Sajjan_Thug Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 Benefits fraudster who faked the identities of 200 children to pocket public money is ordered to pay back £2 million By Claire Ellicott Whitehall Editor15:53 EST 29 Dec 2023 , updated 15:53 EST 29 Dec 2023 +4 View gallery Ali Bana Mohamed, 42, will face a nine-year sentence if he fails to return the cash A benefits cheat who faked the identities of almost 200 children to pocket public money has been ordered to repay more than £2million. Ali Bana Mohamed, 42, has three months to return the cash or face a nine-year prison sentence, the Department for Work and Pensions said. Mohamed, from Hulme in Manchester, was jailed in 2022 for masterminding a decade-long scam to cheat taxpayers out of at least £1.7million. He enlisted relatives and friends to assist him in submitting bogus claims under about 70 different names, using stolen identities of adults along with the fake birth certificates of 188 children. All the fraudulent claims were made on the basis that the adult had care of named children and was entitled to child benefit and tax credits. +4 View gallery Ali Bana Mohamed, 42, was jailed in 2022 for masterminding a decade-long scam to cheat taxpayers out of at least £1.7million +4 View gallery He has three months to return the cash or face a nine-year prison sentence, the Department for Work and Pensions (pictured) said TRENDING The scam was rumbled when HMRC noticed that calls from the same two telephone numbers were repeatedly used in connection with seemingly unrelated claims. The DWP launched a probe, Operation Paratrooper, and investigators discovered that Mohamed and six others were behind the fraud. They also found links to four properties in Manchester including a fast-food shop and cafe, as well as £500,000 in illicit bank transfers and withdrawals. Mohamed admitted 29 fraud offences and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2022. It would have been longer had he not already been serving 16 years for drugs and immigration offences. In 2022, six of the fraudsters who had helped him received jail sentences totalling more than 13 years. One had his term suspended. Judge Brian Cummings praised DWP officers for ‘their skill and determination in their investigation’. The department’s serious and organised crime section established that Mohamed had submitted child benefit and tax credit claims under about 70 different adult names over a nine-year period between April 2007 and July 2016. +4 View gallery Kevin Slack, prosecuting, said Mohamed kept handwritten notebooks detailing the information and hid these in his wardrobe. This month, on December 22, Liverpool Crown Court ordered him to repay £2,164,828.30 at a confiscation hearing. The Proceeds of Crime Act allows courts to calculate the amount individuals have benefited from their offending and issue a confiscation order based on assets. Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: ‘Our welfare system is predicated on fairness, and we will make sure that those who need our help receive it and those who wish to exploit the system face justice. ‘So as benefit fraud becomes more sophisticated, so must we. This latest case is testament to the tenacity of our expert anti-fraud squad who saved the hard-working taxpayer £1.1billion last year.’ The DWP has announced a crackdown on fraud which is estimated to cost taxpayers £8billion a year. It has pledged £900million over three years to tackle the issue, while a new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will allow officials to check the accounts of anyone receiving benefits. Share or comment on this article: Benefits fraudster who faked the identities of 200 children to pocket public money is ordered to pay back £2 million source 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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