A fraudster who converted his shed to live in so he could illegally rent out four bedrooms of his council flat has been jailed.
John Gallagher had an en-suite bathroom and built-in wardrobe fitted to he could live in comfort while he raked in more than £95,000 in benefits from Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Department for Work and Pensions over eight years.
The 64-year-old admitted five counts of fraud and was jailed for 10 months at Isleworth Crown Court, the council said.
He was the sole tenant of the townhouse, in Strode Road, Fulham, where he lived for more than 20 years, but became of interest to the local authority's fraud officers after it received a tip-off.
They later discovered Gallagher had been illegally renting his rooms out for between £645-£700 per room per month, plus £80-£100 a month towards utilities and deposits of £300-£540 per room, the council said.
When inspectors first visited the house, Gallagher refused them entry to the garden and shed. He also said a male friend found in one of the rooms was visiting from east London, but could not provide the officers with his surname or date of birth.
But inspectors later cross-referenced the mobile telephone number Mr Gallagher provided when he had applied for a parking permit, against advertising website Gumtree and found adverts for rooms to rent, which the officers recognised as those they had seen earlier.
The property was raided in the early hours of October 20 and the full scale of the fraud was uncovered, the council said.
Sentencing on August 21, the judge said the deception had been "sophisticated" and was "too serious" to give a suspended sentence.
Later, Cllr Lisa Homan, head of housing, said: “This is a great result for our excellent fraud team who have removed another cheat from the system.
“The council’s scarce resources need to be used supporting those with a genuine need and not on scammers like this who waste tax payer’s money.”
