A prolific fraudster has been ordered to repay more than £200,000 in illegal benefits.
The con artist who juggled illegally obtained benefits across 15 separate bank accounts will have to pay all of the money back, plus the profit she made from her activities and the Ealing Council’s full legal costs. If she doesn't she will be imprisoned.
Gurjinder Kaur Dhariwal of Trent Road, Slough, got a secure tenancy on a three-bed council house in Northolt by falsely claiming that she was homeless while she was buying a property in Slough.
She also illegally claimed more than £168,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit, income support and jobseekers allowance over a period of nine and a half years.
Officers from Ealing Council uncovered the scale of Ms Dhariwal’s deception when she applied to buy her council house through the government’s Right To Buy scheme stating that she would be able to make a cash purchase on the property without a mortgage. At the time, she was claiming a range of benefits.
On her mortgage application for the Slough property, she declared that she was employed as an IT consultant earning £35,000 and was able to pay a £25,000 deposit for the property out of her savings. This mortgage application was being processed at the same time she submitted a homelessness application and claims for housing benefit and council tax benefit to the council.
Despite consistently declaring just one bank account to the council, officers uncovered that she held approximately £55,000 in savings across 15 different savings and current accounts and was the owner of the Slough property.
Ms Dhariwal pleaded guilty to eight counts related to her ongoing deception and was given an eight months suspended sentence at Isleworth Crown Court on February 20. She surrendered the keys to the council property and repaid £155,608.
Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance, performance and welfare, said: “The degree of dishonesty here is astonishing. Benefit fraud is theft and it’s clear that Ms Dhariwal knew exactly what she was doing. She acted with the firm intention of defrauding tax payers of as much money as she could get away with and prevented a family in need from being given a home, just so she could illegally profit.
“The council is now using credit checks on a frequent basis, so this case should serve as a warning to anyone else committing this kind of fraud. We will catch up with you.”
Anyone with any information about a fraud against the council can report their suspicions anonymously via the council’s hotline on 0800 328 6453 (free from landlines) or email fraudreferrals@ealing.gov.uk. Callers do not have to leave their name.
