Benefit fraud

A mother of two who received more than £13,000 in benefits after failing to declare £41,000 in savings has been sentenced for benefit fraud.

Jennifer Williams, 45, from Harpenden, was handed a 12 month community order and ordered to pay costs of £85 after pleading guilty at St Albans Magistrates’ Court to fraudulently claiming housing and council tax benefit.

Williams received £13,223 in housing benefit and £50.90 council tax benefit after failing to declare the £41,000 in savings she received from a divorce settlement.

The 45 year old would not have been able to claim the benefits if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which carried out the investigation, had been made aware of the savings.

A spokesman for DWP, Gordon Collins, told the Herts Advertiser that Williams was discovered when checks revealed a computer match with an interest-bearing account containing the savings.

He added that although the magistrate did not order Williams to pay back the benefits fraudulently claimed, the DWP would be taking action to retrieve the money.

More than 85% of fraud allegations made by the public over the last five years were false, according to figures obtained by the Observer. (h/t Dave)

A freedom of information request to the Department for Work and Pensions discloses that between 2010 and 2015 the government closed 1,041,219 alleged cases of benefit fraud put forward by the public. Insufficient or no evidence of fraud was discovered in 887,468 of these. In 2015 alone, of the 153,038 cases closed by the DWP’s Fraud and Error Service, 132,772 led to no action.

People can use an online form on the DWP website to anonymously report suspects, listing their eye colour, piercings, scars, tattoos and other details they deem relevant. Suspicions can also be logged through the DWP benefit fraud hotline.

Information received by the Observer states that more than 1.6 million cases of benefit fraud were opened between 2010 and 2015 after reports logged by the public. Responding to the figures, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “The alarming number of incorrect reports shows the system has failed, it should be the DWP which investigates benefit fraud, not your closest neighbours. This McCarthy-style reporting of benefit fraud is another example of the government’s desire to turn people against the welfare state and to treat sick and disabled people as second-class citizens.”

Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary, spoke of “the poisonous way the Tories have continually talked down our social security system”. He said: “Where there are abuses of the system they should be dealt with swiftly. However, the government’s constant attempts to paint honest people – like low-paid workers relying on tax credits and universal credit – as ‘skivers’ is creating a hostile and accusatory environment. The Tories should view these results with shame and pledge to turn the page on their divisive rhetoric.”

The inaccurate reports will throw into question multiple government advertising campaigns, claiming that the public has a “role” in identifying “benefit cheats”. Television adverts, social media posts, letters and radio campaigns have been used to warn claimants about fraudulently claiming benefits. Government statistics show fraudulent claims accounted for 0.7% – or £1.2bn – of total benefit expenditure in the financial year 2012-2013. An estimated £1.6bn was underpaid to claimants by the DWP. In the same year a further 0.9% of total benefit expenditure was overpaid following claimant errors, which occur when claimants fail to report changes in their circumstances or the information provided is incomplete or inaccurate but there is no fraudulent intent.

There seems to be a large disparity between this and public perception: an Ipsos Mori survey in 2013 found the public believed 24% of benefits were fraudulently claimed – 34 times greater than the level seen in official statistics.

The response to the freedom of information request from the DWP states: “It should be noted that members of the public, as they are not trained to detect benefit fraud, are not always correct in their identification.” A spokesperson added: “Information from the public about suspected benefit fraud saved the taxpayer around £180m last year. Calls to the fraud hotline are vital – we take benefit fraud very seriously, so whenever we receive an allegation we investigate and, if necessary, prosecute and recover overpaid benefits.”

A City compliance officer responsible for ensuring his firm followed the rules of the financial markets forged official papers to hide his conviction for fraud.

Adam Lancelot, 39, was caught in 2012 receiving hundreds of pounds in benefits despite being employed by firms such as Barclays Wealth and Bank of America.

He was sentenced to 300 hours’ community service but doctored Maidstone crown court papers to say that he had been cleared of the fraud on appeal.

Prosecutor Kate Shilton told City of London magistrates’ court that Lancelot was interviewed for a job at Worldwide Currencies Ltd in 2014, and when questioned about a newspaper report about his 2012 conviction “said he had been acquitted and had the document to prove that fact”. But Maidstone crown court refuted this and Lancelot, of East Sussex, was sacked.

City of London magistrates’ court was told he sought £10,000 in libel damages from The Daily Telegraph for reporting his 2012 conviction and spent £180,000 trying to have online reports removed.

Lancelot, who now works for London-based Icon Finance, admitted fraud and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Source

A young motorist caught parking with her dead grandmother’s blue badge told investigators she was ‘using it in her honour’. (h/t Dave)

Emily Davis, 21, was stopped while using the disabled person’s badge to park in her Mini One in St George’s Square, Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Quizzed by a Portsmouth City Council investigator she first claimed her grandmother was shopping nearby. But in truth, her grandmother Elizabeth Davis died in September 2014 – nearly a year before Davis was caught.

Now she has been fined £750 with an extra £360.20 to pay on top in costs.

Jenny Ager, prosecuting, told how on August 12 last year Davis said she had driven down from London and dropped off her nan.

Ms Ager said: ‘She said “it’s my nan’s badge, she’s shopping, I just dropped her off”.’ Davis repeated this three times, Ms Ager said. When confronted with the truth, Davis admitted: ‘Yes I’m lying, I should know better – I used to work in a custody suite.’

Davis, who wept in the dock at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court, said: ‘I’ve never done anything illegal in my car, no parking things that have gone against me. I’ve never parked in inappropriate places. I’ve never used the badge before, it was the first time I’ve had it. I’ve learned a huge lesson between now and August, I’ve regretted every moment of it. I’m very sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.’

Davis must also pay a £75 victim surcharge, meaning she pays £1,121.20 in total.

Source with pictures

More than £3.6m of losses to the public purse are estimated to have been stopped by Oxford-based fraud investigators in their first year of operation.

Oxford City Council's investigations team has already saved the taxpayer £3.3m in 2015/16 and this figure is expected to rise by another £300,000 by the end of the financial year, a report shows.

It was launched last April after the government changed the way councils investigate fraud and within its first month had already paid its own running costs.

Types of fraud it tackles include people who are wrongly trying to access council tax discounts, the right-to-buy and social housing.

And the team has now expanded its activities to cover Oxfordshire – in partnership with the county council – to target people wrongly using blue badges.

Investigations team leader Scott Warner said: "The level of success so far has been a surprise and we are extremely pleased to be where we are. With the development of technology and new methods, we are detecting and preventing more and more fraud. The chances of offenders getting away with it are drastically reducing."

Mr Warner revealed officers have beefed up their capabilities by bringing in new computer systems that can compare vast amounts of national data with local records.

It will enable them to carry out more checks for fraud like the data-matching exercise in 2013 that led to the conviction of Oxford couple Kevan Barrett and partner Kerri Kinsey last year, who wrongly claimed £203,395 in benefits.

Since the changes made by the government last year, councils no longer investigate housing benefit fraud, but Mr Warner's team now focuses on stopping the council being defrauded.

This means stopping people from wrongly claiming council tax discounts and the right-to-buy, confiscating ill-gotten cash and taking back houses from people who have supplied misleading information.

Mr Warner added that the council is now looking to work more with neighbouring authorities.

He said: "Using data from partners we can tackle cross-boundary fraud, look at trends and take action before problems develop. It is all about staying one step ahead."

City council deputy leader and finance chief Ed Turner said: "I am really proud of the work our investigations team has done. Clearly – although they are a minority – there will always be people who try to rip off the council or access things they are not entitled to by giving information they know to be wrong. They can take up council homes that are desperately needed by families and, given the scarcity of housing, that is a real concern. Fortunately, the chances of them being caught are that much higher in Oxford because of the good work being done here."

Source

So how much more fraud is there to uncover?

Recidivist Tunstall mother of six Melanie Jude has been jailed for duping the state out of almost £36,000 in child tax credits.

The 39-year-old legitimately claimed the handouts from 2009 on the grounds she had six dependent children and her husband was working 15 hours a week. But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard she continued to claim despite her children living away from her.

The fraudulent claims – between September 23, 2011, and December 5, 2013 - led to her being paid £35,599 she was not entitled to.

And they were made while she served a suspended jail sentence for two offences of failing to notify a change of circumstances affecting her entitlement to benefits.

Now Jude has been locked up for 30 weeks.

Prosecutor Joanne Wallbanks said: "She failed to inform the authorities of her children no longer being dependent upon her. She declared each year that the information was correct. She had a chance to tell of the changes in 2012 and 2013, but she continued to claim."

The court heard that in April 2011, Jude was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, after being convicted to two offences of benefit fraud.

She pleaded guilty to being concerned in fraudulent activity.

Anis Ali, mitigating, said the claims were not fraudulent from the outset. He said she was experiencing real difficulties at the time.

But Mr Ali said Jude and her husband were now both in full-time work, and that she was in a position to start to repay the cash. Mr Ali added: "She has learnt a lesson. She wants to put her offending behind her and put her life back on track."

Source

A Banstead woman has been sentenced after fraudulently claiming more than £23,000 in benefits.

Sally Anne Mullane, 64, was handed a three month jail term, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to dishonestly failing to tell Reigate and Banstead Borough Council about money she had in declared and undeclared and accounts.

The fraud, which dates back to 2011, saw Mullane claim £19,247 in housing benefit and £1,493 in council tax support from the council that she was not entitled to, as well as underpaying on her council tax by £1,026.

She also fraudulently claimed £1,331 in employment support allowance from Department of Work and Pensions.

Her crimes came to light following an investigation by the council's corporate anti-fraud team, working with the DWP.

Routine checks made in administering her benefit claim showed that since making her claim in 2009, Mullane had received large sums of money into the bank account she had declared on her claim form.

Further investigation revealed that she had a second undeclared bank account, which had also received large deposits and that Mullane had deliberately failed to tell the council or the DWP of this change in circumstances.

The court also ordered Mullane to pay the council's costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £80.

Mullane has since paid back her council tax and council tax support overpayments and begun to pay back the housing benefit.

Source

She should have to repay twice what she stole. By the way, I wonder where that money came from?

A benefit cheat bride has been given 368 years to pay back cash she fiddled from taxpayers - at a rate of just £2.66 a week.

Scammer Michelle Winstone - daughter-in-law of ex-boxing world champion Howard Winstone - was busted by her own wedding pictures on Facebook.

Winstone, 48, claimed she was living alone to claim income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit and council tax relief - netting £51,034.71.

But she was really living with hubby Wayne who works full-time for a furniture firm.

Government snoopers were tipped off after the dopey pair put their wedding pictures from 2010 on the internet.

But yesterday a court allowed Winstone to pay it back rather than go to jail – even though she would be 416 years old before she repaid her debt in 2384.

Prosecutor Alexander Greenwood said she could only afford £2.66 a week He said: “It is unlikely the full amount will be recovered from benefits. She had failed to tell the authorities that she was living with her husband following a temporary break up. Surveillance of the home also showed they were living together." Mr Greenwood told the court investigators also saw the couple's relationship statuses and wedding pictures on Facebook.

Winstone, of Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil, admitted failing to notify authorities of a change in circumstance.

Andrew Davies, defending, said Winstone was not in good health and was paying back all she could. He said: "She did not make a conscious decision but accepts that she knew her circumstances had changed."

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones told Winstone: "A lot of people have to cope and do it honestly. I am a human being seeking to understand the problems people face but there is no doubt a prison sentence is the right sentence."

Winstone was handed an eight month suspended sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court and ordered to continue repaying her debt.

Her father-in-law Howard Winstone won the British, European, and World featherweight title – and clinched gold at the 1958 British Empire Games at bantamweight. He died aged 61 in in 2000 and a bronze statue was unveiled in his home town of Merthyr Tydfil.

Source

An engineering boss on £50,000-a-year has been jailed after claiming he was jobless and pocketing £110,000 to go on a string of exotic golfing holidays.

Fraudster David Rothwell even posted photos of himself on Facebook posing in a bar and with a snake around his neck while on luxury trips during an 11-year-period of illegally claiming benefits.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that the 66-year-old started claiming Jobseeker's Allowance at the start of 2003 after losing his job at an engineering firm.

For the first year he claimed benefits legitimately but when he landed a top role at Imperial College London in January 2004 he did not inform the authorities.

The court heard how Rothwell, of Borough Green, Kent, even started claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit in January 2004 – the very time he had just landed the new job.

He continued working at the university for four years until he landed a new position as an engineering compliance manager for John Laing Integrated Services in August 2008.

Rothwell was earning between £40,000 and £50,000-a-year.

The court heard how he illegally claimed Jobseeker's Allowance from January 2004 until April 2009, when he eventually came clean about his job.

But he managed to keep claiming housing and council tax benefits until May 2015 – when his scam was rumbled.

Rothwell enjoyed a string of exotic holidays courtesy of the taxpayer as he claimed £109,153 in benefits he was not entitled to. The keen golfer bragged on his Facebook page how he holidayed in Gambia in 2011 and again twice in 2012, in April and October.

Rothwell pleaded guilty to seven counts of benefit fraud and was jailed for one year.

He was charged on two counts of falsely claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, four counts of falsely claiming housing and council tax and falsely claiming pension credit from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Source with picture

Three people have been found guilty of helping foreigners fraudulently claim more than half a million pounds in housing benefit from Redbridge Council.

The defendants ran “bogus” businesses and charities, which would provide fake employment details for Italians of Bangladeshi origin to claim benefits.

Chowdhury Muyeed, 52, from Newbury Park, was convicted of the more serious offence of conspiring to dishonestly produce documentation relating to social security with a 10 – 2 majority.

After nine hours of deliberating the jury found his wife Asma Khanam, 47, guilty of dishonestly producing documentation by the same majority, but not guilty of conspiring to do so.

The third defendant Habibur Rahman, 36, of Arbury Road, Mile End, was acquitted of the conspiracy charge, but convicted of the same crime as Khanam by a 10 – 2 majority.

Judge Nigel Peters QC said: “All three are convicted of serious offences. In the male defendants’ case, both face substantial sentences of imprisonment.”

Judge Peters indicated the starting point for Muyeed would be five and half years in jail due to “high culpability”, and Khanam’s involvement would be decided at sentencing on April 8.

The crown indicated it would be pressing for strong sentences for the couple, as the fraudulent benefit claims they assisted amounted to “just under £1million” from Redbridge and Tower Hamlets Councils.

During the nine-day case, the court heard 26 people had already admitted falsely claiming benefits in relation to the case, and four people were found guilty of the same offence.

Judge Peters rejected bail applications from Muyeed and Rahman, who has three children under the age of nine. He granted Khanam bail so she could make preparations for the care of her 12-year-old son.

Source

The case of Mr Fong rumbles on.

He has now appeared at Newport Crown Court charged with two counts of dishonest representation for obtaining benefits after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that the Chinese national, who has lived in the UK for more than 45 years, can’t speak any English. Fong claimed benefits amounting to £68,779 between 2004 and 2014. The court heard that during this time his wife had more than £200,000 in assets.

Prosecutor Ruth Smith said he filled in forms for himself for pension credit and council tax benefit with declaring savings in building society and ISA savings accounts. This is even though he can't speak any English!

The total amounts obtained by Fong during this 10-year period included £64,451 in pension credit and £4,328 in council tax benefit.

Fong was arrested in 2014 and claimed in a police interview he did not know his wife's financial affairs. He later admitted he was aware that his wife had money but did not know how much.

Gareth Williams, defending Fong, said the defendant had paid back the council tax benefit and was paying back the pension credit at a rate of £24 per fortnight.

Judge Daniel Williams sentenced Fong to 10 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place on July 27 to decide how much money will be confiscated from Fong to pay back the money he illegally claimed.

Source

A benefit cheat mum who swindled more than £50,000 was told by a judge that "taxpayers subsidised her family" for seven years. (h/t Dave)

Tracey Wilson started claiming benefits as a single parent when she split up with her partner – but failed to notify the authorities when the pair got back together.

Over a seven-year period – during which time she and her partner had a third child – the 47-year-old claimed a total of £50,897.

Nottingham Crown Court was told that she did not think the relationship was going to work and had "buried her head in the sand" by not notifying the authorities.

But Judge Michael Stokes told the court she had "continued to take the money".

Wilson admitted failing to tell Nottingham City Council, and the Department for Work and Pensions, about her change in living arrangements. Her partner was earning £30,000-a-year working for Rolls-Royce.

Judge Stokes said: "We have his income and the taxpayer subsidising them for seven years."

Wilson cried as she was handed a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for one year, and was told to do 150 hours of community work.

Judge Stokes said: "For a period of several years you have been in receipt of benefit totalling some £50,000 which you must have known, and I am satisfied did know, certainly by 2008, that you were not entitled to. What happened was you sat back and allowed this money to continue to be paid to you."

The court heard that Wilson, a former teaching assistant, began claiming benefits legitimately in 1999 when her relationship broke down and she was raising her two children as a single mum.

In 2008 she was reunited with her former partner, and he moved back into the family home. But the benefits claims continued and were spent on bringing up the children and daily expenses.

The judge was told how benefit investigators checked on the family – driving past the house 24 times and seeing the dad's car in the driveway on 20 occasions. His work records also showed that he was living at her address.

Mitigating, Christine Luckock said that Wilson was suffering from depression and was remorseful.

"The reason she got into this mess was because the relationship between herself and her partner was quite volatile. They had a relationship for a considerable period of time and had two children. They split up. He was still in contact with the children. They resumed living together in September 2008 but at that point she didn't think the relationship was going to work and didn't notify the authorities in the circumstances. She effectively buried her head in the sand."

The court was told that Wilson now works in a cafe, earning £150 per week. She is paying £350 each month back to the authorities.

Do you know a benefit cheat? Call the fraud hotline on 0800 854 440.

Source

A housing officer has been found guilty of subletting his housing association property.

Abayomi Carew, formerly of Keynes Court, Thamesmead, was given a 12-month community punishment order with 180 hours unpaid work for illegally subletting his Gallions Housing Association property.

Checks on Mr Carew by Greenwich council officers found that he had purchased a two-bedroom house in Grays, Essex in 2002 which he sold in 2004 and purchased a three-bedroom house in Purfleet, Essex – both of which he had been living in.

It was also found that Carew, 59, had been working as a housing officer with the London borough of Ealing since 2012.

Mr Carew, who pleaded not guilty to one charge under the Fraud Act, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court following a two-day trial at which he was found guilty.

He was also ordered to pay the council costs of £4,272 within three months and to pay a victim surcharge of £60.

The case is the first prosecution arising from work undertaken by Greenwich council officers in partnership with local Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). Previous investigations have led to the recovery of 23 homes.

Councillor Maureen O’Mara, the cabinet member for customer services, said: “The demand for social housing, by people who are in genuine need is at an all-time high for all social housing providers. Due to the excellent joint working of ourselves and the Gallions Housing Association, we have managed to catch another housing fraudster so that justice can be served and homes reclaimed for those who do need them."

Nicci Talbot-Morris, the head of neighbourhoods at the Peabody Group, of which GHA is a part, said: “Peabody is committed to ensuring that people do not use our homes to profit from the shortage of affordable housing in London. We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Royal Greenwich to recover this property that can now be offered to people who are in genuine housing need.”

Source

A gang involved in a £2.8 million benefit fraud and sham marriage scam has been brought to justice after a major crackdown. (h/t Dave)

Ringleader Amankou Ndoli, from Stretton, near Burton, was convicted of fraud at Croydon Crown Court after leading a gang which falsely obtained National Insurance numbers to claim handouts over seven years.

The 48-year-old also arranged 225 sham marriages to allow migrants to receive marriage certificates recognised in the UK at an 'incalculable' cost to the British taxpayer.

He was arrested following a series of dawn raids in Burton and London in June last year. These involved officers from the Home Office, Metropolitan Police, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and several other agencies.

One of his accomplices was Erica Lazdane, 47, from Winshill. She was jailed for 12 months after admitting to being involved with a sham marriage as part of the scam.

The gang, made up of six people in total, four based in London, were jailed for a total of 17 years – with Ndoli awaiting to learn his fate after falling ill just before the sentencing hearing.

A spokesman for the DWP said: "A small number of criminals view our welfare system as free money there for the taking. These benefit thieves are cheating money out of hardworking taxpayers and stealing funds that should help the most vulnerable. People who commit organised fraud try to turn the welfare system into a money-making industry and our investigators are working closely with local councils and the police to bring these criminals to justice."

The court heard that Ndoli brought French nationals into Britain for Home Office interviews to apply for National Insurance numbers. The French arrivals would then return home, while the gang created bank accounts to pretend they were EU citizens still living in the UK. The fraudsters would then use the numbers to apply for housing, council tax and work benefits, child allowances and tax credits.

The gang also took part in arranging sham marriages between those in Ghana and the Ivory Coast and the same French citizens whose National Insurance numbers had been taken. The couple would remain in Britain, while they were represented by others 'by proxy' at a wedding in Africa. Certificates from such unions are recognised as legitimate in this country under European law.

The six faced the main charge that between 2008 and 2015 they conspired to fraudulently exploit the identities of EU nationals. All admitted fraud at a hearing in October.

Source

Arthur McCarroll, 58, claimed it took him four minutes to walk just three metres (9.8ft) and said he was so 'severely disabled' he was in danger of falling on a daily basis. His wife Susan, 65, said she couldn't cook a meal and needed help going to the toilet as well as getting in and out of bed and chairs.

But the benefits cheats were caught out when they were filmed lifting heavy goods by Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators. Undercover footage shows the pair carrying hanging baskets filled with flowers as well as loading boxes into a car.

A court heard Susan had wrongly claimed £35,040 in disability benefits since 2002 while Arthur had raked in £29,203.

The couple, from Kingswinford, West Midlands, both pleaded guilty to fraud when they appeared at Dudley Magistrates Court last week.

Arthur was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison suspended for two years while Susan was handed a 26-week sentence suspended for two years. They were also both given a six-week curfew from 7pm until 7am.

Sentencing the pair, magistrate Jayne Pearson said: 'This was a high value fraud that you carried out for your own financial gain. Your greed got the better of you and we take a dim view of such behaviour.'

The court heard Susan was also a regular trader at car boot sales despite her fraudulent disability claims.

Prosecutor Maxine McIntosh said: 'She was in receipt of disability living allowance from 1997 on the grounds that she was severely disabled. In her self assessment claim form, she stated that she had high mobility restriction and needs. But she failed to declare to the DWP when her need for regular care ceased.

'On the claim form she submitted in 2003 she claimed she was unable to walk.'It said she was affected by numerous ailments. She couldn't walk far without discomfort, and had to be with someone when she was outside due to the danger that she may fall. She needed help getting out of her chair, getting in and out of bed, attending to her toilet needs.

'It also said she also needed her husband's help to wash, clean and change her regularly, due to her incontinence. She was unable to prepare or cook a meal because she couldn't cut or chop vegetables or lift pans and could only stand for a few minutes at a time.

'She referred to her husband as being her personal carer. She was involved in the day to day running of the flower business. She regularly attended car boot sales as a trader.

'During surveillance, she was seen to be going about her day to day duties at the flower shop without any problems. She was walking from one room to another and regularly walking to a shop a considerable distance away. She was also filmed at a car boot sale, and her capabilities and mobility seemed to be much improved compared to her claim.'

Speaking about Arthur, Miss McIntosh added: 'He was claiming disability living allowance, incapacity benefit and employment support allowance. His claim stated that he was severely disabled and he had numerous care needs. In November 2011 it stated that he couldn't walk and he was awarded the lower rate of benefit. It stated that he could only walk for three metres before he found himself in severe discomfort and it took him two to four minutes to do that.

'It said he was in danger of falling on a daily basis. It also said he was a high risk heart patient, and there was always a risk he could have a heart attack. Care needs he had included help getting out of a chair. During surveillance, he seemed capable of carrying out day to day duties at his shop.

Two witnesses who were interviewed by investigators said they regularly go into the shop to purchase flowers from him, and they had never seen him need help with carrying out his work.'

James McGowan, defending Susan, said: 'She accepts there has been some improvement and she should have declared her change in circumstances. She has already lost her reputation and her good name and will not be able to regain that, ever.'

Mandeep Gill, defending Arthur, added: 'He has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and is of previous good character.'

Source with pictures

Residents in Weymouth and Portland look set to be fined if they fail to provide accurate and complete information when claiming benefits or council tax.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council is preparing to introduce new ‘civil penalties’ as part of a move nationally to tackle fraud and error in the benefits system.

The government has given councils powers under the Welfare Reform Act to deter claimants from committing benefit fraud and as an inventive for people to promptly notify of a change in circumstances.

It will enable councils to deal with failures quickly and simply, and to address losses in subsidy resulting from errors made by residents in their claims.

The council's Management Committee is being recommended at a meeting next Tuesday to launch an awareness campaign to remind people of their responsibilities and to introduce the penalties. The penalty for failing to supply information, or negligently supplying incorrect information, which results in a housing benefit overpayment would be £50. For council tax payers who fail to do it would be £70. A further penalty of £280 could be imposed if the person continues to supply incorrect information or fails to respond to requests for further information.

A report to the committee says: “It is proposed that, with effect from April 2016, the council introduces a civil penalty scheme which penalises claimants and council taxpayers who fail to supply information (or negligently supplies incorrect information).

“In cases where the civil penalty relates to housing benefit, the claimant will be invoiced accordingly through the debtors system. In cases where the penalty relates to council tax support or council tax, it will be added to the council tax bill and recovered in the same way as any council tax liability.

“There may be situations where customers have mitigating reasons. In view of this, officers will have regard to such factors when determining whether a penalty should be imposed. The scheme will include an appeals process for claimants and council taxpayers who are aggrieved by the imposition of a penalty.”

Finance & assets spokesman Cllr Jeff Cant said the council had to be 'very cautious' when applying this penalty. But he said he was convinced it would target people deliberately trying to cheat the system rather than people who make mistakes.

Source

A benefit cheat has been ordered to pay back £130,000 for a 12-year con.

Alan Littleboy was convicted of taking £101,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions despite owning two homes. He inherited his father’s home in Selsey in 2000 but failed to notify the department – and continued to claim benefits. Now a judge has told him to pay back the cash plus extra.

James Dennison, prosecuting, said the benefit figure amounted to much more than the £101,000. But Bridget O’Hagan, defending, said Littleboy understood he would only have to pay back what was fraudulently taken.

At Portsmouth Crown Court, Judge Linda Sullivan QC ordered the 58-year-old to pay back £130,000 within 14 days.

Littleboy, previously of Longfield Avenue, Fareham, pleaded guilty to three charges of dishonestly making false statements to obtain benefit at an earlier hearing.

Speaking on Friday, Ms O’Hagan said: ‘He was going to sell the property he was living in and renovate the uninhabitable one. We’ve already paid back the council tax benefit. The property he was intending to sell completed yesterday.’

Littleboy claimed income support in 1998 and it later transferred to Employment Support Allowance. He also claimed council tax benefit.

In January the court heard Littleboy claimed £66,655 of income support for 500 weeks, £21,607 of ESA for 147 weeks and £12,827 of council tax benefit between 2002 and 2014.

The house had been under a different surname to his own, but that had been a mistake made by lawyers handling the inheritance, his defence said.

Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, previously described the fraud as ‘eye-watering’ and said he was pleased to see justice being done.

Littleboy saw the home he inherited from his father as an ‘emotional shrine’ as opposed to a capital asset, the court was previously told. Ms O’Hagan told the court: ‘It’s clear to me that he doesn’t view the bungalow as a capital asset. It was uninhabitable when he inherited it and was for some time. To him it’s something like an emotional shrine.’

He was sentenced to a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years with a three-month 6pm-6am curfew with electronic tag. The court heard he had ‘limited understanding’ of the consequences of his actions.

Source with picture

An Angus mother-of-three who fraudulently claimed £30,000 in benefits in three years has been jailed for ten months.

Zowie Tervet told the Department for Work and Pensions and Aberdeenshire council she was an unemployed single mother living alone. But a court heard she was living with her then partner, and now husband, Mark Tervet, who was in employment.

A sheriff said the fraud had been "easy to commit and expensive to detect."

It emerged that the couple were sharing joint bank accounts and that was where Mr Tervet's wages were paid into to support the family.

Depute fiscal Joanne Smith told Forfar Sheriff Court: "During reviews and when she updated other information such as her address she maintained that she was a single mother. When a DWP officer went to her home and interviewed her she claimed Mr Tervet was to move into her house later that month, in October 2013. She claimed not to be aware that his wages were paid into their joint account."

Tervet, 33, from Montrose, admitted two charges under the Social Security Administration Act. The offences were committed at addresses in St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire, and Montrose, Angus.

Defence solicitor Nick Markowski said: "This was not done to fund a lavish lifestyle. It was done to make ends meet, and sometimes they did not. She made a mistake and understands her liberty is at risk today."

Sheriff Gregor Murray said:

The appeal court has determined that in the absence of quite exceptional circumstances any gain of over £20,000 ought to attract a custodial sentence. There are no such circumstances in this case, there were three years of gain.

These crimes are easy to commit and expensive to detect.

You are otherwise a law abiding citizen, a capable mother and wife, but there has to be a deterrent.

Source

A pensioner who dishonestly claimed £32,000 in benefits over a four-year period has been sent to prison.

William Pearson, 68, was jailed for six months over the deception after a court heard how he lied to authorities about his wife’s employment status in order to claim pension credits.

Leeds Crown Court heard Pearson retired in 2009 after being made redundant from his job in the construction industry.

He told the Department of Work and Pensions that he was married and received no other form of income other than his wife’s claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Michael Jowett, prosecuting, said Pearson’s wife began working for a catering company in 2010 but he failed to declare it to the DWP.

Pearson continued to claim the money despite regularly receiving leaflets from the DWP informing him that he must notify them of any change in his circumstances which may affect his entitlement to benefits.

He was interviewed after the offences came to light in December 2014 and initially claimed that his wife did not have a job. He then claimed he thought he was entitled to the money on an unconditional basis.

Pearson pleaded guilty to failing to notify a change in circumstances affecting the entitlement to social security benefit.

Anne-Marie Hutton, mitigating, said Pearson had worked hard all his life until being made redundant and had no previous convictions.

Miss Hutton said Pearson was sorry for what he had done and was in poor health as he suffered from heart and lung problems. He did not have any debts and was now repaying the money he illegally claimed.

Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, told Pearson:

You engaged in a persistent fraud against the Department of Work and Pensions. It was not a moment’s thoughtlessness. It was deliberate dishonesty over a period of four years and it netted you a significant amount of money to which you were not entitled. I take into account your previous good character and that you were a hard working man and are voluntarily making repayments. But those like you who cheat the benefits system out of considerable amounts of money over a considerable period of time must be deterred.

Source

Accountant Chowdhury Muyeed, 52, of Horns Road, Newbury Park, was sentenced to five and half years imprisonment after he was convicted of conspiring to dishonestly produce documentation relating to social security. (h/t Dave) Background here

His wife Asma Khanom, 47, also of Horns Road, was jailed for three and a half years after being found guilty of dishonestly producing documentation, but not guilty of conspiring to do so.

The third defendant Habibur Rahman, 36, of Arbury Road, Mile End, was sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment after he was acquitted of the conspiracy charge, but convicted of the same crime as Khanom.

They ran “bogus” businesses and charities, which would provide fake employment details for Italians of Bangladeshi origin to claim benefits.

The 139 claimants – 28 of which have been convicted – were given documents to prove they were working part time, so they could qualify for housing benefit.

They were able to claim £578,000 worth of housing benefit from the Redbridge Council and more than £600,000 from Tower Hamlets Council.

Muyeed and Khanom were responsible arranging £692,927 worth of benefits from both local authorities. Rahman was responsible for arranging £187,290 in benefits, also from the two councils.

Judge Nigel Peters OC added: “In total, some £1.5m worth of benefits attributable to this investigation have been obtained, so others not traceable to you have been fraudulent.”

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was also duped out of £420,000.

Edward McKiernan mitigating for Muyeed, who was in the process of becoming a qualified accountant in the UK, said: “That profession will no longer be available to him.”

He added: “He’s lost his good character.”

Dale Beeson for mum-of-three Khanom, who graduated with a masters degree in Bangladesh, said: “There’s limited evidence to suggest Mrs Khanom was running the show. She accepts that she fulfilled certain roles. My submission is that it’s not of high culpability, she was performing limited functions under direction. In relation to the children in the family [please] balance the effects of losing both parents.”

Alexander Taylor-Camara for Rahman said: “It does have a traumatic affect when one is the main breadwinner in the household. They [his family] have been affected significantly. He’s a man of good character, who had been here for 14 years, an educated man, and really has lost that and the ability to pursue a proper career.”

In his closing statements, Mr Peters said the three had been convicted of “a most blatant assault” on the UK benefits system:

If someone makes a false benefits claim, that person who might go to prison even for a first offence creates in effect a greater burden on the system, hurts taxpayers and local authority council tax payers.

In short, you were responsible for arranging and facilitating a large number of people who otherwise would have had no involvement in this country – or indeed fraud – by claiming false housing benefit.

He said the fraud would have gone “unabated” if it was not for the arrests made in May, last year.

The judge commended Redbridge Council for its investigations before Khanom waved to the public gallery as she was taken away with the two men.

Source

Benefits thief gets light sentence

Opposition politicians decry public benefit fraud tips

Benefit fraudster commits fraud to hide his conviction

Disabled blue badge fraud costs girl £1100

Oxford trumpets its counterfraud successes

Recidivist benefit fraud mother jailed

Benefit thief had large bank deposits

Boxing champion's daughter fiddles benefits

£110k of benefit fraud on the side

Convictions for organised benefit fraud

Mr Fong goes to court again

Mother fraudulently claimed £50k in benefits

Housing officer sublet home

Organised crime involved benefit fraud

What actual punishment have these benefit thieves had?

"Civil penalties" to deter benefit fraud?

£100,000 benefit cheat told to pay back all the cash

Benefit fraud judgement sends clear message

Another prison sentence for benefit fraud

Short jail sentences for benefit fraud organised crimes