Swift Saints and Scroungers

What makes this country great is that we give money to people who genuinely need it.

The problem is that wherever there's money, there are people who want to steal it.

Welcome to the world of Saints and Scroungers!

Saints and Scroungers is about busting the benefit thieves

who steal millions every year from you and me - the taxpayer.

Thankfully, all over the country, crack fraud investigators are pulling out all the stops

to track down cheats and put an end to their scams.

Coming up on today's programme...

We're going to show you how an old lady got busted

for a housing benefit scam that lasted for more than 20 years!

It's just not the behaviour you expect from 81-year-olds.

From the scroungers ripping off the system,

to the saints who deserve every penny.

We meet Jim Swift, who was desperate for help

when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

The biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to afford

to pay the bills if I couldn't manage to care for my wife at home.

First today, the story of one old lady and her 20-year scam.

Ah, retirement.

After more than four decades of hard graft,

it's time to start enjoying your golden years.

Relax, put your feet up, take it easy, enjoy the finer things in life. Thank you...

But what if that wasn't enough?

What if you wanted more?

How far would you go to get it?

Meet 81-year-old Ellen Lynch.

She may look like a sweet old lady, but don't be fooled!

She's spent more than two decades lying to different councils, while claiming £70,000 in benefits.

She's been living out her golden years in a £700,000 property in Tunbridge Wells,

while you and me pay for her two-bed weekend pad in Central London!

Fraud officers believe that, despite the innocent facade, Lynch is a calculating fraudster.

She sounded like you'd expect an 81-year-old to sound.

A...a nice elderly lady.

Um...maybe I'll be looking at elderly people in a different light from now on.

It's July 2007, and 81-year-old Lynch is out for a walk

near her Lambeth flat.

She's recognized in the community, but rarely given a second glance.

I seen her walking along the street.

She looks really lonely, when she's coming back from shopping.

But that's...

that's how she always looked.

She just looks like an ordinary, old-ish lady, you know?

An ordinary lady who could be missing out on Government cash.

Lynch has been claiming Housing Benefit

and Council Tax Benefit on her Lambeth flat since 1984,

but for some reason she wasn't receiving her state pension,

something that most people of retirement age are entitled to.

It is unusual for someone of Ellen Lynch's age not to have a pension,

and one of the things we wanted to make sure

was that she was getting all the money and help she was entitled to.

So the council, believing they were going to help

a sweet old lady in need, paid Ellen Lynch a visit.

'Initially, we went along that this was an elderly lady,'

and a mistake had been made on her claim.

In order to get her signed up for state pension,

they simply needed to get some identification.

'To verify all this, we'd be looking for things like birth certificates'

marriage certificates, passports, that type of thing.

Lynch doesn't have any ID in the house

and claims not to know where she was born,

brought up, or even whether she has brothers or sisters!

'The investigators certainly had the impression that this wasn't'

an innocent, confused, elderly lady.

'She answered the questions, knew why the questions were being asked,'

just didn't answer truthfully.

'I don't think the investigator totally believed her.'

The suspicious answers are like a red rag to a bull for the Lambeth fraud team

and they decide to dig deeper.

Entering Mrs Lynch's details into the Land Registry throws out a surprising result.

There was an Ellen Lynch of a similar date of birth claiming benefits in Tunbridge Wells.

Tunbridge Wells? The epitome of middle England?

The place regularly voted one of the best places in the country to live?

What could a lady living in social housing in Lambeth have to do with Tunbridge Wells?

Kathy contacts Richard Powell,

her benefits team counterpart in the area, to make sure

that Lambeth's Ellen Lynch is the same person.

We were able to advise Lambeth that we were certainly dealing with the same individual.

And that was based on the physical description of the lady,

and also on confirmation of her signature on various documents

that had been exchanged between the two authorities.

And that isn't the last surprising bit of news.

The Ellen Lynch in Tunbridge Wells was claiming council tax benefit for a four-bedroom property in the area.

That's council tax benefit currently worth over £1,600 a year on a £700,000 house!

Richard and his team really are disgusted - and with good reason.

We as officers had a clear suspicion that we were dealing with the same Ellen Lynch in both circumstances,

claiming housing benefit in London and Council Tax Benefit on a separate property,

not declared one to the other, here in Tunbridge Wells.

So the picture is finally clear.

Ellen Lynch spends most of the week in her £700,000 house in Tunbridge Wells,

but when she fancies a trip into town, she jumps on the train

and stays at her London flat!

Her scam is the fact that she's not told either Lambeth

or Tunbridge Wells council about the other property

and fraudulently claims benefits on both, totalling nearly 70,000.

It's just not the behaviour you expect from 81-year-olds.

Later in the show, we find out what happens when investigators bring Ellen Lynch in for questioning.

Next, it's goodbye to the benefits scroungers

and hello to the people who actually deserve Government help.

Some people don't claim because they don't know they're entitled to something,

but it's some people's mission to shine a light on the cash available for those genuinely in need!

We call them the Saints.

A blissful marriage, two wonderful daughters, 30 years in the job he loved.

Jim Swift was really looking forward to his retirement.

But life had other plans.

Jim and Jan Swift live together at home in Bolton.

But in 2002, Jan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,

an event that, within just a few years, would leave Jim at rock bottom.

I've come to meet Jim to find out more.

How did you two meet?

We met at the first school I started teaching at.

Jan was already there, it took me a couple of months to get to know her and we started going out.

-Our first date we travelled some 242 miles.

-Wow!

-That was our first date.

-Where did you go?

We went to Trentham Gardens, Alton Towers

and on the way home, Jan said, "I wouldn't mind having fish and chips on the seafront in Blackpool."

So, that's where we went.

The couple were married in the summer of 1969

and settled into a happy life living and working together.

The pair had two daughters, Helen and Claire. Things couldn't be better.

Until Jan became ill six years ago, we had an idyllic life.

Things were pretty rosy.

But Jim and Jan weren't going to have

the happy retirement they had dreamt of.

-CHURCH BELLS PEAL

-Noisy, isn't it?

Things were great,

heading to retirement, looking forward to that.

-In 1996, we went on holiday to Italy.

-Right.

It was on the holiday in Italy that I first noticed something wrong.

We'd had a fantastic day in Venice.

The following evening, we went out for meal.

Jan suddenly said, "Where did we go yesterday?"

That sounds silly, but even in those early stages

I knew something was wrong,

because of the utter fear in her eyes.

She really couldn't remember this fantastic day we'd had.

But we got back to England, things seemed pretty much the same and so I put it to the back of my mind.

But over the next couple of years, Jan gradually became more and more forgetful.

Jan stopped paying bills. I would open the cupboards and find 12 tins of tuna,

because Jan couldn't remember if we needed any tuna and kept on buying it.

So there were indicators like that

which led me to go to the doctor and he referred me to a psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist sent Jan for a scan.

When the brain scan came back and I was told she had a perfectly normal brain,

I told Jan what had been going on.

Her reply was that she was glad that I hadn't told her

because she wouldn't have wanted to know the worst.

But by 2002, it was clear to Jim

that he could no longer ignore the symptoms.

Things didn't get any better

and so she was sent for a further brain scan in Manchester.

The results of that showed that she did in fact have Alzheimer's,

and because she had indicated she didn't want to know the worst,

then since that time I haven't told her,

so to this day, she's not aware that she has dementia.

-That's your family, isn't it, yes? Your sister.

-I don't know.

-Deborah.

Oh, Deborah! Of course, of course.

Today, even some of the most significant moments of their lives have disappeared from her memory.

What's that?

-What's this?

-You tell it.

SHE LAUGHS

That's you and I on our wedding day.

Over the years, things disappeared,

such as being able to write her own name, being able to deal with money.

She is no longer aware of where the toilet is.

She will ask, "Where's the toilet? Where's the bedroom?"

Which means, although she spent

a lot of her teaching career teaching nursery and infant children,

her mental capacity is now less than theirs.

Jim had to retire early, leaving him with a seriously depleted pension

and he spent nearly all his savings caring for Jan,

making adaptations to the house and making her life as good as possible.

Financially, things were starting to get a bit worrying.

I was going through my savings,

and also I didn't realise how I was being affected.

-Clean your teeth?

-Me?

-Yeah.

Jim really wants to care for Jan at home,

so he converted the garage into a downstairs bedroom with walk-in shower.

But as she got worse, Jim was terrified he'd made the wrong decision.

The biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to afford

to pay the bills, if I couldn't manage to care for my wife at home.

Having coped for years on his own, Jim was emotionally and financially drained.

He was determined never to abandon Jan, but his biggest fear was that

he wouldn't have the means to fulfil his promise.

But his life is about to change for the better.

Through his local hospital, he is put in contact with Paula Smith, an Admiral Nurse.

Admiral Nurses are specialist nurses who work with the carers of people with dementia,

and Paula knows just how tough it can be caring for someone with Alzheimer's.

-Hi, Paula.

-Hi, Jim.

-Do you want to come in?

-Thanks very much.

He was referred to us as he was finding it difficult coming to terms with Jan's diagnosis

and the changes that he was seeing in her.

How have things been going since I last saw you?

Having found someone who fully understands what he is going through

means Jim no longer has to cope on his own.

Providing 24-hour care for somebody with Alzheimer's is really difficult

because you literally provide 24-hour care with no break.

Jim is a very devoted husband, he wants to enhance Jan's quality of life.

He's made a conscious decision that he wants to provide the care for Jan

within their own home for as long as he is physically able.

Reluctant at first to admit that he couldn't just soldier on, Paula helps Jim to understand

that his health is every bit as vital as Jan's.

It's important to support carers of people with Alzheimer's,

because the carer is best placed to provide the level of support

that the person with the diagnosis needs.

-That's your first one - one more coming up.

-Ooh!

Paula gives me the chance to let off steam and to talk to someone about Jan's condition.

To talk to someone who's visited patients with the same sort of behaviour makes it easier to talk.

-Conversation can be great healer for a lot of things, can't it?

-It can, yes.

Sometimes things that she does really frustrate you,

and then the guilt kicks in and you get annoyed

and then you're guilty, because you know that your wife isn't doing it deliberately.

For instance, she will go to the toilet and have reams of toilet paper in her pocket.

She'll wander round with a cushion in her hand, she follows me everywhere.

It can be frustrating, with the best will in the world.

But Paula has done more that just listen.

She tells Jim that he could claim benefits that would help him look after Jan at home.

We looked at what benefits he was in receipt of

and we then looked at what his entitlement was and what Jan's entitlement was.

We consequently applied for those benefits.

What sort of care and allowances did they advise you to get?

The Carer's Allowance, for myself, and the Disability Living Allowance for Jan,

which is comprised of two components - care and mobility.

Give me an idea of how much money that gives you a month and what that enables you to do.

Altogether, I get several hundred pounds a month.

With that money I'm able to pay for carers

to come in and look after Jan, I'm able to pay for her respite care.

Thanks to Paula's support and the various benefits,

Jim now gets a break two days a week when Jan goes to respite care.

-What is respite?

-Respite gives me a chance to recharge my batteries.

I'm exhausted most of the time.

Originally, I thought because I was younger

that I'd be stronger and more able to cope, but you aren't.

This is a disease that would wear down an Olympic athlete,

because it's looking after two people now, 24 hours a day.

So respite gives me a chance to do something for myself.

Jim now has the chance to get away from things, if only for a short time.

He loves nothing more than taking a stroll out into the hills near his home,

something that without respite care he was unable to do.

Jan is the love of my life, but I do need,

for my benefit, and for Jan's, to come out here,

to get away from the situation, to enjoy the scenery,

because I cannot do the job 24/7 and keep my sanity, without a break.

You can forget, albeit temporarily, the problems you have.

And for a short while, I suppose you could say I'm at peace,

away from the dreadful situation that my wife is in.

When I first sent her into respite, I felt as if I'd betrayed her, abandoned her

because I was sending her into an environment where she could well be unhappy.

But I do realise now it's vital for carers to have breaks.

How are things now, six years down the line?

Jan recently has entered what I think is the last stage, she's started to get aggressive.

She tells me I'm stupid, nasty, horrible,

which is difficult to take, but I realise it's not the real Jan.

I'm now living with somebody who used to be my wife, but is fast disappearing.

This is a disease that strips away every vestige of humanity bit by bit.

Lots of people have difficulties in their life, what would you say to do?

There are benefits out there, I feel some should be increased.

But in the first instance, you are at loss.

You don't know who to turn to, who to speak to.

Perhaps the Citizens Advice Bureau or the Admiral Nurse Service that cares for people with dementia.

But they are there to help you and you really will need that.

For the future, Jim, what's your hopes?

I have long ago given up hope that there will be a cure for Alzheimer's.

So my intention is to keep Jan at home as long as possible,

in fact, right through her illness if I'm strong enough to do so.

To send Jan away, even if I visited her every day, would seem like abandoning her.

I know Jan is being taken care of today, this is your day of rest and recuperation,

-so I want to say thanks for me tea and I'm going to love you and leave you. Take care.

-Bye.

I am so pleased that Jim is now getting help he needs, which allows him

to take care of wife and ensures he can take a well-earned break.

Jan means everything to me. If I can make her happy as possible, then I will have done my job.

Since 1984, Ellen Lynch has been living in a housing association flat in Lambeth

and claiming housing benefit and council tax on that property

while at the same time claiming further benefits on her four bedroom house in Tunbridge Wells.

It's a double scam - ripping off two councils.

Alex Wrigley runs a housing association scheme

providing a vital service for the locals.

It can be frustrating when dealing with abuses of social housing,

not only for me as a social landlord trying to put people in the right properties,

but especially for people on the waiting list

who have been waiting for years for the right property to become available.

On this estate, we have 270 properties and very rarely do they become free.

And with waiting times up to a year, when they do become free the competition is staggering.

75% of the people we put in come from Lambeth council's waiting list.

That waiting list stands in the thousands.

It's certainly not for people who own properties in the Home Counties worth £700,000.

For neighbour Trevor, the callous way in which Lynch had played the system

for so many years was particularly galling.

I feel really upset about it,

because a lot of people haven't got nowhere to go,

sleeping on the street and that, and then you told me what's going on.

I just think it's diabolical, really, know what I mean?

Luckily Kathy Bateman, from Lambeth's Benefits Investigation Team,

is hard on the trail of this devious octogenarian.

We were more than happy that we were dealing with a multiple claim,

and it was time to call Mrs Lynch in for a formal interview.

And we arranged for our Tunbridge Wells colleagues to take part

in that interview, where they could also formally identify her

as the person they had been to see.

The purpose of these interviews is to establish the true facts,

and to give people the opportunity to offer some form of explanation for the discrepancies we've got.

Ellen Lynch was unable to do that to any degree of satisfaction.

She was firstly presented with evidence of the way she had submitted claims

for housing benefit at Lambeth over many years,

year by year not acknowledging - and there is a specific question that asks for this information -

that she had ownership of a property elsewhere, i.e. in Tunbridge Wells.

Don't be fooled by the sweet old lady act.

The investigators are convinced she knows exactly what's going on.

The best argument that she could come up with was that she didn't believe

owning a house in Tunbridge Wells would have any impact on her claim in Lambeth.

She felt the rented property in London was just somewhere she happened to be, it was rented,

and she distinguished between a rented property that was a convenience

and what she called her home in Tunbridge Wells, which was her purchased property,

and she argued that because one was in Kent and one was in London, there was no relationship between them

and claims she made in relation to the two properties should therefore be completely separate.

That's a bit difficult to believe.

We were fairly forthright with her, saying that she was being dishonest at that stage

in seeking to deny she had these two identities,

and that she was seeking to live two separate lives, as far as the councils were concerned.

We were satisfied at that point that an offence had been committed

and that Ellen Lynch knew exactly what she'd been doing.

Over the course of more than 16 years,

Ellen Lynch has defrauded the taxpayer to the tune of £70,000.

It's the 16th May 2008 and Ellen Lynch appears before the Inner London Crown Court.

In the face of overwhelming evidence against her, she drops the facade.

By the time that Ellen Lynch had got to the Inner London Crown Court,

she'd stopped playing the innocent old lady and decided to plead guilty.

Ellen Lynch is found guilty on three counts of False Accounting,

and ordered to repay more than £63,000 in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit to Lambeth,

plus a further £7,000 in Council Tax Benefit to Tunbridge Wells.

She's also made to pay £2,000 in costs to Lambeth.

And to ensure the message is heard loud and clear,

the judge imposes a £50,000 fine,

which has to be paid within 28 days or it's 18 months in jail.

I think Ellen knew that she'd done something wrong.

We heard that everyday she attended the crown court, she had with her a little bag

that had a nightdress and toothbrush inside.

Maybe she thought she was going to prison.

And for investigator Kathy, Lynch was to provide one final surprise.

She'd paid off, in full, all the money she'd fraudulently obtained.

She managed to do that in a one-off payment in excess of £70,000,

which, given that Ellen Lynch told us

she'd never worked a day in her life, that's quite an achievement.

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