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Leeds benefit fraud brothers jailed
Two plotting benefit fraud brothers pocketed almost £225,000 using "phantom tenancies" in the biggest Leeds case of its kind.
Javeid Akhtar, 34 years old father of seven, of West Park Avenue, Leeds, and Banaras Ali, a 30 years old father of three, of Mexborough Drive, Leeds, wove a complex web of deceipt to syphon off the record sum from Leeds City Council and the Department of Work and Pensions.
Akhtar and Ali pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit benefit fraud between 1996 and 2006.
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Both were sentenced to four and a half years in prison and they must pay almost 224,000 in compensation and 41,000 costs.
Prosecuting Roger Birch QC said: "It's not a case of musical chairs but of musical houses. They're extended family made use of each other's accommodation as suited their needs."
A myriad of false claims for jobseeker's allowance, income support, incapacity benefit, disability allowance, pension credit, housing benefit and council tax relief were submitted to the authorities over a period of 10 years.
It was a convoluted plot that centered around three addresses in Chapeltown and Roundhay and also involved their sisters, wives and mothers.
The scam began to unravel when Akhtar's wife was seen to be claiming council tax benefit at a property on Mexborough Drive, while paying council tax on a house just five miles up the road on West Park Avenue.
The family had been creating phantom tenancies to falsely claim housing benefit since 1996 by claiming housing and council tax benefits from each others properties and never declaring they were in fact related to the 'landlord'.
Akhtar and Ali were arrested in 2005. During searches of properties it also came to light that Javeid Akhatar and his wife had recently received 750,000 in compensation from the NHS, following an operation on their daughter.
Defending Akthar Rodney Fern QC said: "This is not one of those cases of professional benefit fraud where false papers are obtained and false identities are used. They're not masterminds never facing the music. This is a case that was kept within the confines of this family."
Mr Fern also told Leeds Crown Court that the money was not used to live a life of luxury but was invested in assets including housing, with the pair owning several properties at addresses including West Park Avenue, Mexborough Drive and Talbot Gardens.
Mr Fern added: "He's had a lot of moments to reflect on the situation he has put himself in and the hardship on his family."
Sentencing the pair George Alistair McCallum said: "The sums of money that you stole from just the ordinary hardworking taxpayers who go out and earn a living to enable our benefits system to operate at all was substantial. The planning involved in it displays a dishonesty on a scale which makes this case wholly unusual. It's at the extreme range of benefit fraud."
James Plaskitt, anti-fraud minister at the Department for Work and Pensions said: "These fraudsters thought they were in for an easy ride, picking up benefits that they weren't entitled to. People who continue to claim benefits illegally will be tracked down and punished."
Vernon Sanderson, regional fraud manager at the DWP said: "This court decision sends a clear message to anyone who may be thinking that benefit theft is 'worth it'. make no mistake, benefit crime does not pay and if you do it, there are serious consequences."
Steve Carey, chief revenues and benefits officer at Leeds City Council, said: "It was a complex conspiracy that resulted in the biggest benefit fraud in Leeds and the judge has given out a sentence that reflects that. Four and a half years is a very significant punishment."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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