Benefits cheat who claimed he could barely walk 'climbed ten flights of stairs at work'

A benefits cheat who claimed he could barely walk managed to climb ten flights of stairs while working at a bank, a court was told.

47-year-old Tariq Aslam, of Coleshill Road, Hodge Hill, in Birmingham, falsely pocketed £67,000 over an eight-year period after claiming he needed constant care.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the married dad-of-five hadno problem tackling stairs while working at a bank and that he even told colleagues that he played cricket at weekends.

Aslam had previously admitted two charges of failing to notify a change of circumstances and making a fraudulent claim.

Judge Roderick Henderson said the defendant had presented himself as “virtually incapable of doing anything” and that it was a significant and lengthy deception.

Sentencing him to 15 months jail, suspended for 21 months, he accepted the claim had initially been legitimate and that Aslam did suffer from some disabilities.

Nigel Stelling, prosecuting, said the defendant first made a claim for Disability Living Allowance in 2000 and later got the mobility element increased following a review.

He subsequently filled in forms in 2005 and 2008, saying he was suffering from a variety of medical conditions, including diabetes and epilepsy and claimed that his vision was so poor that he could not cook.

He also claimed rheumatoid arthritis and kidney problems meant he could only walk short distances, and then only with the aid of a stick or walking frame.

Aslam further claimed he could not get out of a chair without assistance and had not driven for 20 years.

However an investigation revealed that he landed a job with Royal Bank of Scotland as a telephone adviser between 2002 and 2007.

Aslam later got other jobs, including two with insurance companies, where he worked as a sales adviser, and also had no apparent difficulties with his mobility.

He told one employer that he swam regularly and lived a “fit and healthy lifestyle”.

Gulam Ahmed, defending, said, as well as his medical problems, Aslam also had mental health issues and suffered from depression.

Sentencing him to 15 months jail, suspended for 21 months, he accepted the claim had initially been legitimate and that Aslam would be appealing the decision and denied that he could walk unaided.