A group who stole over £50 million of taxpayers’ money has been brought to justice in the largest ever benefit fraud case in England and Wales
Five people have pleaded guilty to numerous charges involving creating false Universal Credit claims worth £53,901,959.82.
DWP investigators worked to track and catch the fraudsters, gathering extensive evidence of false tenancy agreements and shell companies created to show false employment claims, including counterfeit payslips and GP notes. The group also created many false identity documents.
The courts will now proceed with sentencing the defendants as the DWP and CPS work to recover the money stolen.
Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP, said:
Minister responsible for tackling benefit fraud, Paul Maynard MP, added:
Ben Reid, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said:
The defendants who have pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court were: Galina Nikolova, 38; Stoyan Stoyanov, 27; Tsvetka Todorova, 52, Gyunesh Ali, 33, and Patritsia Paneva, 26. All defendants are of Bulgarian nationality.
The defendants laundered money from the false benefit claims and sent incriminating WhatsApp messages that shared forged documents.
Investigators also found “claim packs” at the houses of defendants, which were created for others to make false benefit claims and included false documents such as bank statements, fake photographic identification, and forged information on dependants.
Additional items seized included bundles of cash stuffed into shopping bags and suitcases, designer goods such as watches, jackets and glasses, and a luxury car.
This latest case comes as the government continues to turn the tide on benefit cheats. DWP’s Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System plan, backed by £900 million over three years, bolsters the counter-fraud frontline with measures including trained specialists to review millions of Universal Credit claims.
This counter fraud clampdown, together with wider benefit checks and controls, saved at least £18 billion in 2022/23 and saw fraud and error fall by 10 percent.
DWP is now pushing to go further with a target to save the taxpayer £1.3 billion through counter fraud and error in 2023/24.
Additional Information: