Benefit fraud

The Dellaway case - which we highlighted way back in April - grinds slowly on.

Now she is back in court over how much she should repay. But the hearing has been adjourned till January.

A childminder who conned taxpayers out of nearly £52,000 in disability benefits by claiming she could not walk has offered to pay back £100 a month.

Candace Dellaway, 49, lied for nine years that numbness in her legs meant she was constantly in danger of falling over and hurting herself.

Despite claiming she needed help at home, Dellaway continued to work full-time in at the Croydon Play Plus childrens’ club between June 2006 and October 2015.

When confronted about her lies, she insisted that all she did was watch children and left the heavy lifting to other staff.

She later admitted she had played netball with the children and a photo was taken of her balancing on a gymnastics beam at the club.

Judge Deborah Charles decided not to send her to jail in June this year as ‘an act of mercy’ because her daughter is dependent on her care.

Handing down a 12-month suspended sentence, the judge told Dellaway: ‘The money you claimed could have been spent on the NHS and other services and put to good use.’

Dellaway has now returned to Croydon Crown Court for a hearing to determine how the money should be paid back but the judge adjourned the case until the New Year.

Judge Charles said: ‘I may be being over-cautious but I have fallen foul of this before. You will need to speak to the legal aid agency, Lloyds bank and the defendant’s husband – he has the right to be heard. There has to be time for them to obtain representation if they think it is necessary.’

Dellaway’s husband is currently in custody and much of the money she has is tied up in their mortgage and property.

The childminder was paying the cash back at just £20 a month – so she would need 200 years to pay it back in full – but she has since offered to pay £100 a month instead.

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A man who claimed benefit payments despite having more than £55,000 in savings has been ordered to pay back the money he was overpayed, but has avoided jail.

Paul Shinners had pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by failing to declare his savings when claiming income-related support allowance.

Shinners, 62, from Long Itchington, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for 12 months by a judge at Warwick Crown Court.

Recorder William Edis QC also ordered him to pay £10,776 under the Proceeds of Crime Act and £340 in costs.

Prosecutor Henry Skudra said in 2013 Shinners had started claiming employment support allowance, and a year later he began claiming income-related support allowance.

The basis of his claim was that he was not in work and had no employment or savings.

But in fact it was later found that at the time he made his claim, he had savings totalling £55,183 spread across four building society accounts and a bank account.

Over the period of the fraud from January 2014 until April last year, that figure gradually dropped to £36,500 – which Mr Skudra pointed out was still above the maximum figure at which he could claim such benefit.

And over that period Shinners had been paid £11,719 to which he was not entitled.

Explaining that some of the money has been recovered by being deducted from benefits Shinners was still entitled to, Mr Skudra asked the judge to make a confiscation order for £10,776.

And Jasvir Mann, defending, said Shinners, who has medical issues which mean he would be unsuitable to carry out unpaid work, agreed to the confiscation order.

Recorder Edis commented: “He seems, from the pre-sentence report, to think there’s nothing much wrong with what he’s done. He would know there was if there was a suspended sentence.”

And he told Shinners: “Over two years you continued to claim a particular benefit to which you were not entitled because you had capital over the prescribed limit. I don’t believe for a moment you didn’t know you had this money. This was a sustained piece of fraud. However, it was not fraudulent from the outset. This case clearly crosses the custody threshold, but I am not going to send you to prison. Because of your assets, you are able to make full restitution to the public purse.”

Full restitution is not enough. For this type of benefit fraud, hit them in the pocket. It was money that they cared about, so make them pay. Fine them, so that they have to pay double.

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A benefits fraudster conned 22 councils out of £244,000 in fraudulent housing benefit claims.

Tania Amisi, who lived in Chelsea Harbour, an upmarket district of London, tricked local authorities for six years using fake names into paying her housing and council benefits for properties she did not live at.

The mother of three, who came to the UK from Congo as an asylum seeker aged 12 and was granted indefinite leave to remain, would claim benefits on properties which already had tenants as well as on her own property.

She had also put in applications for a further £65,000 that was not paid to her. Amisi even featured in a BBC documentary Britain on the Fiddle this March which showed her lavish lifestyle and exposed other wealthy benefit claimants.

The 27-year-old spent some of the cash on her £25,000 handbag collection and luxury holidays to the Congo, Ivory Coast, America, Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey.

After pleading guilty to three counts of fraud in January 2015 at Westminster Magistrates' Court, she cut off her electronic tag and went on the run in Europe for two years.

She was charged with other counts and bank statements showed that when she was due for trial at Southwark Crown Court she had bought Eurostar tickets and booked herself into a hotel in Paris. Two days later she went to the Sheraton hotel in Brussels, which costs more than £100 a night. She also posed on Facebook bragging about her travels to the Congo and Istanbul.

When local authorities discovered the fraud the genuine tenants, who had nothing to do with it, were evicted. While on one trip Amisi spent €2,600 in a Prada outlet. She had Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, YSL, Givenchy and Dolce and Gabbana bags thrown at the bottom of a wardrobe.

Amisi also set up a false fashion company called Le Chateau Dior and used a fake name Tania Westwood to claim against Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) agents carried out surveillance on Amisi after she tried to cash phony cheques and discovered thousands of pounds being paid into her account by councils across London.

She was also known as Tania Abidi, Becca Amisi and Tania Alicia with seven different credit cards linked to these four aliases, plus two Congolese passports.

When the DWP raided her Chelsea Harbour home they found full length pictures of her in designer dresses on the wall and she had posing for photshoots which were posted on Instagram.

Amisi made thousands every month from each council, submitting 37 claims against 22 councils - 21 of which were in London. The fraudster claimed she earned the money to pay for her lifestyle by working in a minimum wage job at a local betting shop.

Amisi was pregnant with her fourth child when she was finally arrested in Paris in July after a European Arrest Warrant was issued. She was extradited to Britain and will give birth in prison.

She was convicted in her absence of a further 17 fraud offences between September 2008 and December 2014 plus one charge of skipping bail.

Southwark Crown Court heard the frauds were "an addiction" and she spent some of the money on a Cartier watch and Christian Dior clothes.

Amisi came to the UK from the Congo as an asylum seeker aged around 12 after her father was assassinated, the court heard.

Amit Karia prosecuting said: "She was arrested in France and taken to the airport before extradition to Britain. She has been in custody since July 25. The two addresses in Chelsea Harbour were raided and £25,000 worth of designer handbags were found at the properties. From this large sum of money stolen from this benefit fraud, she did live a lavish lifestyle and squandered that large quantity of money."

Judge Michael Grieve QC jailed her for a total of four years for all 21 offences.

He said: "After entering those three guilty pleas, you fled to the continent of Europe between February and May 2015 until you were arrested in Paris in July 2017. The methods used to commit these frauds involved careful planning and an ever increasing degree of complexity, involving false names and forged bank documents. This fraud continued for a six-year period against some 20 councils and in addition to the £244,000 you claimed, a total of £65,000 in unsuccessful claims were made.

"The nature of this offending was fraudulent from the outset and committed to fund your lavish and extremely comfortable lifestyle. This was not a case of a person in dire financial straits submitting to temptation and making fraudulent claims to get by. You committed these offences to fund your very affluent lifestyle on holidays, restaurants and designer handbags and clothes.

"You had a flat in Chelsea paid for by your fraudulent activities and your son had all the material benefits he could want. Once discovered you could not face up to the consequences and you fled to mainland Europe until you were brought back. There's very little evidence you have shown any remorse before you went to ground in Paris."

Amisi was also ordered to pay a statutory victim surcharge and the Department of Work and Pensions will seek a court order to reclaim the money stolen.

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It's amazing how long it takes some councils to get round to offering a keys amnesty. It's quck, it's cheap, and it offers huge savings.

Tenants who illegally sublet their council houses are being given a month to hand their keys back and avoid prosecution.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is holding a ‘key’ amnesty between January 2, 2018 and January 31 during which time those who are illegally renting their council property out can hand back the key without fear of legal action.

Tenants who illegally sublet their properties are breaking the law and if convicted face an unlimited fine or imprisonment of up to two years for committing fraud.

From February 1 the council is warning tenancy cheats that they will actively seek them out and will prosecute.

Great idea.

Cllr Jill Elson, East Devon District Council’s portfolio holder for sustainable homes and communities, said: “The vast majority of our tenants are living in their homes legally and they have nothing to worry about. Our message is clear: if you are an illegal tenant, then we are giving you a month’s grace to hand back your keys and give up your tenancy and no further action will be taken.”

Cllr Pauline Stott, chairman of East Devon District Council’s housing review board, added: “The council is determined that its limited number of affordable homes are occupied legally by honest tenants. If you are committing tenancy fraud, this is your opportunity to do the right thing and hand back the key. When you return the key, no questions will be asked.”

Latest figures show that there are 723 households in East Devon with a high need for affordable social housing and they are waiting for a home to become available.

• The ‘key’ amnesty is targeted at tenants who illegally sublet, obtain housing by deception, wrongly claim succession (where a tenant dies and someone, who is not entitled to, tries to take over or succeed the tenancy) or sell the key.

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Click the keys amnesty tag below for more.

A benefit cheat falsely claimed more than £55,000 while receiving money from her husband every month.

Sharon Calder was claiming several benefits despite receiving more than £1,000 a month from her husband and around £68,000 in inheritance.

Newport Crown Court heard Calder, 57, had falsely claimed £55,444.43 in benefits including income support, housing benefit, and council tax benefit from around 2009.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) first investigated the case in November 2012 after being made aware of her receiving around £68,000 in inheritance.

Barrister Jeffrey Jones, prosecuting, said that as of November 3 Calder had around £44,500 to pay back, and was currently repaying around £180 a month.

Mr Jones said that after obtaining her bank statements the DWP found the inheritance had been spent in “less than a week”.

The court heard that Calder was receiving £1,000 a month from her husband, which later increased to £1,500, and that the pair were living together.

It was also found that Calder had access to an Asda discount card through her husband, who was employed by the store.

Despite stating that a Subaru car – which was registered in her husband’s name and bought during the period Calder was claiming benefits – was not her responsibility, insurance documents showed that in 2010, 2011 and 2012 Calder was registered as the second-named driver with no medical conditions.

The court heard that Calder had several repeat prescriptions for conditions including back problems and that she received what was described as an “astonishingly vast amount” of paracetamol.

The court was also told that Calder had also appeared to have bought a caravan in Devon during the same period and that she and her husband went on holiday there in 2011 and 2015.

Rosamund Rutter, defending, said Calder previously worked as a care worker but due to a back injury had been out of employment since around 2004 and had no previous convictions.

Ms Rutter said: “She [Calder] regrets her behaviour and expressed remorse in her interviews.”

She added that in one interview with the probation service Calder said: “I have made a big mistake”.

Calder pleaded guilty to eight counts of benefit fraud and one count of fraudulent activity with tax credits after initially pleading not guilty.

Calder, from Llandaff North, Cardiff, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and was ordered to pay £1,200 in costs and a victim surcharge.

Sentencing, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC said: “You described yourself as a single woman with no income or savings. But the truth is you were being supported by your husband. To quote Sir Walter Scott: ‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practise to deceive’. To use the vernacular, you would not know the truth if it bit you on the nose.”

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A Co Antrim woman employed by HMRC to track down tax credit cheats has been handed a suspended jail sentence ... for stealing more than £34,000 in tax credits.

Laura Southern, 36, from Lisburn, worked as a benefits and credits compliance manager in Belfast until she was identified as having falsely claimed to be a single parent despite living with a partner.

She was interviewed by investigators in February in relation to providing false information to HMRC.

Southern, who had worked for HMRC for 16 years, was dismissed in August, having fraudulently claimed £34,209.44 in tax credits between 2012 and 2017.

Joff Parsons of HMRC said: “Southern was employed to track down people committing the very crime she has been convicted of. She knew exactly what she was doing and even though she knew it was wrong, thought she could get away with stealing tax credits she wasn’t entitled to. But her deceit was exposed and now she is paying the price.”

Southern appeared at Craigavon Crown Court and was given a 15-month prison sentence suspended for three years.

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A Somali refugee scammed nearly £39,000 in benefits after secretly returning home because he missed the sunshine.

Mohamed Qoomaal, 72, claimed asylum here 15 years ago claiming he feared for his life in his native country. But in 2013 he sneaked back to Somalia and had his pension credit payments wired to him there. He also let a friend live rent-free in his council-funded flat in Harrow, North West London.

The fraud came to light only when DWP investigators wrote to his Harrow address asking to see him.

Qoomaal’s pal alerted him and he returned from his home in Jidhi to meet with them early last year. He tried to hoodwink investigators with a fake immigration stamp on his passport but the game was up.

Qoomaal was jailed for 15 months after admitting two counts of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances regarding pension credit and housing benefits from August 2013 to February 2016.

He had been continuing to receive benefits, albeit reduced by £44 a week, while his case was pending. He also demanded a taxpayer-funded interpreter during eight hearings at Isleworth crown court.

Judge Jonathan Ferris spoke of his shock at how the scam had been allowed to succeed. He said: “He came here as a refugee 15 years ago and then goes back to Somalia to enjoy the nice weather. How does that work? I don’t see why a person who took nearly £39,000, went to another country and fabricated an immigration stamp on his passport should not go to prison immediately. What ties does he have in this country apart from the benefits system?”

Qoomaal’s defence lawyer said his client went to live in a warmer climate for health reasons but he had since suffered two heart attacks in two years.

The DWP said it would find anyone who abuses the system. It added: “Fraudsters divert support from those who need it the most.”

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Anyone granted asylum who then visits their homeland should have their asylum withdrawn.

Send him home at the end of his sentence.

A Pembroke Dock man has been jailed for stealing £121,874 in a long-running benefit fraud.

Andrew Johnstone, 66, admitted four offences of defrauding his council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Johnstone got away with the crime for 13 years by claiming to live alone despite co-habiting with Marylyn Katra.

Prosecutor Laura Shepherd told Swansea crown court the fraudulent claims began in February 2003, and did not stop until he was discovered in August 2016. His claims for income support, housing benefit and council tax relief had been fraudulent from the very beginning.

He had been required to notify both the DWP and Pembrokeshire county council of any changes of position that might affect his benefit entitlement, as he was claiming from them.

Johnstone failed to do so and when he turned 60 in December 2011, he tried to increase his theft, asking for pension credit, again claiming he lived alone and could not work.

Defence barrister David Williams accepted Johnstone's claims had been fake from the outset and that the amount of money involved mandated a prison sentence.

Mr Williams also accepted that Johnstone continued his fraud after a separate theft of money led to a suspended prison sentence. He said Johnstone's health had worsened due to stress following an incident when, as a pub manager, a shotgun barrel had been put in his mouth by someone.

Mr Williams added Johnstone had made two serious attempts on his life.

Judge Peter Heywood said that cases involving public money were always taken seriously by courts.

"Public services in this country have been under considerable threat for the last ten years," he said. "Those who are entitled to benefits can find difficulties in receiving them. The length of these frauds aggravates the situation."

Johnstone was jailed for 14 months, with an extra six months for breaching a suspended sentence imposed in March 2016.

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Seemingly he just had to sign pieces of paper from time to time and the money kept rolling in. Never mind that he had been separately convicted of theft so you would think he might have been on the benefit authorities' radar.

He probably has no financial assets, so our money has gone.

A Swansea pensioner who claimed her husband left home three days after they moved into a new house went on to cohabit with him for eight years and fraudulently claim £50,000 in benefits, a court has heard.

Audrey Jean Davies pocketed the money in pension credits, and housing and council tax benefits over that period.

A judge told the 77-year-old benefit fraud was a serious matter because people claiming money they weren’t entitled to meant other people went short.

Ieaun Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that three days after they moved to their Penlan house Davies said her husband left. Davies made a claim for single person benefits but at some stage her husband moved back - the barrister said investigators were able to prove cohabitation between 2008 and 2014.

During interviews she denied cohabiting, but said the couple, who married in 1977, had remained friends after the split and she had allowed mail to be delivered to her address.

Davies had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly failing to notify the authorities of a change of circumstances when she appeared in court for sentencing.

In total she fraudulently claimed some £31,793.28 in pension credits, £16,176.19 in housing benefits, and £1,706.20 in council tax benefits. The court heard she was paying the money back at the rate of £188 per month - the money being deducted from benefits she receives.

Craig Davies, for the defendant, said the claims had initially been legitimate, but that she failed to declare the fact the couple had reconciled. He added that she had a range of health problems.

Judge Keith Thomas told Davies she had defrauded the authorities out of almost £50,000.

He said: “These offences are serious because if people take money they are not entitled to, other people go short.”

For each of the three offences Davies was sentenced to eight months in prison, the sentences to run concurrently - at the same time - making a total of eight months, and suspended for 18 months.

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Benefit cheat William Marshall pocketed more than £50,000 in handouts - while working as a scaffolder.

The 64-year-old claimed disability living allowance (DLA) and employment support allowance (ESA) on the grounds he had arthritis and was working less than 16 hours-a-week.

But Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) investigators carried out surveillance and caught the defendant on camera as he worked as a scaffolder and lugged heavy poles about.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the defendant had claimed DLA from 1996 and ESA from July 2013 to November 2015.

Prosecutor Alexander Pritchard-Jones said: “He was in receipt of ESA on the grounds of arthritis in his knee, back and shoulders. It was paid to him on the basis he was unemployed and not doing paid work of more than 16 hours-a-week. The DWP conducted surveillance and it transpired he was working as a scaffolder for more than 16 hours-a-week and the information provided on the claim form was wrong. The DWP say he was working competently and did not deserve the money he was receiving. The total claimed was in excess of £50,000.”

Marshall pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify a change of circumstances in relation to his benefit claims.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, conceded the offences were aggravated by the length of time over which the claims were made. He said: “The DLA was given for life - there was no annual re-registration. He accepts by returning to work and not notifying the agency he is guilty of the offences.”

The court heard Marshall - who has no previous convictions - has repaid all of the ESA payments and is paying back the DLA at a rate of £100-a-month.

Judge Paul Glenn sentenced Marshall to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a rehabilitation activity requirement for 20 days and a six-month electronically-monitored curfew from 9pm to 5am.

He told the defendant: “You claimed benefits to which you were not entitled. You said you were unfit to work due to arthritis but when your circumstances changed you did not notify the DWP. Video surveillance showed you working as a scaffolder, carrying wooden boards and metal poles up and down scaffolding. Benefit fraud is prevalent. It is very easy to commit and very difficult to detect. The cost to the honest taxpayer is significant. You knew what you were doing. The DLA you were receiving was an additional tax-free income of about £3,500-a-year. You have come as close as anyone can come to a custodial sentence without going away.”

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A benefit cheat who pocketed more than £72,000 he was not entitled to by pretending he was not married has been spared jail.

Pensioner Louis Bell claimed state handouts for 15 years or more on the basis he was a single man, failing to mention he had a wife who was working.

A court heard the accepts his actions were “despicable” but says it started off due to his debts then he felt he “couldn’t get out of the hole he was in”.

The 69-year-old is remorseful, apologetic and has started paying back his ill-gotten gains, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Now Bell has been given a suspended sentence and was made subject to a six month curfew meaning he has to stay in his home at night.

Nick Lane, prosecuting, said: “Over the course of the life of the payments, there were a number of occasions when he was required to make new claims or confirm his details. He failed to declare he was in fact a married man and his wife was in receipt of a salary. He said his daughter lived with him but made no admission his wife was living there. Evidence showed she worked 24 hours a week and they were living together. The fraud was clearly fraudulent from the outset and he had numerous opportunities to set this right which he did not do.”

The court heard Bell began claiming income support in 2000 on the basis he was a single man with no other source of income and this continued until 2008, when he reached retirement age. From then until 2016 he got pension credit on the basis he was a single man. Also, from 2000 to 2008, he was receiving housing benefit and council tax benefit from Sunderland Council.

Recorder Anthony Kelbrick told him: “For a long time you have been utterly dishonest and fraudulently claimed benefit and have deprived the public purse of £72,806 by your dishonesty. The only question I have to decide is whether or not, in the circumstances of your offending, it would be right to suspend the sentence of imprisonment. There are many judges sitting in this court who would simply say they would not even consider suspending such a sentence, despite your age and previous good character. In this case I am prepared to suspend the sentence.”

Bell, from Sunderland, admitted four benefit fraud charges and was sentenced to 20 months suspended for 12 months with a six month curfew between 7pm and 7am.

The court heard he has started paying back the money at a rate of £330 a month.

Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: “He is a well thought of father and husband and will do anything for his family to ensure they are supported. In 2000 there was a sense of desperation as he was in financial difficulties. He fully accepts this was an unlawful and despicable thing to do. It was out of sheer desperation to ensure he didn’t lose his family and property. He used the money to keep him afloat, for his debts and the mismanagement of his finances.

“After his interview with the DWP he felt such a sense of relief. He explained he couldn’t get out of the hole he was in. He didn’t appreciate the help that could have been offered from other services to manage his debts. He is now in a position where he is no longer in debt. He has to deal with the shame. His family are now fully aware of what he has done and are shocked at his behaviour.

“He wholeheartedly apologises to everyone involved.”

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He got away with that, didn't he.

I wonder where his family thought the money was coming from?

Benefit cheat pensioner Kenneth Hickman claimed more than £21,000 – despite owning a second house.

An investigation revealed the ‘greedy’ 69-year-old had a home in Bucknall valued at £184,950 while he was in receipt of both pension credit and council tax benefit.

Now the retired joiner has been spared jail as he continues to pay back the cash to the DWP and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Prosecutor Brett Wilson told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court: “When he made his application for benefits he had a property registered on Werrington Road in Bucknall. It had been marketed on at least two occasions from when he was in receipt and the value of that property was £184,950.”

The court heard Hickman received a total of £21,400 he wasn’t entitled to.

He went on to plead guilty to dishonestly making false statements for payment in relation to the DWP and city council.

Heather Drew, mitigating, said Hickman, had already paid back around £16,000. She told the court: “This was an early guilty plea and he was co-operative with the authorities.”

Recorder Nicholas Syfret QC said Hickman had lost his good character. He told the defendant: “A man of your age should not be coming before the courts. You quite clearly are remorseful. It was a greedy thing to do and you know you’re being exposed for your greed and everyone will know in times of hardship you have taken £21,000 out of the pot for people less well off than you. I have no doubt you’re ashamed of what you have done.”

Recorder Syfret sentenced Hickman to an 18-month community order with 120 hours unpaid work. He added: “You should repay the community for your wrong-doing.”

A DWP spokesman said the prosecution had been brought about due to Hickman’s failure to report ownership of a second property, and the rental income he was receiving.

He added: “The DWP has set in place recovery plans to recover all of the overpayment, a plan he is currently in compliance with.”

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Benefit fraudsters with assets over the limit should have to pay back twice what they stole. Money motivated them, so hit them in the pocket.

A benefit cheat continued to claim thousands of pounds to cover rent for a house he had already bought.

Anil Kala began legitimately claiming benefits in September, 2013, but the following year large amounts of cash began going through his bank account.

Craig Macgregor, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court that between March, 2014 and September, 2016 around £155,000 was paid into 42-year-old Kala's account. The maximum amount of capital allowed to be held by benefit claimants is £16,000.

When questioned by investigators Kala initially claimed the money had been given to him by his mother who had sold some jewellery and then stated that she had sold land in India in order for him to buy a house.

But the court heard that the money had been paid into Kala's account in numerous small amounts from locations in Southern England and Wales.

Kala bought the home he had been renting for £125,000, but still kept on claiming £350 universal credit payments towards renting it.

Mr Macgregor said that, in total, Kala wrongly claimed a total of £18,137.22 he was not entitled to.

Kala pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to notify a change of circumstances and making false representations to obtain benefits.

Nicholas Ross, defending, stressed Kala has health issues and long-standing problems with gambling and alcohol.

Sentencing Kala to six months in prison, suspended for two years, Judge Richard Gioserano told him: "I am not sure I am prepared to accept this money was coming from your mother. Over quite a period of time you ended up with over £18,000 of public money you should not have had."

Kala must also wear an electronic tag for four months and be subject to a 9pm to 7am curfew as well as participating in 25 days of rehabilitation activities.

A proceeds of crime hearing will be held in April next year in order to attempt to recover the money he wrongly took.

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A weak sentence for a deliberate crime, and as the judge hinted there is more to Mr Kala's finances than meets the eye.

As with all assets benefit frauds, he should have to pay back at least twice what he stole.

Artificial intelligence will be used to clamp down on fraudsters claiming millions of pounds of bogus benefit payments.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said its new state-of-the-art algorithms can detect a number of identity cloning techniques which have been commonly used by organised criminal gangs committing mass-scale benefit fraud.

The DWP says it has extensively trialled the technology, which will scan across the benefit system, including Universal Credit, Jobseeker's Allowance and Personal Independent Payments.

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What's interesting here is that the DWP is so concerned about "mass-scale benefit fraud" that it is taking special measures to address it.

We hear relatively little about "mass-scale benefit fraud". If this is actually effective, then, it should show up in the figures.

Here is the latest large scale benefit fraud noted on this blog.

A happy new year to all our readers.

A benefits cheat who stole more than £100,000 over ten years will not have to pay any of it back, a court has ordered. (h/t Dave)

Linda Brown, from Blackbird Leys, Oxford, was spared jail for the 12-year scam at Oxford Crown Court in August.

The court heard that the 60-year old had fraudulently claimed £109,186.34 in income support, employment and support allowance, council tax benefit and housing benefit.

She had pocketed the cash between September 1 2004 and April 4 2016 telling Oxford City Council and the department for work and pensions that she was the sole occupier of her home.

Brown was rumbled, however, when it emerged her parter who was earning more than £20,000 had been living with her for more than a decade.

At the same court on Thursday prosecutors told a proceeds of crime hearing that the Crown Prosecution Service would not be going ahead with any claim to recover the ill gotten gains.

They argued that 'her lack of assets' meant it would not be possible to recover the haul of money that she had stolen.

Accepting the submission to discontinue the application Record Nigel Daly ordered that she would still have to pay a statutory victim surcharge for the crime, which totals about £80.

Brown had already admitted the four counts of fraud for each benefit ahead of her sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on August 24 last year.

In mitigation Ronan McCann said at the time that his client had been under 'immense' financial pressure and had been acting as a carer for her parents.

He told the court that her mindset had been one of 'utter chaos' and added: "Your honour is well aware of individuals who will enjoy the finer things in life because of dishonest claims. This is not an individual known to have indulged in any of these luxuries."

She was given a six month jail term, suspended for 18 months.

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Here is a very bad case of benefit fraud. The offence was described as unsophisticated, yet she got away with it for eight years and netted £176,000.

And she was already subject to a suspended sentence for illegally claiming more than £22,000 in tax credits when she carried out the offending - which you would think might have flagged her up for extra scrutiny. But no.

She seems to have been able to tell the authorities that her son had a severe, chronic illness without anyone to troubling themselves to check, despite her record. The most basic check would have revealed he was fine.

Of course, we won't get our money back. It's gone.

A mother of six illegally claimed more than £170,000 in benefits by making false claims about the health of her children.

Rebecca Walker told authorities that her youngest child was suffered from cystic fibrosis, had fits, severe behavioural problems, was unable to walk unaided and suffered from chronic asthma. When assessed by specialists the youngster was described as not being different from any other children and was a "pleasant, hard working boy."

Walker also claimed she was a single parent throughout the eight-year deception despite living with a partner.

Walker, 37, from Kippax, was jailed for 21 months after pleading guilty to 11 offences of fraud.

A court heard Walker was subject to a suspended sentence for illegally claiming more than £22,000 in tax credits when she carried out the offending.

Leeds Crown Court heard Walker claimed more than £145,000 in tax credits between 2008 and 2016. She also made illegal claims for carers allowance, disability living allowance, council tax benefit, housing benefit, income support and unemployment support.

A judge who jailed Walker said she had used the money to pay for luxuries rather than basic living.

Ben Thomas, prosecuting, said each child was awarded disability living allowance and claims were "grossly exaggerated."

The prosecutor said Walker made claims in 2011 that her three-year-old son had cystic fibrosis, suffered from fits and had black-outs. She later told authorities that the youngster was unable to use the toilet alone and would scream and bite her when she tried to look after him. Walker also claimed the boy had severe behavioural problems and could not interact with other children.

When the boy started school he was described by specialists as "an active little boy."

Walker was asked to attend an interview when the offending came to light but told the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that she had to take her son to hospital as he needed to go into intensive care. She attended later interviews but refused to comment.

The court heard Walker had repaid £1,313 of the illegally claimed sum but had no more available assets. There is little prospect of the full amount being returned to the taxpayer.

Kenton Sargeant, mitigating, said the offending was not sophisticated.

He said: "Most of it was done by ringing up and giving the information. There was nothing to suggest she provided forged documents."

Mr Sargeant said Walker had a troubled childhood and wanted to give her children what she never had. He said: "I accept that the way she has done that is wholly unlawful and she accepts it is something for which she will have to go to custody today." He added that Walker suffered from a spinal condition and would struggle in custody.

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A judge has slammed the Home Office for failing to deport an illegal immigrant who entered the UK on the back of a lorry to illegally claim £32,000 in benefits.

Kerim Koroglu, 49, pocketed handouts he was not entitled to collect for more than six years after he sneaked into the country in a lorry on 30 August 2002.

Koroglu used a fake ‘leave to remain’ letter to swindle £32,549 in housing and council tax benefits from Hackney Council.

The false document, described by prosecutor Will Martin as ‘very convenient’, purported to grant Koroglu asylum in 2004, enabling him to claim the welfare and bring his wife and two children over from Turkey.

The Alawi Kurd, representing himself, said he had no idea where the letter came from.

But he was convicted of benefit fraud by an Old Bailey jury and jailed for 30 months. Koroglu now faces deportation after living illegally in the UK for more than 15 years.

Before sentencing the fraudster the judge, Mr Recorder Oliver Sells, QC, grilled Heather Laing, an immigration officer, on how he was able to use an unsigned letter to dupe the authorities.

The judge said: ‘It became clear during the trial that this defendant had, to use your words, exhausted his appeals by the end of 2002 and as you say in your statement he should have left voluntarily at that stage but where people do not do so – putting it bluntly – he should have been deported.’

Ms Laing, said: ‘Mr Keroglu came into the system when it was very reliant on paper and human investigation, his file became lost in the system and I think that is set out in the witness statement. What became of the file at the time I am not aware of but it did come back into light.’

The judge said: ‘None of what happened thereafter would have if the Home Office had carried out its function properly. That is the point of enquiry into this case, it is not simply an administrative failure. As we have seen in these courts only too frequently, the long term consequences and the substantial costs to the public that should never have been – and still public funds are being expended.

‘It is also apparent that there were other opportunities between 2002 and 2012 when these matters finally came to light, which were missed by the Home Office. The document itself, I do not know if you have seen it – no, I would like you to see it, this is a letter purportedly dated 14 February 2004 to this defendant in a form with which I would expect you’re familiar.

‘This letter was for him a very important document indeed with enormous consequences for people in his family, but also for the public – but it is not sent by anybody with a name, there is no signature to refer to and no author to verify – why is that? It is opening the way for fraud isn’t it? It is making life for dishonest people much easier. There were a number of opportunities to assess this letter but it wasn’t in fact assessed for many years.’

Koroglu smuggled himself into the country on the back of a truck in 2002 and then used the help of criminals to obtain the false documentm the court heard.

Prosecutor Will Martin said: ‘Mr Koroglu came to this country seeking asylum in 2002, he made an application as a refugee in August 2002 which was refused. He took the matter to appeal, the appeal was not successful and by the end of 2002 Mr Koroglu had no appeal rights left – they were exhausted. It was at that point that Mr Keroglu had no basis to be in this country.

‘In 2006, Mr Koroglu made an application to the London Borough of Hackney for council tax benefit and housing tax benefit.

‘These applications it became clear were made on the back of a false ‘leave to remain’ letter that letter was dated 2004, but it is likely it came into his possession in 2006 because it was in the spring of 2006 that Mr Keroglu started to bring his wife and two children over on the back of the same document with an application for visas made in Istanbul.

‘Mr Koroglu maintains and still maintains that he did not know that the letter was false despite correspondence from the Home Office on multiple occasions.

‘On 29 May 2012 Mr Koroglu presented the document to the investigating officer with the intention of misleading the London Borough of Hackney.

‘In subsequent interviews under caution he sought to blame the Home Office and Home Office administration and that was the account which was maintained and disbelieved at the three day trial in November.’

Koroglu, a married painter and decorator, has three children living in the country – one of whom was born here.

He was convicted of swindling £27,289 in housing benefit and £5,100 in council tax benefit, as well as using false documentation after an Old Bailey trial.

The judge said: ‘I have given anxious consideration as to whether it would be right in this case to suspend any sentence. I should be failing in my duty to the public if I took such a course, these are serious offences.

‘They are coercive of public trust in the benefits system and they are very difficult to detect.

‘The Home Office had both the power and the information which they should and could have used to remove you from this country – their failure to do so reflects upon their conduct at the time.

‘But in the final analysis you and those who supported that document where the architects of these actions, while the Home Office could have prevented you by removing you, you have a responsibility to obey the law even if you were here illegally.’

Koroglu, from Shoreditch, was sentenced to 30 months for obtaining property by deception and 24 months concurrent for obtaining the false documentation.

He denied the offences.

Source

More than 280,000 public tip-offs on benefit fraud in the past two years have resulted in no action being taken against a claimant due to lack of evidence, The Independent can disclose.

The revelation has led to claims the Government is guilty of creating a “witch-hunt”, with critics calling on ministers to re-evaluate the contentious system, suggesting members of the public should not have a role in identifying and investigating fraud within the welfare state.

Through the DWP Fraud and Error Service, members of the public can log their suspicions about those they believe are committing benefit fraud.

Details can be reported either through a fraud hotline or online, and include eye colour, piercings, scars, age, national insurance number, email address, nickname and date of birth.

But information obtained by The Independent through freedom of information laws reveals that over the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17, 332,850 cases were closed following reports by members of the public. Of these, 287,950 were found to have no or little evidence to substantiate the claim – or 87 per cent.

When no further is action is taken by the department against a claimant because there is no or insufficient evidence of fraud discovered, the case is recorded as a “no result outcome”.

In March 2017, for example, out of 18,200 allegations from members of the public closed by the department, 16,050 led to a “no result outcome”. This means that around 88 per cent of the total allegations made in one single month had little or no evidence of benefit fraud having taken place and the cases were dropped. Overall in the year 2016-17, nearly 174,000 allegations were closed and 149,450 – or 86 per cent – were incorrect allegations.

The data appears to show that members of the public are overestimating the issue of benefit fraud in Britain and that the Government’s policy of using tip-offs is much less effective than many are led to believe.

Or it could be that the system is ponderous and investigators are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Of course there will be some malicious allegations, but many will be based on local observation on the ground.

Here we go with left-wing opposition reactions.

Responding to the figures, Debbie Abrahams, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “Any fraud or abuse of our social security system should be dealt with quickly and proportionately. However, the Conservative Government have long directly and indirectly implied that all recipients are ‘shirkers and skivers’. The punitive way the Tories have delivered social security policies, such as sanctions and fitness for work assessments, reflects this approach. What these figures show is how flimsy the ground is for this divisive rhetoric. The Government should instead focus on getting their own house in order and tackle the failing PIP [Personal Independence Payment] and ESA [Employment and Support Allowance] assessments as well as pausing and fixing their botched Universal Credit roll-out.”

Neil Gray, the SNP MP and the party’s social justice spokesperson, said that while those who abuse the system should be dealt with, the “responsibility of identifying and investigating benefit fraud should be with the DWP, not your neighbours. These new figures show the Tories are guilty of creating a witch-hunt which demonises low-paid workers relying on tax credits and the sick and disabled who are unable to work. It’s another example of the Tories dividing communities as neighbours become suspicious of each other.”

Of course if the masses couldn't report suspicions of benefit fraud, they would just settle back into dumb contentment, no?

And Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the scale of benefit fraud “is not remotely comparable to the industrial-scale problem of tax avoidance by big corporations and the extremely wealthy. Yet the Conservatives seem to think they can get more money back by using far fewer resources getting people to act as sneaks, turning people against each other.”

A spokesperson for the DWP said: “Only a small minority of benefit claimants commit fraud, but those who do are diverting support from people who need it the most. Calls to the fraud hotline are vital in tackling this crime – and information from the public helped us detect more than £45m in benefit fraud in 2016 alone.”

Previous data, covering the years 2010 to 2015, found that the DWP closed 1,041,219 alleged cases of benefit fraud from members of the public. Of these, 887,468 were recorded as a “no result” outcome – or 85 per cent.

According to Government data in 2017, fraud in the benefit system accounted for 1.2 per cent of the entire DWP budget, amounting to just over £2bn. But as well as individuals, it is estimated that criminal gangs have also been abusing the system to the tune of tens of millions of pounds. Until recently, the DWP often used advertising to persuade members of the public to come forward and use the Government’s hotline if they suspected neighbours and other members of the public to be committing benefit fraud, telling them they had a “role” to play in stopping such activity.

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, added: “The vast majority of people claiming benefits simply need support but all too often what they get is suspicion and scapegoating as scroungers. It’s time we saw our welfare system as a valuable part of a strong future facing economy and no longer encouraging friends, neighbours and colleagues to treat one another with suspicion could be a positive step in the right direction.”

It's remarkable how left-wing politicians regard people as malleable. Take away the chance to report suspects, and people won't mind at all, these politicians suggest.

The politicians might instead ask how the ponderous DWP investigators manage to make so little of this detailed, on the ground knowledge.

Source

Fraudster Alan Surrey pocketed £38,000 in benefits while working as a door-to-door collector and care worker - despite claiming he was too unfit to have a job.

The 64-year-old received the public handouts over a 10-year period. But he was busted in 2016 after investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) carried out surveillance on the defendant.

Undercover officers filmed him - on three occasions in April and May 2016 - walking without a stick and at a normal pace.

Now Surrey, who used to live in Swynnerton and has now moved to Gnosall, near Stafford, has been jailed for 20 weeks. He admitted falsely claiming disability living allowance (DLA), housing benefit and Jobseekers' Allowance between 2006 and 2016.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard Surrey's initial DLA claim had been genuine, he needed a stick to walk and he received the higher rate of mobility allowance. His circumstances changed within two years and he landed a job as a carer working with young adults. He was later employed by Provident Personal Credit as a door-to-door loan collector.

In 2013, Surrey made claims for housing benefit from Stafford Borough Council as well as Jobseekers' Allowance.

Prosecutor Naomi Nelson-Cofie said: "He said he was not working when he clearly was and these claims were both false and dishonest from the outset."

Stephen Rudge, representing Surrey, said his client was not in the best of health and that his initial DLA claim had been genuine. He suggested Surrey had 'misunderstood' the law and believed he could work for a few hours but had failed to notify the authorities of any changes to his situation. Mr Rudge said the monies had not been used to fund luxuries but to pay debts and for day-to-day living costs.

To report benefit fraudsters, call the national benefit fraud hotline on 0800 854440.

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A benefits fraudster who cheated the taxpayer out of more than £100,000 has been spared jail.

Burnley Crown Court heard how mother-of-three Agnieszka Pryzbylska fraudulently claimed £91,411 in tax credits from HMRC between April 2011 and August 2016, and £14,722 in housing and council tax benefit from Hyndburn Borough Council between July 2012 and February 2016.

Pryzbylska, who is originally from Eastern Europe, is re-paying the council at a rate of£60-per-month but Judge Beverley Lunt said if that continues it will take her 170 years to settle her debt.

Prosecuting, Julian Goode said Pryzbylska claimed housing benefits on the basis she was a single mother but investigations found she was living with the father of two of her children. Having initially claimed he was gay, Pryzbylska, from Accrington, said the man was going to her house in the early morning to feed her fish.

Mr Goode said Pryzbylska started claiming tax credits legitimately in 2008 as she was on a low income. But the housing benefit and council tax claim was fraudulent from the outset.

Mr Goode said the housing benefits were claimed on the basis that Pryzbylska lived as a single parent. But investigators found she was living with the father of two of her children and he had given her address as the place he was residing to his employers.

Pryzbylska and her husband were also registered as next of kin contact for their two children.The man’s application for a driving licence and TV licence also showed him living at the same address as Pryzbylska. Surveillance showed his vehicle parked outside Pryzbylska’s house late at night and in the early morning.

Mr Goode said: “She was interviewed twice in February and July 2016. She suggested the man was gay and they were not a couple. She did admit he was the father of her two children. In the second interview she provided a tenancy agreement which claimed to show he lived with his brother and not with her. She said he would come round to her address early in the morning to feed her fish.”

Pryzbylska, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud. Philip Holden, defending, said Pryzbylska is working full-time, earns around £1,200 a month and is of previous good character.

Sentencing Pryzbylska to 20 months imprisonment, but suspending it for 12 months, Judge Lunt told the defendant that she was extremely fortunate not to be going directly to prison.

Judge Lunt said: “This is a lot of money, over £105,000, which you obtained over a period of five years. That’s about £20,000 per year. It was not frittered on high living or gambling.

“Your position has changed. It’s changed for the better. You do still have other debts. You are now working full-time. You’re earning your own money to look after your children. You have not claimed benefits, although you could have claimed some form of benefits while you were waiting for this case to come back before me.

“Anyone who steals this amount of money from the DWP should understand the only possible option is prison. It will be a lengthy sentence in prison. The difference in your case is you’re now earning your own income. You’re paying tax and you’re paying some money back. For those reasons I am prepared to make an exception in your case and suspended the prison sentence.”

Source

April court hearing followed up

Benefit fraudster had £55,000 in the bank

Immigrant benefit thief stole £244,000

East Devon discovers keys amnesty

Astonishingly slow investigation of long term benefit fraud

Tax credit fraud investigator sentenced for tax credit fraud

Immigrant benefit thief stole £38,000

Jail for long-term benefit fraud

Pensioner in £50k benefit fraud

Scaffolder was "disabled" benefit cheat

Pensioner gets away with long term benefit fraud

Another pensioner benefit cheat nabbed

Benefit cheat claimed rent for Bolton house he owned

The writing is on the wall (or the form)

Benefit-cheat big and get away with it

Repeat offender in £176,000 benefits fraud

Illegal immigrant in £32k benefit fraud

Predictable left-wing benefit fraud bias from The Independent

Another slow benefit fraud investigation

Polish benefit fraudster took £91,000