistakes and less waste of taxpayers' money.'
Official error led to overpayments of £200 million in housing benefits alone and a further £150 million in pension credits.
Fraudsters claimed £260 million in housing benefit, £240 million in income support and £120 million in jobseekers allowance.
And customer error, where customers gave incorrect information or failed to update their details cost a staggering £420 million.
Overall a massive £880 million in housing benefit - 4.4 per cent of the total budget of £19.9 billion - was paid out by mistake.
Another £480 million, was wrongly paid in income support, making up 5.7 per cent of the total budget of £8.5 billion.
But on the flip side, the significantly lower amount of £1.3bn or 0.9 per cent of total benefit expenditure was underpaid as a result of customer or official error.
Meanwhile levels of overpayments due to benefit fraud have fallen over the last decade from £2.2 billion in 2000/01 to the current £1 billion sum.
Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord David Freud, said that the DWP was working to reduce the amount of overpayments.
He said: 'The decrease in the overall levels of fraud and error in the benefit system demonstrate the seriousness with which the Department for Work and Pensions takes this issue.
'These are the first results to take full account of the economic downturn and reflect the significant increase in the benefit caseload within the last year.
'However, the rise in the error figures for out-of-work benefits demonstrates that the system has now grown far too complex and is in need of radical reform.
'That is why the Secretary of State for DWP will be setting out his plans for overhauling the welfare system.'
The report was released by the DWP at the end of last month along with the State of the Nation report which found that families are able to claim up to £100,000 a year.
Secretary of State for DWP, Iain Duncan-Smith, announced the following day that the over-generous benefit system meant claimants branded workers 'bloody morons'.
An estimated 670,000 households were found eligible for benefits and tax credits worth more than £15,600 a year in 2009/10.
Of these, 50,000 households were allowed to claim benefits worth over £500 a week, or more than £26,000 a year. The average UK annual wage is £25,500.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287315/Benefits-overpayments-hit-3-1-BILLION-year.html#ixzz0r75y7uo4
By Mail Online ReporterLast updated at 12:12 PM on 17th June 2010
More than £3billion was overpaid in benefits last year - amounting to almost £100 every second - it emerged yesterday.
Mistakes by bungling officials accounted for £1.1billion of the mistakes - the highest margin of error for a decade.
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) officials were responsible for just over a third of overpayment blunders while fraud and customer error accounted for the rest.
The DWP annual report revealed errors by officials were responsible for a staggering 35per cent of overpayments in 2009/10.
Bungling: Officials at the Department For Work And Pensions at Whitehall paid out more than £1.1bn in incorrect benefits last year
That is compared to just 12per cent in 2000/01, when mistakes cost £400million.
Errors in the last financial year were also up significantly on 2008/09 - increasing from £800million of overpayments that year to an all-time high of £1.1billion.
The estimated total benefit expenditure, geniune and overpayment, amounts to £148 billion each year.
More...
Couple living together but claiming singles' benefits caught after appear on WIFE SWAP
Council chief received staggering £365,000 pay-off when he quit job after just 12 months
But the £3.1 billion overpaid in 2009/10 is equal to around half of the coalition government's proposed £6 billion spending cuts.
Mathew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayer's Alliance, criticised DWP officials for the huge number of errors.
'This is a stupendous amount to be lost through fraud and mistakes,' he said.
Reform: Lord David Freud said the government would overhaul the system
'When the government is talking about making £6 billion of spending cuts, this figure puts into perspective the urgent need for welfare reform.
'The system is too complicated to understand and administer, simplifying the way benefits are handed out would mean less mistakes and less waste of taxpayers' money.'
Official error led to overpayments of £200 million in housing benefits alone and a further £150 million in pension credits.
Fraudsters claimed £260 million in housing benefit, £240 million in income support and £120 million in jobseekers allowance.
And customer error, where customers gave incorrect information or failed to update their details cost a staggering £420 million.
Overall a massive £880 million in housing benefit - 4.4 per cent of the total budget of £19.9 billion - was paid out by mistake.
Another £480 million, was wrongly paid in income support, making up 5.7 per cent of the total budget of £8.5 billion.
But on the flip side, the significantly lower amount of £1.3bn or 0.9 per cent of total benefit expenditure was underpaid as a result of customer or official error.
Meanwhile levels of overpayments due to benefit fraud have fallen over the last decade from £2.2 billion in 2000/01 to the current £1 billion sum.
Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord David Freud, said that the DWP was working to reduce the amount of overpayments.
He said: 'The decrease in the overall levels of fraud and error in the benefit system demonstrate the seriousness with which the Department for Work and Pensions takes this issue.
'These are the first results to take full account of the economic downturn and reflect the significant increase in the benefit caseload within the last year.
'However, the rise in the error figures for out-of-work benefits demonstrates that the system has now grown far too complex and is in need of radical reform.
'That is why the Secretary of State for DWP will be setting out his plans for overhauling the welfare system.'
The report was released by the DWP at the end of last month along with the State of the Nation report which found that families are able to claim up to £100,000 a year.
Secretary of State for DWP, Iain Duncan-Smith, announced the following day that the over-generous benefit system meant claimants branded workers 'bloody morons'.
An estimated 670,000 households were found eligible for benefits and tax credits worth more than £15,600 a year in 2009/10.
Of these, 50,000 households were allowed to claim benefits worth over £500 a week, or more than £26,000 a year. The average UK annual wage is £25,500.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287315/Benefits-overpayments-hit-3-1-BILLION-year.html#ixzz0r75y7uo4
A couple who claimed £10,000 in benefits by pretending they lived separately were caught out after appearing on Wife Swap.
17th June 2010
A couple who claimed £10,000 in benefits by pretending they lived separately were caught out after appearing on Wife Swap.
For almost 18 months, Kelly Jones was claiming benefits as a single parent without income while living with her partner, Stephen Jones, who works as a bus driver.
She was paid thousands in housing benefits, income support and council tax help but then appeared on the Channel 4 reality show.
Swindle: Kelly Jones, then Moyston, said she was a 'housewife' to Steven Jones on the reality show Wife Swap - but was claiming benefits as a single mother
After the programme, where two women spend a fortnight living with each other's husband or partner and family, Mrs Jones appeared in a magazine interview to defend feeding her daughter junk food.
In the article, she described herself as a 'housewife' to Steven Jones. The episode, in which she was described as 'a self-confessed lazy mum' prompted dozens of complaints to Ofcom.
More...
Benefits bill overpayments hit £3.1 BILLION in a year - and a third was down to bungling officials
Council chief received staggering £365,000 pay-off when he quit job after just 12 months
Mrs Jones, 23, was described as 'quite naive and gullible' as she appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
Partner: Steven Jones, a bus driver, also appeared on the reality show and has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting
The court heard that the couple, who married in April, were discovered when the city council was tipped off after they appeared in June last year on the reality show.
She was overpaid £4,976 in housing benefits, £3,614 in income support and received an £1,171 discount on her council tax bill, the court heard.
Mrs Jones admitted failing to notify the council that her partner had moved in and declaring on her benefit application that she lived alone.
She also admitted failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her or that he received £30,625 when his house was repossessed.
Her husband, 40, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his wife.
The couple, who live in Fishponds, Bristol, have two daughters aged three and 11 months.
They were paid £1,000 to appear on the Channel 4 show, which was filmed in October 2008.
Jones, whose maiden name is Moyston, began living with her husband in July 2008 in a flat in Fishponds after the repossession of Steven Jones' home, the court heard.
When council officers interviewed them starting in August 2009, they fully admitted what they had done.
Lynne Harvey, prosecuting, said: 'Mrs Jones said she had not declared him at the address because his wages were too low to pay their rent and live. She panicked at the thought of losing their home.
'She said she knew once the TV programme was aired she would be caught.'
Ruth Tiley, defending, described her client as a 'quite naive and gullible young woman'.
She told the court that Mrs Jones had suffered with post-natal depression.
The pair were released on bail for pre-sentence reports to be completed, but the chairman of the magistrates told them he was not ruling out a prison sentence.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287318/Couple-living-claiming-singles-benefits-caught-appear-WIFE-SWAP.html#ixzz0r75E1ne8
A couple who claimed £10,000 in benefits by pretending they lived separately were caught out after appearing on Wife Swap.
For almost 18 months, Kelly Jones was claiming benefits as a single parent without income while living with her partner, Stephen Jones, who works as a bus driver.
She was paid thousands in housing benefits, income support and council tax help but then appeared on the Channel 4 reality show.
Swindle: Kelly Jones, then Moyston, said she was a 'housewife' to Steven Jones on the reality show Wife Swap - but was claiming benefits as a single mother
After the programme, where two women spend a fortnight living with each other's husband or partner and family, Mrs Jones appeared in a magazine interview to defend feeding her daughter junk food.
In the article, she described herself as a 'housewife' to Steven Jones. The episode, in which she was described as 'a self-confessed lazy mum' prompted dozens of complaints to Ofcom.
More...
Benefits bill overpayments hit £3.1 BILLION in a year - and a third was down to bungling officials
Council chief received staggering £365,000 pay-off when he quit job after just 12 months
Mrs Jones, 23, was described as 'quite naive and gullible' as she appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
Partner: Steven Jones, a bus driver, also appeared on the reality show and has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting
The court heard that the couple, who married in April, were discovered when the city council was tipped off after they appeared in June last year on the reality show.
She was overpaid £4,976 in housing benefits, £3,614 in income support and received an £1,171 discount on her council tax bill, the court heard.
Mrs Jones admitted failing to notify the council that her partner had moved in and declaring on her benefit application that she lived alone.
She also admitted failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her or that he received £30,625 when his house was repossessed.
Her husband, 40, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his wife.
The couple, who live in Fishponds, Bristol, have two daughters aged three and 11 months.
They were paid £1,000 to appear on the Channel 4 show, which was filmed in October 2008.
Jones, whose maiden name is Moyston, began living with her husband in July 2008 in a flat in Fishponds after the repossession of Steven Jones' home, the court heard.
When council officers interviewed them starting in August 2009, they fully admitted what they had done.
Lynne Harvey, prosecuting, said: 'Mrs Jones said she had not declared him at the address because his wages were too low to pay their rent and live. She panicked at the thought of losing their home.
'She said she knew once the TV programme was aired she would be caught.'
Ruth Tiley, defending, described her client as a 'quite naive and gullible young woman'.
She told the court that Mrs Jones had suffered with post-natal depression.
The pair were released on bail for pre-sentence reports to be completed, but the chairman of the magistrates told them he was not ruling out a prison sentence.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287318/Couple-living-claiming-singles-benefits-caught-appear-WIFE-SWAP.html#ixzz0r75E1ne8
Wednesday 16 June 2010
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.
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.
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