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Confiscation order on benefit thief at first hearing

July 22, 2015, 12:44 am
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A fraudster claimed £22,000 in housing benefit and council tax overpayments over four years.

Glennda Rhodes, of Glenmere, Vange, admitted 11 offences of knowingly failing to notify her change in circumstances contrary to the Social Security Administration Act 1992 at Basildon Magistrates Court this week.

The 61-year-old admitted failing to declare savings, additional income from a job, her occupational pension and declaring that she was living with a partner.

Magistrates sentenced her to a 12-month community order, including 100 hours of unpaid work.

She was subject to a restraint order on her bank accounts under the Proceeds of Crime Act and a confiscation order was made.

She was also ordered to pay £3,000 costs within six months.

Cllr Stuart Sullivan, cabinet member responsible for resources, said: “This is an alarming case of fraud because of the amount involved and the fact it went on for nearly four years. Basildon Council takes these cases very seriously and will vigorously pursue those who commit these crimes. We will also push for the maximum sentence to act as a deterrent to others.”

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Benefits cheats take £900k from Sandwell Council in a year

July 23, 2015, 12:25 am
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More than 190 investigations were launched into fraud relating to benefits paid for housing and council tax in 2014/15. (h/t Dave)

Illegal subletting and not using a house as a main home were among the ways residents were found to be flouting tenancy rules.

The overpayments totalled £856,828, the council's counter fraud unit discovered.

Action was taken against 83 people caught fiddling claims forms - this ranged from formal warnings and fines to prosecution at court.

During the 12 months, 51 people were prosecuted, 13 were fined and 18 formal warnings were issued.

In addition, 21 were caught flouting the rules of the council tax reduction scheme leading to overpayments totalling £17,380.

Earlier this month convicted benefits cheat Rashpal Kaur , who made bogus claims totalling tens of thousands of pounds, was jailed for failing to pay back the money. The 47-year-old, of Europa Avenue, West Bromwich raked in excess housing and council tax benefit over six years after lying about her circumstances to Sandwell Council.

During the past 12 months more than 100 homes have been seized by Sandwell Council after tenants were caught misusing properties.

The council launched more than 200 tenancy fraud investigations during the past year and recovered a total of 115 properties.

The council said two people had been convicted of ‘right to buy’ fraud during the past year.

Figures released earlier this year showed the council is owed more than £2 million in unpaid council tax from last year. A total of 19,628 council tax accounts were not paid in full by the end of the 2014/15 financial year, the figures show.

This has left the council needing to chase £2.2m. But bosses say despite the outstanding payments, they have a high council tax collection rate in the borough.

In September, it emerged that more than 10,000 housing tenants in Sandwell owed money to the council for outstanding rent payments equalling more than £3m.

At the source site, one commenter adds:

  • As a council benefits officer, if a claimant is able to prove their entitlement to benefit they are required by law to pay it. The fraud is almost always the total fault of the claimant and to start investigating the council has to have reason. There are probably getting on for 500 claimants to each benefit officer so the odds are stacked in favour of the benefit thieves.
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Lottery winner benefit thief played the system

July 24, 2015, 8:19 am
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A lottery winner has been jailed for two years for manipulating the court systems after falsely claiming state benefits.

She had claimed £107,000 in benefits for her ‘sick’ husband while not declaring her winnings of £120,000.

She had plastic surgery and bought a plasma TV while her husband went scuba diving in Cyprus and was an extra on Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

After serving 21 months in prison for the initial benefit fraud, Lesley Brogan from Edenthorpe, Doncaster then forged letters in an attempt to fight the confiscation of criminal proceedings order launched by prosecutors.

Sentencing her at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Peter Kelson told her: ‘You are a manipulator of court systems to the nth degree. You have tried every single conceivable avenue of escape you could find for yourself.’

The court heard that she sent a fake letter to a Social Security Appeals Tribunal in March, 2013. The letter purporting to be from a Doncaster GP said that she was not well enough to attend.

Brogan launched a series of appeals against both the criminal conviction and the confiscation order which went as far as the Court of Appeal. She failed in all the appeals.

Speaking in defence, Derek Duffy said that she adopted a ‘siege mentality’ and had fought at ‘every possible opportunity’ until two months ago.

He said: ‘She has now been persuaded to drop this campaign against the Crown and everything connected with the benefits payments.’

Judge Kelson said she had provided ‘fictitious’ letters to the tribunal and the ‘genesis’ of the case was the criminal proceedings for the benefits fraud.

He told her: ‘You embarked upon a crusade and found every obstacle you could present to hinder the proceedings. You only stopped this crusade because you realised there was simply nowhere left to go.’

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Mother jailed for £21k benefit fraud

July 29, 2015, 12:19 am
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A benefit cheat mother-of-three has been jailed after fiddling more than £21,000 she was not entitled to receive – by keeping quiet that her soldier boyfriend lived with her.

People who "play by the rules and pay their taxes" during times of squeezed public finances had a right to expect fraudsters to be jailed, a court heard.

Siobhan Milligan, 25, of Habrough, admitted two offences of failing to notify a change in her circumstances affecting her entitlement to benefit.

Richard Sheldon, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that the offences happened over a period of about two-and-a-half years between September 2011 and February last year. She wrongly claimed a total of £8,684 in Income Support and £12,500 in housing benefit and council tax benefit. She did not declare that Simon Thomas, a soldier, had been living with her.

Ian Durant, mitigating, said that Milligan was "foolish" and "did not quite get to grips with the benefits system". She wrongly thought that, because Mr Thomas spent a lot of time at his barracks in North Yorkshire and on manoeuvres in Cyprus, she did not need to declare that they were a couple.

"She did not by any means enjoy a lavish lifestyle," said Mr Durant. "She deeply regrets her involvement in this dishonesty. She understands the severity of what she has done. She is ashamed of herself and remorseful."

Judge David Tremberg told Milligan: "The public purse is, and has been, strained severely for some years. It's essential that optimum use is made of such scarce public funds as do exist and they are they are not siphoned off into the pockets of dishonest people who are not entitled to them. This offence is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate for it. The public are entitled to expect that you are punished for what you have done and a sentence is imposed which should deter others."

It was important that members of the public who "play by the rules and pay their taxes" should see benefit cheats going to prison, said Judge Tremberg.

Milligan, who had no previous convictions, was jailed for 12 weeks.

Source
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Nothing bad happens to £36k benefit thief

July 30, 2015, 12:29 am
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An obese grandmother in her forties who fraudulently pocketed £36,000 in benefits while travelling the globe with her civil partner was caught out when investigators found her holiday photographs on Facebook.

Cheryl Brooks, 45, was pictured stroking a leopard in Thailand, visiting the Sydney Opera House and singing karaoke in India as she and partner Margaret Brierley, 42, jetted to a number of exotic destinations.

But Brooks, from Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, had been swindling thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money by falsely claiming housing benefits, council tax benefits and employment support allowance.

Between 2010 and 2013, Brooks claimed she was scraping by on state benefits, living alone and single, when in fact she was in a civil partnership with Ms Brierley - with the couple marking the occasion with a lavish party for their family and friends.

Brooks had started a relationship with Ms Brierley, who became Mrs Brooks, a year after she started claiming the benefits. Ms Brierley moved into her home and continued working as a taxi driver, with Brooks maintaining the stance that she was living alone in three separate claims forms.

Over three years the couple raked in £36,166.81 in overpaid benefits while posting holiday snaps on Facebook of trips to Palma Nova in Spain, Australia, America - where she visited Elvis Presley's Graceland Home in Tennessee, and India.

The couple revisited Australia this year, also journeying to Thailand as part of their package tour, but this was after the fraud was discovered.

Brooks, who now lives on disability support allowance after quitting her own job as a taxi driver in 2009, and Ms Brierley, who is currently receiving sick pay from her minicab firm, were pictured stroking leopards in Thailand just four months ago.

Brooks admitted failing to declare a change in her circumstances but her eight month prison sentence was suspended for two years when she appeared at at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.

She was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £2,308 - which will be taken from her Disability Living Allowance and Working Tax Credit.

But after she was spared jail she took to Facebook to tell friends she could now plan a 'get out of jail free party'.

In a status update to her page, she said: 'Well for once things went well for me and I'm still here taking my bag home with me thank you for all the good wishes I've had and everyone's support.' And then in reply to wishes of goodwill, she added: 'Just got to wait for good weather for my get out of jail free party lol.'

Brooks's con was only rumbled in August 2013 when anti-fraud initiative investigators became suspicious and came across her Facebook page where they discovered the catalogue of holiday snaps from far-flung destinations.

Prosecuting on behalf of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Dean Hulse said: 'The Facebook account demonstrated they had been on a number of holidays together during the claim period. Palma Nova in 2011, India in 2012, Australia and the USA in 2013. This represented a lavish lifestyle beyond the means of a person who was single with dependent children whose sole income was state benefits.'

The court heard Brooks made her initial claim for benefits in September 2009 but it became fraudulent in September 2010 when Ms Brierley moved into her home.

In October 2010, November 2010 and September of the following year, Brooks made claims for benefits masquerading as a single woman with no income, when in fact she was living with her partner who was working full-time.

The DWP and local authority were first tipped off by the anti-fraud initiative in August 2013 that a taxi license was registered to Brooks's address, which led to an investigation to see whether she was actually living with Ms Brierley.

Officers found Brooks's Facebook account which showed the pair had entered into a civil partnership in November 2012, the court heard.

Having previously told the DWP that she only had one bank account, it soon transpired that Brooks in fact had five, with two in the joint names of herself and Ms Brierley.

Mr Hulse said: 'This reflects the calculation that has gone into this by the defendant to conceal evidence she was living with another person. There was information provided to the local authority by the anti-fraud initiative which suggested there was a taxi licence at the address. The local authority administer these, so they reviewed their records and saw the address given by Brierley was the defendant's address. For the offence period, the defendant was living with Brierley. It is the taxpayer who suffers. Particularly in times when public funds are scarce it could be considered more unacceptable to be committing this type of offence.'

Mitigating for Brooks, who had no previous convictions, Mark Harper said she had always accepted her misconduct. 'It was not fraudulent from the outset but in 2010 she became involved in a relationship with Mrs Brierley who she already knew and they maintained a common household and that was not declared,' he said.

But on sentencing Brooks, Judge Stuart Driver QC told her: 'Over three years you dishonestly obtained £36,000 of public money. I don't believe everything you said to probation. I think you had a good lifestyle out of that and funded luxurious foreign travel. You had a number of bank accounts and although it wasn't fraud from the start, it quickly became so. You have health problems and I give you full credit for your plea.'

Source with holiday snaps

Disabled?

The alert came almost two years ago, by the way.
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Right To Buy frauds jump

July 31, 2015, 12:54 am
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The number of detected Right to Buy frauds in London has more than doubled in a year, councils have reported.

The report, by the London Boroughs’ Fraud Investigators’ Group, shows there were 300 detected Right to Buy frauds in the capital in 2014/15, up from 131 in 2013/14. The value of Right to Buy frauds has almost trebled, from £9m to £26.5m, over the same period.

The report estimates that around 3% of Right to Buy applications are fraudulent. The government increased Right to Buy discounts in April 2012 and the maximum discount is currently £103,000 in London.

It said: “The significant sums involved and the relentless increases in property values, especially in London, have made RTB discounts highly attractive, including to fraudsters. In the two years immediately after the discount increase was implemented, there was a near five-fold increase in the number of RTB frauds detected nationally.”

The report also shows that the number of detected housing benefit frauds has dropped 50% from 5,734 in 2013/14 to 2014/15, with the total value dropping from £28.2m to £23.5m over the same period.

However the average value of housing benefit frauds detected increased from £4,926 to £8,393, suggesting investigators are focusing more on detecting higher value cases.

Responsibility for investigating housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud is moving in stages to the Department for Work and Pensions, completing in March.

The report said: “Those London boroughs still investigating housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud are focusing on higher value frauds. This is an understandable development, but may indicate that they are generally not investigating lower value housing benefit frauds.’

The government is planning to extend higher Right to Buy discounts to housing association tenants. A Housing Bill to implement this is expected to come before parliament later in the year.

Source
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"Intelligent" benefits thief jailed

August 2, 2015, 4:00 pm
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'Intelligent' fraudster Antony Malam enjoyed a lavish lifestyle – after conning the state out of £85,311.

Judge David Fletcher described the 60-year-old's level of offending as 'breathtaking'.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the defendant wrongly claimed income support, employment support allowance, disability living allowance, housing benefit, council tax benefit, pension credits and incapacity benefit.

The claims – which were always fraudulent – ran from 2008 to 2014.

In a catalogue of deception, Malam:

Failed to declare his capital assets
Continued to claim UK benefits when living in the Philippines
Claimed housing benefits as a single person with no capital or savings – despite having more than £310,000 in November 2013 in the Philippines
Adopted a new name – Alan Johnson – in 2009 to claim even more benefits

Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy said: "It became clear the defendant was acting as a tenant and landlord using false documents to verify that position. On at least two occasions this defendant had conversations with the authorities indicating one of the tenants had gone to visit a friend and was in hospital when he was clearly aware he had died."

The court heard Malam was a frequent traveller abroad.

The prosecutor added: "It was established he had numerous bank accounts in the UK and abroad. He was substantially over the limit he would have been entitled to had his claims been legitimate."

The court heard Malam has paid back almost £100,000.

Richard Gibbs, mitigating, said: "He acknowledges the wrong he has committed. He apologises for what he has done. He has made clear financial recompense."

Malam, of Moorland Road, Burslem, admitted nine offences of benefit fraud and was jailed for 32 months.

Judge Fletcher told Malam: "The extent of your dishonesty is frankly breathtaking. Day-after-day in this court there is a procession of people who depend for their livelihood on benefits. Most of them are living on or close to the bread-line. At times you had £310,000 in an account in the Philippines when making these sort of claims, going to the extraordinary length of changing your name. The claims were fraudulent from the outset, with the proceeds helping to fund your lavish lifestyle. They were carried out over a lengthy period of time. This is one of the most serious offences of its type I have ever seen."

The investigation was carried out by the DWP, Staffordshire Police and Stoke-on-Trent City Council. It included a raid on his Burslem home.

DWP officer Claire Taylor said: "This exceptional investigation uncovered lengthy fraudulent claims for benefits."

Source
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No jail for £30k benefit thief

August 4, 2015, 12:26 am
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A property owner who stole around £30,000 of benefits in a “despicable” fraud depriving needy people of government handouts has been spared jail.

Julie Brown, 55, owned two homes when she fraudulently claimed council tax benefit and Employment and Support Allowance.

But Newport Judge David Miller gave her a suspended jail term after hearing she had already paid back £5,000 to the authorities.

He also ordered her to complete 180 hours' unpaid work and set out a timetable to recover further funds through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Brown received a 16-week jail term, suspended for 12 months, at Newport Crown Court.

Judge Miller told her: “People like you who are not entitled to certain benefits but you claim ignoring the fact you own two other properties is despicable because money is sent to you instead of needy people.”

Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to notify a change of circumstances between November 2010 and March 2014.

Judge Miller imposed a 16-week suspended prison term for each offence, to run concurrently.

The judge said he had ignored “a very old conviction” Brown had received. But he said he been “impressed” by the fact she had also co-operated with the authorities and some money had been paid back.

Her barrister, Hugh Wallace, defending, said in mitigation Brown had pleaded guilty to the offences at the first opportunity as soon as she was confronted by the authorities.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing is expected to take place on November 30.

Source

What does it mean that she pleaded guilty "at the first opportunity"? She committed the offences, and she only confessed when she was found out. This is some kind of moral merit?

Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should have to pay back twice what they stole. They should not be eligible for any benefits until they have, and they should have to do some unpaid work every week until the debt to society is cleared.

That would be a deterrent. A confiscation order should be made immediately.

Hit them in the pocket!
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Runnymede gets round to a keys amnesty

August 4, 2015, 4:00 pm
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An amnesty has been launched for council tenants illegally subletting their homes.

Runnymede Council is giving them two months to hand back the keys without being prosecuted.

The idea is to free up council homes to help those most in need.

The council thinks tenants are illegally renting out their properties, this crime is usually met with a fine and a prison sentence.

It currently costs an average of £350 a week to place a family in a B&B.

For each home surrendered, the council says it will save £18,000 a year.

Runnymede Borough Council’s Housing Committee Chairman, Cllr Hugh Meares, said:
We must ensure we are making the best use of our housing stock. Illegal subletting puts pressure on our housing waiting list therefore taking longer to re-house homeless families.

It currently costs the Council an average of £350 a week to place a family in bed and breakfast. Each home surrendered will save the council £18,000 a year so we have made the identification of illegal subletting one of our top priorities.
Runnymede Borough Council’s Tenancy Manager, Amanda Kendall, said:
Illegal subletting prevents homes from being made available to families in genuine need. If we identify subletting after the amnesty has ended we will not hesitate to prosecute those tenants for fraud. They could face a fine of £5,000 or a two year prison sentence and they may be required to pay to the Council any “profit” made on the illegal subletting. To avoid prosecution they should hand back the keys to Runnymede Borough Council during the amnesty period.
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Light sentence for £32k benefit thief

August 6, 2015, 1:05 am
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A benefits cheat has been forced to borrow more than £32,000 from family and friends to pay off money she fraudulently claimed, a court heard.

Tracy Mullins, from Bacup, conned the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) out of the sum after failing to declare she was living with her partner over a six-year period. She enjoyed trips to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Tenerife.

At this week’s sentencing the mum-of-two was given an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £600 costs.

Burnley Crown Court heard that she has now repaid all the money after borrowing sums of between £2,000 and £10,000 each from family and friends.

Nick Flanaghan, prosecuting, told the court that she had been claiming income support from 2004 to 2012 on the basis of her illness, inability to work and having no partner in the house. But the court heard that she started living with her partner Steven Mullins from 2006 onwards and failed to inform the DWP.

An investigation later unearthed documents showing the two were living together in the same house, Mr Mullins had a television licence and had given the address to the Land Registry when buying other properties.

Mr Flanagan told the court that Tracy Mullins had owned the house since 2006 after paying £36,000 with no mortgage ‘despite having been in receipt of means-tested benefits for some time’.

The court heard that a bank account and passports were also investigated and revealed a £1,300 trip to Tenerife in 2012 and further trips to Jamaica in 2010 and the Dominican Republic in 2012. Mullins was interviewed twice by police following her arrest in January 2014 and initially denied the offences.

Mullins pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the DWP of a change in circumstances affecting her entitlement to benefits including income support and one count of dishonestly failing to disclose information.

Keith Harrison, defending, said: “She has borrowed money from at least five family members or close associates so she is not escaping scot-free.”

Judge Andrew Woolman said: “All of the money has been repaid and there are not many benefit fraud cases where that can be said.”

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Benefits thief used dead brother's identity to claim £200k

August 11, 2015, 12:00 am
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A 79-year-old fraudster who used his dead brother and school friend's identities to claim more than £200,000 in benefits has been sentenced to 28 months in prison. (h/t Dave)

Carl Jones, from Wavertree, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to making dishonest representations, theft and fraud to claim housing benefit, council tax and pension credit.

Recorder Simon Medlands QC said Jones was a "determined and sophisticated" criminal after he embezzled £201,771.54 over a 13-year period.

Mr Medlands said: "You are a dyed-in-the-wool fraudster and as greedy as you are dishonest."

Retired Jones, who has a criminal record dating back to 1952 with convictions for dishonesty and drug trafficking, was criticised by the judge as only "having himself to blame".

He used the identities of his brother Roy and school friend Brian Abram as well as a man called Charles Jones.

The court was told that the deception was fraudulent from the outset and dated back to 2002.

A passport in his brother's name was issued in July 2006 with a declaration that he had been living in Santander, Spain, for the previous 22 years to explain why there was no record of him in the UK.

Officers for the Department for Work and Pensions and Liverpool City Council became concerned that claims for pension credit, council tax and housing benefit were being made. Inquiries revealed Roy Jones died in 1967.

The two authorities paid a total of £74,120 to him over a six-year period.

Jones was arrested at his home in Wavertree, Liverpool, in February.

Recorder Simon Medlands said:
It's a tragedy to see a man of your age in the dock but in reality you only have yourself to blame. For 13 years or more you had been undertaking a highly sophisticated and persistent fraud. During that period you effectively stole from the public purse more than £200,000.
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Benefit thieves told to pay back £183k or go to jail

August 12, 2015, 12:00 am
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We mentioned clairvoyant Timothy Abbott back in March. Now for an update.

He and his wife have belatedly been ordered to pay back over £183,000.

Psychic medium Timothy Abbott claimed he was so disabled he could barely walk but was busted after he was filmed by investigators working out in a Gym. The 54-year-old, who advertised himself as an "international spiritualist clairvoyant medium and tutor", toured the world offering his services. But he conned the taxpayer out of thousands of pounds in disability, council tax and housing benefits by claiming he was unfit for work.

A court heard Abbott claimed £35,496 in incapacity benefit and £22,848 in disability living allowance between 1998 and 2014. He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change in circumstances in June last year. Abbott also admitted conning HMRC out of £9,532 by failing to pay income tax or national insurance contributions. He was jailed for eight months when he was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court.

His wife Janette Abbott, 50, also falsely claimed £19,477 in disability allowance and £713 in incapacity benefit along with £1,000 in council tax benefit.

A court heard he failed to pay £37,000 worth of income support and conned Staffordshire County Council out of £44,000 in housing benefits.

Mrs Abbott admitted three counts of failing to notify the DWP of a change in circumstances, one count of making a false statement and one of falsely obtaining benefits by deception. But she escaped jail after being sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

The scheming pair, from Stafford, have now been told to pay back a total of £183,450 after a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Stafford Crown Court last week.

Prosecutor Glyn Samuel said Mr Abbott had benefited to the tune of £86,524, including £9,532 owed to the taxman, and his realisable assets were in the same amount.

The court heard his wife's criminal benefit was £123,022 and her realisable assets were £96,926.

Recorder Professor Martin Wasik ordered Mr Abbott to forfeit £86,524 and his wife to forfeit £96,926.

The benefits cheats were each given three months to hand over the money or face two years in jail.

Tim Pole, defending Mrs Abbott, said the couple were in the process of selling their £200,000 detached home in Stafford to raise her share of the equity. Paul Hiatt, defending Mr Abbott, asked for a restraining order on the deeds to the house to be lifted so it could be sold.

Source

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The sleazy benefit fraud economy

August 13, 2015, 3:46 am
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Undercover reporters investigating benefit cheats for a Channel 5 documentary were shocked to discover a whole host of illegal activities at a Nottingham mini-mart.

As well as getting staff to admit they were still claiming unemployed benefits, investigative journalist Paul Connolly and his team also found evidence that the store was selling counterfeit cigarettes and antibiotics without prescriptions.

The dodgy dealings are revealed in an episode of Undercover Benefits Cheat after a reporter, equipped with a hidden camera, obtained a job at the shop in the Midlands.

She tells the shop manager, known as Aram, that she would like to work full-time whilst still claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

The handout is only available to those who work up to 16 hours a week - so Aram tells her he will pay her cash in hand and fudge her payslips.

He said: 'If one day the Jobcentre push you to work, do full-time but we'll give you payslips for only 16 hours a week. If anybody comes in, even if it's next year, just say you've started work. If they see you working, say "this is my first day".'

The undercover reporter finds she's not the only one given such an offer of employment at the store.

Another worker tells her he still claims benefits despite being employed. He said: 'It's better for you to still go to the Jobcentre, don't tell them you are working here. I get the money, there's no one who knows I am working here.'

Whilst working undercover, the reporter appears to discover the store has a lucrative black market trade in smuggled cigarettes and under-the-counter medicine.

She found evidence of counterfeit goods hidden around the store in trap doors under fridges and secret compartments behind shelves and air conditioning vents.

When Trading Standards Officers pay a surprise visit, the reporter is given a bag stuffed with illegal products and told to run away from the store with them via a back entrance.

When she returns when the coast is clear, Aram admitted: 'If she'd have been caught, we'd have lost everything.'

Aram and his employees are seen selling the counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco powder at cut prices and they avoid putting them through the till so there is no record of the sale.

They also sell prescription-only medication in the same manner.

Aram admits he has no idea what the drugs he sells are for and he does not ask customers to show him a prescription in order to obtain them.

When a mother comes in asking if a prescription-only drug on sale is suitable for children, he said: 'We have antibiotics but maybe not for children, I'm not sure, you have to read if it's good for children or not.'

He later admits to the undercover Channel 5 employee: 'We have Duomox, Kattanol, Augemen, are they antibiotics? You tell me I don't know. Do you have to have a prescription? No, just sell them like that.'

Duomox is a amoxicillin-based drug - a penicillin antibiotic that fights bacteria with a long list of side effects including stomach cramps and passing blood. The other drugs are actually believed to be Augmentin, used to treat bacterial infections, and Ketonal - a drug for preventing and treating postoperative pain. The NHS website warns that taking extra doses of Augmentin, even one additional tablet, can prove harmful.

At the end of the show, the undercover reporter reveals her true identity and Paul Connolly arrives with a camera crew to confront Aram, who denies any wrongdoing.

He tells Paul, while physically shoving him out of the shop door: 'I only offered her part-time work. Get out, you're not welcome here, you have to leave.'

Paul said: 'He tried to deny it all but he struggled to do so because he knew exactly what he was doing was wrong.'

He added of Amran and the other benefits cheats he exposes on the show: 'They might not be hardened criminals but they don't have to be to rip off the benefits system. It's a crime that is anything but victimless because it's you, me and the decent, honest people on benefits who pick up the bill.'

Source
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Lottery winner jailed for benefit fraud

August 13, 2015, 5:02 am
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Benefit bosses are warning other fraudsters that they are hot on their heels after a Mansfield lottery winner was jailed.

Pensioner Lynn Doreen Swain was found to have swindled more than £90,000 over a 17-year period. The 68-year-old had spent years claiming she was living alone, but was in fact married.

Financial details obtained through the DWP found that during that time, Swain had even enjoyed a windfall on the lottery, landing more than £29,000.

Following the successful prosecution, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) issued a statement warning others about scrounging cash they are not entitled to.

Paul Baggeley, the DWP’s fraud manger said:
Most people claiming benefits are honest, but there are the unscrupulous minority who cheat taxpayers’ money out of our welfare system and divert it away from those who really need it. People pretending to live alone to get benefits is one of the most common types of benefit fraud, and this case shows our investigators are bringing criminals to justice. Failure to report a change in circumstances that may affect your benefit claim, such as a partner moving in, is a crime. Small amounts of weekly overpayments build up and you could end up having to pay back tens of thousands of pounds. People must tell us if their situation changes before it’s too late.
Swain came to the attention of the authorities through data matching, when agencies come together to share information on suspected benefit cheats.

It was found that she had been fraudulently claiming from December 1996, up to November 2013.

She had been claiming income support, pension credit, housing and council tax benefits she was not entitled to. There were also saving in her accounts that she had kept quiet.

She had claimed them under her maiden name, Wightman, and had failed to tell then authorities that she was married, was living with her husband and that her name had been changed to Swain.

Admitting fraud charges, she admitted the pair had been living together since May, 1995.

She was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court for 12 months.

Source
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Kolawole Oladimeji fined for illegal sub-letting

August 16, 2015, 4:00 pm
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A social housing tenant has been fined for renting out his property in a landmark case.

Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard Kolawole Oladimeji moved out of the house on Oaklands Grove, Gipton, and let it to an unsuspecting family for a profit.

Chevin Housing property management organisation alerted Leeds City Council after finding out what he was doing.

Following a joint investigation, a decision was taken to prosecute through the courts in the first case pursued under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act.

The court heard Oladimeji advertised the property on a free internet classified web page, issued a fake tenancy agreement and even obtained £1,500 rent in advance as well as a deposit.

The 37-year-old who gave his address as Crown Street, Reading, pleaded guilty to sub-letting the property.

He was ordered to pay a fine and costs amounting to £784.17 along with £355 in compensation. The £1,500 advance rent has also been repaid.

The council said it had now recovered more than 200 properties from suspected fraudsters.

Executive board member for communities Coun Debra Coupar said:
This landmark case demonstrates the steps we are willing to take with local housing associations to tackle tenancy fraud in our city. Social housing is for genuine applicants who need a safe and secure home.

When a tenant sublets their property it deprives another family on the waiting list of a home. This case should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can profit from committing tenancy fraud that we are watching closely and strong action will be taken if an offence is found to have taken place.
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Good old Yorkshire name, Kolawole Oladimeji.

If the council has recovered over 200 properties that is a lot of cost saving - though the council do not say over what period the houses were recovered. Nor do they state their total housing stock.

But if  more than 200 have been recovered, there are probably plenty more wrongly occupied.

And social housing fraud is the most wicked form of welfare fraud. The sums that can be saved are huge, but it's so much more than the money - needy families are being deprived of the chance to have a settled home that suits their needs.

Against that background, the court's sentence looks regrettably puny.
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Light sentences for recidivist criminals

August 19, 2015, 4:00 pm
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A pair of benefit cheats have walked free from court after claiming almost £75,000 of welfare payments they were not entitled to.

Michael McQuoid, 60, claimed his mobility was so poor he could not walk and needed help with everyday tasks such as getting dressed and washing.

But investigators saw him moving easily in and out of a car and helping his wife Susan – who was claiming benefits as his carer – with her mail order catalogue business, Preston Crown Court heard.

Both defendants were previously convicted of selling fake Rolex watches last year and Mr McQuoid also has a conviction for selling cars which did not exist in 2009.

The court heard Mr McQuoid – who now lives in a caravan in Monks Wood Hall, Out Rawcliffe – started claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in 2009 at the higher rate for care and mobility. He also claimed income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit, totalling £58,718.62.

His wife Susan, 56, claimed £17,000 of carer’s allowance - despite bringing in £41,000 from her book and gift selling business – which she failed to declare. Instead, she claimed her caring duties to her husband severely restricted her ability to work.

Mr McQuoid pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud, after being confronted with surveillance which showed him lifting and carrying boxes and getting in and out of the car without any support. He was also seen walking further than the limited distance he claimed to be able to cover unaided.

Mrs McQuoid admitted a single count of benefit fraud.

It is understood they are both now paying back the money they cheated from the state.

Recorder Simon Berkson, sentencing, said: “Benefits are paid so that people can survive in society. Dishonesty costs the public purse significant amounts of money each year and affects all areas of public spending – including health care which you have benefited from over this time.”

He handed Mr McQuoid an eight month sentence, suspended for two years and put Mrs McQuoid on 12 months supervision with the probation service.

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Derbyshire couple ‘plundered’ benefits for lavish lifestyle

August 20, 2015, 4:00 pm
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A couple has been jailed after an investigation into benefit fraud found they were ‘plundering the benefits system’ to maintain a ‘lavish’ lifestyle, a court was told.

Shireena Kilnorton has been sentenced to a year in prison after wrongly claiming benefits for five years, having told the Department of Work and Pensions she was living as a single mum.

And her teenage children will now be left without a primary carer as their stepfather, Paul Kilnorton also faces a jail term for weapons offences.

Derby Crown Court was told on Friday, August 14 how police officers found the two were supplementing a ‘lavish’ lifestyle on benefits, and discovered three illegal weapons at their home in East View, Langwith.

At a sentencing hearing the prosecution outlined how Mrs Kilnorton opened three benefits claims in 2006, which she was entitled to while the couple had separated.

But when they reunited and failed to disclose the change of circumstances her claims for income support, housing benefits and council tax benefit continued.

And from 2009 to 2014 the court heard the evidence was ‘overwhelming, to the point of being crushing’ that the two were living together as man and wife.

Mr Kilnorton made some 30 calls to his landlord over building repairs in the period – he opened a joint bank account for the couple in 2012 and had also bought a new Land Rover Discovery, registered to the house.

When police conducted a search of the property they found two 40-inch flat screen televisions at either end of the living room, connected to a variety of games consoles, said the prosecutor Steven Taylor.

He added: “Their kitchen might be described as state-of-the-art, with a walk-in fridge stocked with food, and they had an interesting taste in consumables.”

The master bedroom gave further evidence they were living as a couple, with his-and-hers wardrobes, ‘so it was manifestly obvious to officers that the two were living together as man and wife’.

It was then that police found illegal weapons in the house, namely two stun guns in a plastic bag on the desk, and a canister of CS gas inside a locked safe.

Mr Kilnorton, described as a ‘good earner’ with a salary of £27,000 as a long-distance lorry driver, also had two driver’s licences in different names, the court heard.

Mr and Mrs Kilnorton, who have since been evicted from the address and had their benefits sanctioned, acquired more than £42,000 fraudulently from the Government - and the court heard that even though they clearly had an affectionate relationship, Mr Kilnorton said it was his wife that made the claims in interview.

Presiding, Mr Recorder Dominic Nolan QC, agreed with his defence, Andrew Malloy, saying: “She is the one that must take responsibility.”

In quantifying Mrs Kilnorton’s culpability, the prosecution said her act was as simple as ‘putting in a claim and then you keep taking the money until they catch you’.

However when previously challenged about the fraud Mrs Kilnorton denied any wrong doing.

Mr Nolan added: “You lied, and you got away with it. You then committed offences after receiving the clearest warning.”

Her defence barrister Christopher Brewin argued the case for a suspended sentence, as the couple’s two teenage children will lose their primary carer if she is sent to prison.

But after hearing that they had a wide extended family, the judge handed out immediate custodial sentences for both.

The recorder said in closing: “There are many people with real needs, needs not fully met because of restraints on budget which are made worse by those who plunder the benefits system for the sake of greed.”

After her guilty plea, Shireena Kilnorton was sentenced to a total of 66 months of prison sentences over four counts, to be served concurrently over 21 months.

Paul Kilnorton, pleaded guilty to the weapons charges, and received sentences for each weapon totalling three and a half years, to be served concurrently over 12 months.

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Gravesham reveals local fraud totals

August 25, 2015, 1:24 am
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Fraud investigators have revealed cheats falsely claimed £700,000 worth of housing and council tax benefits in Gravesham last year. (h/t Dave)

Gravesham Borough Council has identified £535,136 was wrongly claimed in housing benefits while council tax fraud totalled £173,390.

The money was uncovered after 636 investigations into fraudsters with more than a thousand allegations made in the borough last year.

Inquiries led to the recovery of 10 council properties and 13 convictions for benefit fraud offences. Fifteen cautions were issued for minor offences.

This is not much from 636 investigations, though!

Source
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Light sentence for sub-letting

September 2, 2015, 1:51 am
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An Exeter man has been sentenced at magistrates after illegally subletting his Local authority council flat when he was living somewhere else.

David Mukanirwa, 31, of Darwin Court was prosecuted under S1(2) of the prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 for subletting his Exeter flat on two occasions whilst he lived in Swindon after advertising it for rent on Gumtree.

Mr Mukanirwa pleaded guilty and said that he told the council that one of the subtenants was his girlfriend so that he could get permission from them for her to stay there. However, she said that when she was moving in she had met a neighbour who told her she would be evicted on Monday whent he council found her there.

He went on to say that he wanted to save money to pay the tuition fee for his university course and that he wasn't going to afford this with paying for two flats. However, he also said that English was not his first or even his second language and that he had not understood what 'subletting' meant and thought that, so long as he had permission from the council for her to be there it was okay.

In sentencing, the chair of the bench, David Whittaker, said that, whilst the bench had some sympathy, he had sublet his flat when he knew that he shouldnt and said that one of the tenants was his girlfriend when he knew that she wasnt.

Saying that they were taken into account the very limited amount of money that Mr Mukanirwa was earning, he was sentenced to £100 fine per offence, a victim surcharge of £20 and prosecution costs of £450, making £610 in total.

Plymouth City Council brought the prosecution as part of its work with the Devon Social Housing Fraud Forum on behalf of Exeter City Council - which is made up of other local authorities and social landlords in Devon to tackle tenancy fraud.

Although this particular case involves a defendant and offences in Exeter, Plymouth takes the lead in prosecuting housing fraud in Devon.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Housing Revenue Account, said: “There are thousands of people who desperately need a home. However tenancy fraud within social housing isn’t fair and costs the tax payer around £900 million a year. Those that are carrying out this fraud are cheating those people who genuinely need a home. This prosecution sends a clear message that tough action will be taken against those people who commit social housing fraud.”

Source

Why had been allocated a subsidised flat in the first place? And not one flat, but two. What university course was he going to pursue with English not even his second language? What qualifications did he have?

This account raises many questions.
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Mother jailed for benefit fraud & gashing a woman

September 3, 2015, 12:48 am
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A mum who hurled her glass at another woman in a night club, causing a 10cm gash from ear to mouth, has been jailed for 12 months.

Gemma Burrows, 25, wept as she was led to the cells after admitting wounding and four benefit fraud offences worth £35,000.

Natalia Cornwall, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that about 2am on December 27 last year Burrows was in the Bar 44 club in Westmill Street, St Helens.

She accidentally bumped into Leanne Garrity, who was on the dance floor, causing her to spill her drink. An argument developed between the victim and Burrows' friend.

Burrows threw her drink and the glass hit Ms Garrity in the face. She did not realise she had been injured until she felt blood running down her face. Door staff gave her first aid and at Whiston Hospital it was found she had a deep ten centimetre laceration from her mouth to her ear.

Miss Cornwall told the court that police had been unable to trace the victim, who has moved address, to obtain a victim personal statement, but she may have been left scarred for life and suffering permanent nerve damage.

After reading on Facebook about the victim’s injuries Burrows went to a police station the next day and confessed. She accepted throwing the glass and apologised.

The court heard that the fraud offences involved her claiming income support, child tax credit and housing and council tax benefit on the grounds she was a single mum between July 2011 and April 25 last year. However for at least 18 months of that time she had been living at her home with her partner, Matthew Phillips.

Robert Haygarth, defending, said that Burrows, who has two daughters, has scant recollection of the incident in the club but had gone to the police to confess when reading about it on Facebook. She has low self-esteem and was not confident that her partner would stay with her. They did break up for a time but got back together, he added.

Sentencing Burrows the judge, Recorder Anil Murray, said that CCTV showed her throwing the glass which left the victim “with a deep and nasty cut from the corner of her mouth to her ear and she needed cosmetic surgery. You have genuine remorse and felt sick when shows what you had done. I can see you are remorseful from your actions. It will be difficult for your children but it is your fault.”

The judge said he accepted that he sentenced her on the basis that she had wrongly obtained £20,000 in benefits as some of the period her partner was not living with her.

The court heard that she was the subject of an eight week suspended sentence for driving while disqualified and with excess alcohol at the time of the fraud and the judge activated two weeks to run concurrently to the 12 months with a further two months concurrently for the fraud.

Source
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