Britain's biggest benefit fraud gang convicted of £50 million Universal Credit plot
The organised gang made thousands of claims for Universal Credit over four and a half years before being arrested in 2021, as ITV News' Caroline Lewis reports
Britain's biggest benefit fraud gang has been convicted for a £50 million Universal Credit plot.
Five Bulgarians - Galina Nikolova, 38, Stoyan Stoyanov, 27, Tsvetka Todorova, 52, Gyunesh Ali, 33, and Patritsia Paneva, 26 - admitted to fraud and money laundering related offences at Wood Green Crown Court for their involvement in a multimillion-pound scam on the benefit system.
Between October 2016 and May 2021, the organised crime group made thousands of false claims for Universal Credit using either real people or hijacked identities.
These claims were supported by an array of forged documents, including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips, and forged letters from landlords, employers, and GPs.
If they were rejected, the fraudsters would keep trying until they were granted.
Fraudster throws cash around and at woman, leaving hundreds of £20 scattered across the floor
The investigation identified three "benefit factories" in London where repeated false claims for benefits originated from.
The businesses claimed to help people get a national insurance number and benefits which they were entitled to.
But after applicants made their benefits claims through the gang, the money went into the hands of the organised crime group and was laundered between bank accounts through transfers, and withdrawn in cash.
After four-and-a-half-years of fraud, the five defendants were arrested on May 5, 2021.
Their properties were raided and hundreds of "claim packs" containing forged and false documents were found and seized.
Bundles of cash stuffed in shopping bags and suitcases, a luxury car and designer goods including watches, jackets, and glasses were also discovered in the raid.
Following his release under investigation, one of the five defendants, Ali, fled the country to Bulgaria. But he was extradited back to the UK on February 25, 2023 so he could face trial.
The DWP, which ran the investigation, confronted the defendants with evidence including encrypted messages, CCTV footage, forged documents, seized digital devices and bank statements, leading them to all plea guilty.
Ben Reid, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “For a number of years, these defendants conspired to commit industrial-scale fraud against the Universal Credit system, costing the taxpayer more than £50 million.
“Submitting thousands of false claims, the organised criminals enriched themselves from government funds designed to protect and help the most vulnerable people in our society.
“This was a complex and challenging case which required close and effective working between CPS prosecutors, the Department for Work and Pensions and our international partners in both Bulgaria and through the UK desk at Eurojust, to dismantle and successfully prosecute the organised crime group."
The CPS and DWP will now work to confiscate any of the money gained by the gang through crime.
Mel Stride MP, Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, said: “I am immensely proud of DWP investigators’ work, in collaboration with the Crown Prosecution Service, to take down this organised crime group.
“Today’s convictions underline our commitment to protecting taxpayers’ money and it is only right and fair that we bring to justice those stealing from the public purse.
"My message is simple – if you are committing benefit fraud, you are cheating the taxpayer, and we will catch you.”
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