Prison for housing benefit fraud

A fraudster who falsely claimed £50,000 in housing and council tax benefits and income support has been given an eight-month prison sentence. (h/t anonymous)

Raymond Daniels was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court last week, after pleading guilty to two counts of dishonesty against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The 56-year-old had been in receipt of housing benefit on the basis that he was not working.

However, the crook aroused the suspicions of council officers when he applied for a parking permit for a lorry.

Following a joint investigation by the council and the DWP, undeclared bank accounts were discovered which contained in excess of £40,000.

Even though the accounts were in his name, Daniels refused to admit that the money was his, and midway through a taped interview he demanded that the recorder be turned off and left the interview room throwing his rent book at the investigators.

In sentencing Judge Johnson stated the fraud was a continued serious act of dishonesty. Daniels’ lawyer explained that his client was remorseful and felt shameful about his actions.

The housing benefit overpayment amounted to £23,696.94, council tax to £4,414.21 and income support to £23,193.70, covering the period August 2007 to September 2011.

Councillor Warwick Lightfoot, cabinet member for finance, said:

It is outrageous Mr Daniels felt that he could steal tens of thousands of pounds from the taxpayer. This prison sentence sends out a clear message to those who are trying to defraud the taxpayer and make it harder for those in genuine need. I congratulate our council officers for their vigilance and can tell residents that we will work with colleagues in local and central government to prevent abuses of the system.

"Tenancy fraud annual loss £1,764m to public purse"

Social housing providers could save millions of pounds by targeting tenancy fraud, according to a new study. (h/t VNCounterFraud)

Figures released last week show that in 2013 the National Fraud Authority identified housing tenancy fraud as the second largest single drain on local government coffers caused by fraud in England, with an annual cost of £845 million.

In addition there is a further £919 million annual loss to the public purse as a result of tenancy fraud committed against housing associations.

This combined annual loss to housing tenancy fraud of £1,764 million is much greater than housing benefit fraud, which is estimated to cost the UK taxpayer £350 million per annum.

The study by Alan Bryce, head of counter fraud at the Audit Commission and a Masters student at the University of Portsmouth, is the first to identify the scale of the problem.

Housing tenancy fraud occurs when a tenant unlawfully sublets a council or housing association-owned property to someone else, when a family abandons a house or does not occupy that property as their principal home.

Almost 100,000 people in England are committing tenancy fraud, equivalent to a community the size of Woking in Surrey, according to the study.

Councils reclaimed nearly 1,800 homes from housing tenancy fraudsters last year.

To build an equivalent number of homes from scratch would have cost the public purse more than £265 million.

Mr Bryce said: "These figures are only starting to make a dent in the problem."

He said social housing providers are getting better at detecting tenancy fraud, as long as they look in the correct way.

Londoners are less likely to get away with committing tenancy fraud, as councils in the capital have been addressing the issue for longer and many already employ specialised fraud detection investigators.

Mr Bryce said social housing providers need to work together to increase the amount of fraud detected.

Currently more than half of all non-London councils with housing stock did not detect even a single housing tenancy fraud in 2012.

The findings are published in Protecting The Public Purse 2012, an annual national publication produced by the Audit Commission.

Another Cornwall benefit thief gets conditional discharge

A woman from Helston has been given a 12 month conditional discharge by Truro Magistrates after being found guilty of housing benefit fraud totalling £5,497.

Katey Jane initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of benefit fraud at Truro Magistrates Court on Friday 26 April.

The charges included failing to promptly report to Cornwall Council that she was in receipt of increased earnings and increased awards of Tax Credits.

The case was then adjourned for a trial to take place at Truro Magistrates Court on 12 June.

After hearing the facts of the case and evidence from witnesses, the Bench found Miss Jane guilty of both offences of failing to promptly notify Cornwall Council of increases in earnings and increases in tax credits and sentenced her to a 12 month conditional discharge. She was also ordered to pay £500 towards the Council’s investigation and legal costs.

The overpaid benefits are being recovered from Miss Jane by Cornwall Council separately from this Court action

Cornwall magistrates have form for giving benefit thieves conditional discharges. This one didn't even plead guilty.

The court action looks pretty pointless from the council's point of view, apart from the publicity it caused. 

No meaningful punishment, and no confiscation order. 

Light sentence for Basildon benefit thief

A Basildon benefits cheat who falsely claimed more than £7,500 by failing to declare capital of up to £95,000 has been ordered to pay just £2,403 as a punishment.

Kirk Gibson was slapped with the fine after pleading guilty to wrongly claiming Council Tax Benefits and Job Seekers Allowance. He received £2,744 in Council Tax Benefit overpayments between April 2009, and August 2012.

He also received £4,789 in Job Seekers Allowance overpayments between October 2009 and March 2012.

Magistrates described Mr Gibson as an 'intelligent man'. They said they took into account that his actions were intentionally fraudulent and had been carried out over a number of years, but also acknowledged his early guilty plea and his previous good character.

Mr Gibson had already repaid all of the overpayments.

He was ordered to pay a £120 fine for each of his offences, plus costs of £1,788 and a £15 victim surcharge.

Councillor Stuart Sullivan, Basildon Council's cabinet member for resources, said:

Although on this occasion the defendant pleaded guilty and has since paid back all the overpayments, it doesn't excuse the fact that he lied and cheated to get money from the public purse. Benefit fraud is against the law and cheats will be forced to pay the consequences.

Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole. Hit them in the pocket!

Preston anti-fraud team identifies £460k cheats

Preston Council’s anti-fraud team identified nearly £500,000 of fraudulent benefit claims last year.

The team achieved 80 sanctions, including 31 prosecutions, in Preston during 2012/13.

They identified fraudulent claims to the value of £462,132 by investigating referrals.

The team was set up to protect public funds by detecting and stopping as much Housing and Council Tax Benefit fraud as possible. It works with agencies such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenues & Customs, Lancashire Police and Immigration officials.

Preston Council’s cabinet member for resources, Coun Martyn Rawlinson, said:

This report highlights the ongoing excellent work of the council’s counter fraud team, for which they have previously won awards. The skilled and dedicated staff work in partnership with the DWP on a daily basis to detect those out to defraud the taxpayer. These achievements should act as a stark warning to anyone not being entirely truthful with any benefit claims.

The team consists of seven staff, including four fraud officers, who also carry out work for Fylde Council as part of a shared service arrangement.

This five-year deal, which runs until August 2014, earns the council £106,000 per year.

In 2011 the team won the Gold Award for Excellence in Partnership Working at the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation awards and since 2011 has also managed the Claim Security Team at Lancaster Council.

‘Jiving’ benefit cheat risks losing his home after scam

A benefit cheat caught jiving after claiming he couldn't walk without two sticks faces being made homeless - after being ordered to repay £11,000, reports The Sun.

Leonard Priestley raked in £14,025 in disability living allowance over four years after he complained it took him four minutes to walk ten yards.

But the 58-year-old's scam was exposed when a government surveillance team filmed him carrying large items – as well as attending energetic dance lessons once a week for four years.

Priestley, from East Bowling, Bradford, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 12-month community order with supervision.

But he was back in the dock this week at Bradford Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime hearing.

Prosecutor Robert Stephenson said the total amount payable was £11,000.

Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall gave Priestley six months to pay or face eight months in prison - but the fraudster has revealed he will have to put his house up for sale to pay his debt.

Priestley said:

I know what I did was wrong. I originally started the dance lessons because my doctor told me I needed to try exercising to help my mobility. A friend suggested I came along to a dance lesson with him, and it’s helped.”

The court heard that benefits officers had Priestley under surveillance between March and September 2011, when they discovered he had attended dance classes once a week for four years.

Judge David Hatton QC asked at the time: “What sort of dance classes?”

“Jive, and kicks and turns and the like,” the prosecutor replied.

Priestley said his original benefit claim had been genuine - but he failed to notify the authorities when his condition improved. He said: "I meant to let the DWP know that my mobility had improved but family issues kept cropping up so I never got round to it."

The court heard how Priestley has already paid £910 – but he said he will have to sell his house in order to repay the debt.

The fraudulent period spanned from November 2007 to November 2011.

Jail for second benefit theft offence

A 49-year-old Chester man has received a jail sentence after pleading guilty to benefit fraud amounting to more than £8,000.

Paul Cooper appeared before Chester Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to knowingly failing to promptly declare changes in his circumstances to the Department for Works and Pensions and Cheshire West and Chester Council which he knew would affect his entitlement to Job Seekers Allowance and Housing and Council Tax Benefit.

Cooper had completed periods of employment and was overpaid in excess of £8,000,.

Chester Magistrates Court sentenced Cooper to six weeks imprisonment. He had previously been prosecuted for a similar offence in 2010.

Cooper is also required to repay the overpaid benefit to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Councillor demands deterrent sentences for benefit frauds

A benefits cheat who tried to deceive the courts by providing a fake doctor's letter has been ordered to do 150 hours community service. (h/t Dave)

Julie Ottewell, from Shipley, had admitted fraudulently claiming almost £5,500 while working at a local school.

Ottewell missed nine court appearances and provided Nottingham Magistrates Court with a letter from her GP along with a medical certificate stating she was too unwell to attend court and was in hospital in Oxford at the time of one of the hearings. Further investigations found the documents to be fake, and discovered that she was in fact at work when she should have attended court.

In May 2011, Ottewell claimed Housing and Council Tax benefit with her husband, David Ottewell, for their privately rented property on Main Road, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire. In the application she failed to declare that she was working for The Friesland School in Sandiacre and had done so since 2004. She also fraudulently claimed Income Support from the Department for Work and Pensions from June 2011.

Ottewell finally handed herself in to police and appeared in custody before Nottingham Magistrates on May 23, 2013. She pleaded guilty to two offences of benefit fraud as she had not declared her employment at The Friesland School. Magistrates have now ordered her to do 150 hours community service.

Councillor John Clarke, Leader of Gedling Borough Council, said

It is clear that not only has this person attempted to deceive the council but has the audacity to attempt to deceive the courts as well. We expect the Courts to take the firmest possible action and deter anyone else who is thinking about making a false claim.

Reigate couple jailed for benefit fraud

A Reigate couple have been jailed for a total of 18 months after they were convicted of falsely claiming more than £75,000 in benefits.

John Ronald Cattrall, 43, and Julia Jones, 41, were sentenced at Guildford Crown Court after a jury found them guilty of a total of nine charges. Cattrall was sentenced to 12 months and Jones to 6 months.

Under the fraud, which dates back to August 2000 and lasted for almost 11 years, they claimed £49,031 in housing benefit and £12,246 in council tax benefit that they were not entitled to, plus £14,093 in income support from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The fraud was uncovered by the council’s corporate anti-fraud investigators, working in partnership with the DWP and Surrey Police. They revealed the couple had been living together as husband and wife since August 2000, contrary to their declarations on their benefit claims.

The couple were arrested at their home by Surrey Police on July 14 2011 and evidence was recovered. They were then interviewed by council investigators whilst in custody at Reigate Police Station. After pleading not guilty at an earlier hearing, the case progressed to a trial, which ran from April 22 to May 6.

That's nearly two years later.

Following sentencing, Councillor Julian Ellacott, executive member for housing and welfare at the council, said:

We work hard to prevent, detect and investigate all types of fraud against the council. Housing and council tax benefit is there for people who really need it and we will not tolerate those who abuse the system.

The court has seen all of the relevant evidence and found Mr Cattrall and Miss Jones guilty, and handed down a custodial sentence which highlights the serious nature of these crimes. I hope this serves as a warning to others that cheating the system does not pay.”

Separate to the court action, the council is pursuing repayment of the full overpaid benefits of £103,000 from the pair for their whole claim period, 1997 to 2011. The council will also be seeking payment of its legal costs from them at a subsequent hearing.

A confiscation order should be made at the same court hearing, rather than causing taxpayers extra expense and even more delay.

Benefit cheat tycoons to have assets seized in tough crackdown

Fraudsters who fund criminal empires with falsely claimed benefits will have their assets seized, as well as face jail, under sweeping new laws, reports The Express.

Teams of elite investigators will hunt some of Britain’s canniest crooks who cheat the taxpayer out of hundreds of thousands of pounds to prop up their illegal businesses.

The Department for Work and Pensions thinks the scam is so widespread it will seize assets worth an astonishing £13.5million this year alone.

New powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act mean investigators can force criminals to pay back far more than they originally stole. If they refuse, they can be jailed.

The get-tough action is another bid by Government to flush out those who see the welfare state as a limitless cash machine.

One recent success was the identification of Sly Malik, who received £39,000 in false benefit claims but was forced to pay back more than £1million.

A court ordered Malik, 48, of Barking, east London, to pay back £1,031,943 within 12 months or face five years in prison after being found guilty of 12 charges of benefit fraud.

Malik claimed jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit, despite having a vast property empire and 70 bank accounts hiding more than £200,000.

Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, said:

We know some criminals are cheating the benefits system and then using the stolen money to build up assets, own homes or live the high life. Criminals like these should know that not only are we going after the money they have stolen from us, but we’re going to force them to hand back money made off the back of their fraud.

Courts made 271 confiscation orders worth £8.9million last year.

In the current year, investigators estimate seizures will rise by 50 per cent.

Fraudster Emidio Miguel Salvador Do Santos, 39, of West Norwood, south London, was ordered to pay back £178,733.21 within six months or face two-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of opening bank accounts in false names and altering names on DWP and HMRC cheques.

Another crook, Michael Meade, 58, of Cheltenham, Gloucs, was forced to pay back £63,027 after investigators found his cash was tied up in investment bonds – which will be paid back to the taxpayer when they mature.

Meade was caught when he failed to declare an inheritance and that his wife was working.

The Government’s radical welfare reforms have already started in some areas with more than 50 benefits replaced by the single Universal Credit.

A benefits cap of £26,000 will mean no family is better off by being out of work.

Jackie Raja, head of the DWP’s financial investigations unit, confirmed that benefit fraudsters could now be ordered to hand over assets they cannot justify.