Benefit cheat caught not declaring £250,000 assets

Mohammed Islam, 67, of Brooklands Court, Rochdale, failed to declare to Rochdale Borough Council or the Department for Work and Pensions that he owned a second property, mortgage free, estimated to be worth £250,000 and lied about being in receipt of a private pension.

Fraud officers from the Council uncovered the deception and the Council’s in-house legal team brought the case to Bury & Rochdale Magistrates Court on 4 July 2013, where Islam pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud under Section 111A (1A) and 111a(1)(a) of the 1992 Social Security Administration Act. These acts led him to dishonestly collect Council Tax Benefit and Guaranteed Pension Credit.

Islam was ordered to pay a fine of £800; costs of £800 and a £80 victim surcharge. Islam paid back the full amount he claimed dishonestly, to the sum of £6082.91, before his court appearance.

Councillor Farooq Ahmed, cabinet member for finance at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Failing to disclose important financial information as a way of fraudulently collecting benefits is simply unacceptable. Failing to disclose your assets and falsifying your situation takes money away from people who need it.

“We should not have to waste precious time and resources bringing benefit cheats to justice but we will continue to do so using the full weight of the law to make sure financial support only goes to the most vulnerable people.”