Housing benefit case studies
Oldham MBC
2010/11
A NFI housing benefit to licensed taxi driver match enabled Oldham Council to identify a taxi driver who had fraudulently claimed more than £21,000 in housing and council tax benefits.
Investigation of the match by the council confirmed that, while claiming benefits between 2007 and 2009, and having told the council that he was too sick to work, he had held a private hire taxi license since 2006. The Council’s Licensing Department confirmed that he had worked for a number of private hire firms in Oldham since 2006.
He was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to notify the authorities of a change in circumstances. He was ordered to pay back all of the benefit overpayments, given an eight-month prison sentence, disqualified from driving for three months and ordered to carry out 80 hours unpaid work in the community.
Brighton & Hove City Council
2010/11
A NFI match between housing benefit and market trader licence records resulted in a street trader being sentenced to nine months in prison for benefit fraud. As the result of the investigation of the match, Brighton and Hove City Council and DWP investigators were able to secure a conviction against the man who had claimed over £80,000 in benefits while running a mobile food van with turnover of £30,000 a year.
In addition to securing a conviction, the council are taking action to recover the full amount of housing and council tax benefit fraudulently claimed.
Blackburn with Darwen Council
2008/09
Investigation of an NFI match found that a benefit claimant had failed to disclose income being received from an NHS pension which had been paid since 1998. Fraudulent claims amounting to £33,000 had been paid as a result of the deception. The fraudster was prosecuted by the council and received a prison sentence of eight months suspended for two years.
Harrow London Borough Council
2008/09
An NFI match revealed that a care assistant had been working in a day centre with vulnerable adults since 2005 but had no right to work in the UK. She had entered the country on another persons student visa. The assistant had also been paid £39,000 in housing and council tax benefits. The person was dismissed and the council is pursuing recovery of the benefits overpayments.
London Borough of Lewisham
2008/09
Matching by the NFI of housing benefits data to payroll records revealed an employee at an NHS Trust who had been claiming income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit for a number of years and not declaring her employment income. At an interview under caution, the employee explained that she couldn’t afford her rent or place her child into a nursery or child care as she had debts amounting to £27,000. The overpayments relating to this case are in excess of £50,000. The claimant pleaded guilty in court in February 2010 and has been sentenced to 280 hours community service.
Gedling Borough Council
2008/09
Gedling Borough Council identified a fraud of £34,000 through investigation of one of their NFI housing benefit to housing rents matches. The case highlighted several incidences of fraud over an 11 year period. Initially, the claimant applied for both Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit without declaring that she was related to the landlord. She then later failed to reveal to the council that she had vacated her registered address and was residing with her partner elsewhere. She was also in receipt of income support at the time of the move, but had not informed Department for Work and Pensions of the change in circumstance which would have affected her income support entitlement.
The claimant was prosecuted and ordered to repay the £34,000 she had received fraudulently. In addition, she was given an 11 month custodial sentence suspended for two years, ordered to do 180 hours of community service and received a four month curfew.