A Harrow petrol station attendant Abdul Murshid was jailed for 11 weeks after a court heard how he lied about his arrangements to falsely claim £55,000 in housing benefits.
Willesden Magistrates were told that 46-year-old Mr. Murshid claimed £900 per month in housing benefit from Harrow Council while his rent at the part-ownership property in Daintry Close, Kenton West, only amounted to £200. The court heard that the married father of-four, two boys aged 12 and 9, and two girls six and two, used the extra £700 to spend on his family in a fraud that extended over six years.
Mr. Murshid, who worked at the Welcome Break service station on the M1, admitted four counts of fraud. Magistrates said a jail term was justified because of the severity and duration of the fraud, although they took into account an early guilty plea and the defendant’s previous good character.
The defendant was sentenced to 11 weeks in custody, half to be served in jail and the other half on license. In total £55,957.31 was claimed fraudulently from October 2005 to March 2012 and Harrow Council will now seek to recoup the money.
Councillor Sachin Shah, portfolio holder for finance and major contracts, said: “People defrauding the benefit system take attention away from its real purpose. That purpose is to provide a vital safety net that catches people when they need it the most.
“A jail term sends a signal of just how seriously the courts take benefit fraud – it is not a harmless paperwork fiddle. We are going to pursue the defendant to recover money which belongs to the people of Harrow.’
The case is one of the last housing benefit fraud cases to be directly investigated by Harrow Council. From 1 October all housing benefit frauds will be investigated centrally by the Department for Work and Pensions. If you have any suspicions about Housing Fraud this should be reported to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440 or www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud.
