0:00:02 > 0:00:07Welcome to Saints And Scroungers, the show that exposes benefit thieves, cheats and liars.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10But it does also unearth the people that genuinely need help.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14This is the front line in the battle against benefit fraud.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42Saints and Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal millions every year
0:00:42 > 0:00:47and the crack teams of investigators determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54We also shine a light on the saints, people committed to putting money
0:00:54 > 0:01:00into the pockets of those who deserve it and the people too proud to claim what is rightfully theirs.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02And coming up on today's programme,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05two scrounging sisters, one stolen identity
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and enough cash to lord it up in limos.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Clearly this family had access to money
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and were not afraid to spend it.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And saintly intervention for the homeless.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21You don't want to be helped. You don't feel as though you deserve it.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29You know, as an A-list celebrity, I could get quite used to this lifestyle.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Being chauffeured around in a limousine like this, sipping on the old bubbly.
0:01:33 > 0:01:39But if I was living and working in this country illegally whilst claiming benefits,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43I'd be a little bit more discreet. You know, keep my head down, keep a low profile.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46But that's not what two sisters thought. Oh, no.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Meet Ugandan sisters Yudaya and Racheal,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58who lived in the UK for over a decade.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01They passed themselves off as model citizens.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06But in fact, they were living a double life,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09operating under the same stolen identity
0:02:09 > 0:02:12which they'd taken from an innocent third sister
0:02:12 > 0:02:17and were using to steal jobs and tens of thousands from the British public.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And it would be a video camera, bought with their stolen cash,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25that would ultimately lead to their downfall.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35It all began back in 1997, when one of the sisters,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Yudaya Nassolo, visited the UK from Uganda.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Problem is, she never went home.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Yudaya set about applying for a permanent visa.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50While it was processed, she wasn't legally allowed to work.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And as she didn't have a penny to her name,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55she was entitled to benefits,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58so she turned to Croydon Council for help.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05We were paying her entire rent, her council tax, utility bills.
0:03:05 > 0:03:11She was provided with food vouchers and a basic amount to spend to live on.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Remember, this was someone who came to the UK as a visitor.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Now she was living off state handouts.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23But the help didn't end there.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25So also claimed to have a serious illness,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29entitling her to additional support from social services.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Because of this illness that she had,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38she was meant to receive regular care and visits from social workers.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43They had real difficulty getting into that house.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47They called round on a regular basis, but it was very hard to get past the front door.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Social services were getting concerned about Yudaya's welfare.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But after months and months of trying to get inside the property,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05the social workers finally got lucky.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09At a point in time, when they did gain access to the property,
0:04:09 > 0:04:15what they actually saw was a lifestyle that was way beyond the person we were supporting.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Now, remember, this was a woman supposedly living in poverty.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24But what the social workers saw was a whole host of luxury goods,
0:04:24 > 0:04:30including a large plasma TV and expensive leather settees.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Social services were immediately suspicious
0:04:35 > 0:04:39that Yudaya might be supplementing her benefits by working illegally.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43So they contacted Croydon Council's fraud team.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49And David Hogan immediately launched a full-scale investigation.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53We thought, "Yeah, something clearly is wrong with this"
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and we decided to use some surveillance
0:04:56 > 0:05:00to try to work out really what she was doing,
0:05:00 > 0:05:05because we weren't entirely sure at this point how she was managing to live above her means.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Council fraud investigation units have access to crack teams
0:05:11 > 0:05:15trained in undercover techniques and I've arranged a meeting
0:05:15 > 0:05:18with the man in charge of the stake out of Yudaya Nassolo.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30Andy, you were one of the investigating officers in the case. Tell me about the surveillance.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33It was crucial, cos we had this allegation that she may be working,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- so we needed to have her followed. - What did the investigators find?
0:05:36 > 0:05:41They found her going to two places. One was South Bank University
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- down at the Elephant and Castle. - Was she studying there?
0:05:44 > 0:05:49- Our enquiries found out, yes, she was studying to get a nursing qualification.- Right.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52And she received a bursary from the NHS to do that.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56A bursary is a chunk of money they give you and you don't pay it back.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00That's what I understand, yes. They give it to staff to get trained up
0:06:00 > 0:06:03and in this case, she received just under £18,000.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- You're joking!- No.- OK. I wasn't expecting it to be that high.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- It's very costly training. - What else was she up to?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15They found her going to a nursing home in Wallington
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and our enquiries there found that she was working as a care assistant.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23OK, you've got this woman claiming benefits, she's training as a nurse,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26she's getting a government payout for the training,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- she's also working as a care assistant.- Correct.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- She's certainly not destitute, is she?- No.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Shocking stuff. Yudaya might have been entitled to benefits
0:06:38 > 0:06:40but she had no legal right to work,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43let alone be claiming an NHS bursary.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47My question is, how on earth was she getting away with it?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51She was using two identities.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54She presented herself to the council to get assistance
0:06:54 > 0:06:56in the name Yudaya Nassolo.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01- Mm-hm.- She was using the identity of a Zam Zam Nagujja to get work
0:07:01 > 0:07:03and to claim the NHS bursary.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Andy had cracked it. Yudaya was using her real name
0:07:09 > 0:07:11to claim thousands in benefits
0:07:11 > 0:07:14and the stolen identity of Zam Zam Nagujja
0:07:14 > 0:07:17to work and claim the NHS bursary.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Now that we had identified the bursary,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26we realised there were funds being paid by the NHS,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31so we brought in their own fraud unit to work in partnership with us.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Colin Edwards is the NHS counter-fraud specialist
0:07:38 > 0:07:40who took up the case.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44I made enquiries with the NHS bursaries department
0:07:44 > 0:07:48and we did discover that a person by the name of Zam Zam Nagujja
0:07:48 > 0:07:52was indeed claiming an NHS bursary.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59So Colin and David decided the next step was to pay South Bank University a visit
0:07:59 > 0:08:04to see if they could unearth any more information about this mysterious Zam Zam.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09We met with the head administrator
0:08:09 > 0:08:14who was very, very cooperative in providing us with a copy of the student file
0:08:14 > 0:08:20and we found that the documents held on that file caused some concerns.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28What had caught the investigator's eye was a photocopy of a Ugandan passport
0:08:28 > 0:08:31in the name Zam Zam Nagujja,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35complete with a Home Office stamp granting leave to remain in the UK.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Investigator Andy Lang may have had intelligence Yudaya was posing as Zam Zam
0:08:43 > 0:08:46but the passport on file at the university looked genuine.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49So what was going on?
0:08:49 > 0:08:53David and myself agreed that we would pursue the case
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and we contacted the immigration service.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Tina Lyonette works for the UK Border Agency.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08After hearing a little about the case, she agreed to meet.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The team's first task
0:09:13 > 0:09:18was to establish once and for all that Zam Zam and Yudaya were one and the same.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22So Colin presented Tina with the passport photo of Zam Zam
0:09:22 > 0:09:24he'd retrieved from South Bank University.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Having the photograph
0:09:27 > 0:09:31allowed us to compare our records with the records held with the immigration service
0:09:31 > 0:09:36and that Tina Lyonette was able to bring with her to our first meeting.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Snap. The photos were clearly taken years apart,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43but they are categorically the same person,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46which means that Yudaya is posing as Zam Zam
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and the passport held on the university file must be a fake.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56Now all three agencies were convinced they were dealing with a case of identity theft
0:09:56 > 0:10:00and that Yudaya Nassolo had somehow obtained a Ugandan passport
0:10:00 > 0:10:02in the name of Zam Zam.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Between the three of us,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11we felt that there was a strong enough case to pursue further.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14But investigators needed more solid evidence
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and Andy Lang's surveillance team were still hard at it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20What else did you uncover that surprised you?
0:10:20 > 0:10:24She was driving around in a car when they followed her to the nursing home,
0:10:24 > 0:10:29- and we did checks on the vehicle. The car was registered to the name Racheal Thorn.- Who was that?
0:10:29 > 0:10:34Andy explains that Racheal Thorn is, in fact, Yudaya's sister
0:10:34 > 0:10:37and the owner of the car Yudaya is driving around in.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39But there was another shock in store.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45We've since found out that Racheal Thorn was also working in this country
0:10:45 > 0:10:47under the name Zam Zam Nagujja.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Hold your horses a minute. So we've already got one sister, Yudaya,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58posing as Zam Zam. Now Andy had discovered that her sister, Racheal,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01was also working under the same pseudonym.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08- She was also using the false identity. There were two of them using the same identity.- Right.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14The case was expanding in scale. Now the hunt was on for the sister, Racheal.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17If they were going to get to the bottom of this scam,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19they had to find her.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25After a huge trawl through public records,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28investigators tracked down a Zam Zam Nagujja
0:11:28 > 0:11:32working for a catering department at Sutton Hospital.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Could this be the sister Racheal or was Yudaya moonlighting here, too?
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- THEY CHEER - Coming up,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47the true extent of the sisters' deception is revealed.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55From the scroungers ripping off the system to the people we call our saints,
0:11:55 > 0:12:00those individuals who help put money into the pockets of people in genuine need
0:12:00 > 0:12:05and the people who are too proud or simply don't know how to claim what is rightfully due to them.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Most of us take having a roof over our head for granted.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But for some, living on the streets is a reality. And it's tough.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29A homeless charity in Kent called Porchlight is on a mission.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31The main aim is to get people who are homeless,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35take them out of the situation, find them appropriate accommodation,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38help turn their lives around, because sometimes all they need is
0:12:38 > 0:12:40that step on the ladder to do so.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47But Neil is all too aware that just putting a roof over someone's head isn't always enough.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Unfortunately, with homelessness, there's no quick solution. We have to look at the long-term picture.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Two-month or three-month segments would not be very productive
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and it could create more problems that it helps.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03OK. So at this charity, the focus is on long-term support.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07All well and good, but how does it work exactly?
0:13:07 > 0:13:10First things first, we would find someone,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12identify the fact that they are homeless,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15then we'd try and look for somewhere appropriate for them to stay,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19but also making sure that they're getting the correct benefits.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22The next step is to look at confidence building
0:13:22 > 0:13:26through organised group activities and voluntary work.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31Once they feel comfortable enough to move onto the next step, we look at some kind of employment.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38One couple whose lives have been forever changed by the charity are Carlton and Sue.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Five years ago, Carlton relocated from Liverpool to Kent to set up home with Sue.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49But she soon realised there was a problem.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Quite soon after we met, I could tell there were things
0:13:54 > 0:13:57that weren't quite right, in terms of there wasn't a job.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01But then, gradually, I could just recognise about the addictions.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Things like the cans lying around when I'd come back at 3:30 in the afternoon
0:14:06 > 0:14:08and thinking, "Hold on a minute, that's a bit early"
0:14:08 > 0:14:14and just the mood swings were quite obvious, as well.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Carlton finally confessed to Sue he was an alcoholic.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21The situation at home then quickly deteriorated.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Sometimes it got quite... uncomfortable, quite scary.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30I did become quite fearful. Fearful that if I didn't please him, then he would get angry,
0:14:30 > 0:14:35so it was tiptoeing around, making sure I was doing everything right. And the awful thing was,
0:14:35 > 0:14:40whatever I did, it wasn't right. It's only now I understand that's the disease of alcoholism.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Carlton's drinking was increasing. So was his aggressive behaviour.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Sue knew something had to change.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Love really wasn't the be all and end all at that point.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56It was actually about safety. Physical safety, emotional wellbeing, for all three of us.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01So the decision was that we would part company.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Carlton felt he had no choice but to join the ranks of the homeless,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12and he began sleeping rough in the seaside town of Ramsgate.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Once you found yourself living out there on the street, just how bad did things get?
0:15:18 > 0:15:21It got really bad, you know.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I had no money. The depression got worse.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28You're on a downward slope. You're thinking, "How did I get here? What am I going to do?"
0:15:28 > 0:15:32You've got no prospects. You've got no hope.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Many nights, you just drink so much that your body numbs up,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39so you don't feel the cold.
0:15:39 > 0:15:45Carlton had reached rock bottom. Then a visit marked the beginning of a new journey.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49I remember, one morning, this gentleman walking over to me with his little rucksack on,
0:15:49 > 0:15:54and I can remember just looking at him and thinking, "Don't come near me. Go away."
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I didn't know what he wanted or who he was.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04The man was an outreach worker and, undeterred by Carlton's initial rejection of help,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07he continued to visit.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10To have somebody there that took an interest in you
0:16:10 > 0:16:13and really showed some compassion, it was strange.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15It was very hard to trust that person.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Because they were very determined and kept coming back,
0:16:20 > 0:16:25it broke down a few of my barriers and I started to open up.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33Getting people off the streets is only half the solution when it comes to homelessness.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35In here is where the real hard work starts.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42I've come to the hostel that took Carlton in to meet his key worker, Jill Smith.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45- When Carlton came here, how bad were his problems?- Very bad.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49He was in a very bad way. He was extremely depressed,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51he was drinking very heavily
0:16:51 > 0:16:54as a result of all the things that had been happening to him.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58He had lost his job, he had lost his relationship,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00he had lost the roof over his head.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02He didn't really know which way to turn at that point.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Carlton's key worker arranged for him to get professional help with his addiction
0:17:09 > 0:17:11and after six months, he was sober.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18Next, Carlton started the charity's employability training programme
0:17:18 > 0:17:19to help prepare him for the workplace.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25I learnt lots of things on presentations, communication, interview techniques,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28but the main thing that I got from the course
0:17:28 > 0:17:30was interaction with other people again
0:17:30 > 0:17:36and it gave me the self-belief that I had something valuable to offer other people.
0:17:39 > 0:17:45And this ability to offer something back to others didn't go unnoticed by the Porchlight team.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49We started looking at a scheme that was starting up within Porchlight
0:17:49 > 0:17:52where they were taking on trainees to train them in the work
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and he seemed an ideal candidate for it.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00The training in question was to become a youth leader,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04educating children in the issues relating to homelessness.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08The education programme appealed to me,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13going out, speaking to young adults in the schools,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16giving something back,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21hopefully letting the kids learn from my experience.
0:18:21 > 0:18:27So I went for that position and, fortunately, I got it.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33It's really great to see Carlton now, because he's come full circle.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38In the last, perhaps, three or four months, he's just excelled.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40He's exceedingly competent at what he does
0:18:40 > 0:18:45and he's very clear and concise with the young people we work with and he's got a story to tell.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49A lot of homeless people are crazy. Is that true or false?
0:18:49 > 0:18:52To see people go from that starting point
0:18:52 > 0:18:57of living in one of our hostels to now working for us and delivering services is really gratifying.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- How do you feel for what you've achieved with Carlton?- Privileged.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05It's a privilege to help people turn their lives around. There's nothing else like it.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09- Do you love your job? - I do. Yeah, I do. I do.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Without the support I got from Porchlight...
0:19:19 > 0:19:24..I would never have been in the position I am now.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I always thought and believed in him, that one day he would get better, and that day has come now.
0:19:29 > 0:19:35I'm 11 months sober. I've still got issues to face, but now I can face them head on with confidence,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37and a brighter future.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44From the saints back to the scroungers.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49Every year in the UK, over a billion pounds is lost to benefit fraud.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53That's enough to pay for 40,000 NHS nurses.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58But those who commit the crime should always be prepared to do the time.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07A massive multi-agency investigation is underway.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11The UK Border Agency, Croydon Council and the NHS
0:20:11 > 0:20:14are closing in on two scrounging sisters operating
0:20:14 > 0:20:19under the same stolen identity, Zam Zam Nagujja.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Investigators had already tracked down one sister, Yudaya,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28posing as Zam Zam working illegally as a nurse
0:20:28 > 0:20:33while claiming £137,000 in benefits.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37With Yudaya firmly fixed on the fraud team's radar,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40they now needed to locate her sister, Racheal,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and they had a very hot lead.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45They'd identified a person working under the name of Zam Zam
0:20:45 > 0:20:48at a catering company.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51At first, we weren't quite sure if they were the same person,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55so we arranged to go and meet the manager of the catering unit
0:20:55 > 0:20:58where we posed as two prospective clients.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Sneaky, but I like it. And it paid off.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04By meeting this Zam Zam face to face,
0:21:04 > 0:21:10they were able to confirm this was Yudaya's married sister, Racheal Thorn.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12So here we had two sisters
0:21:12 > 0:21:18that have come into the UK from Uganda, they were using the same identity,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22the identity of Zam Zam Nagujja, and had used this successfully to get into the system.
0:21:22 > 0:21:28But was Zam Zam Nagujja a real person or a figment of the sisters' imagination?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31The name Zam Zam Nagujja actually is a real person.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34In fact, when we did some checks,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37the real Zam Zam had been at university in Manchester in the '90s.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40And there was another surprise in store.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Because it turns out that Zam Zam Nagujja
0:21:44 > 0:21:46is related to Yudaya and Racheal.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51In fact, she was a third sister. But an entirely innocent one,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54oblivious that her ID had been stolen and tampered with
0:21:54 > 0:22:00and was being used by members of her own family to extract money from the UK.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04THEY CHEER
0:22:04 > 0:22:08And boy, oh, boy, as this home video footage shows,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Yudaya and Racheal knew how to splash the cash.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19After a year of hard graft pooling information,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21investigators were ready to act.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27It's time to take this pair of scrounging sisters down.
0:22:30 > 0:22:36And in 2008, Yudaya and Racheal were placed under arrest.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40It was very important that we actually put a stop to this once and for all.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42With the sisters under lock and key,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46investigators were given the green light to search Yudaya's property.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51We found evidence of identity documents,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55bank accounts in the name Zam Zam Nagujja,
0:22:55 > 0:23:00and, interestingly, numerous money transfers back to Kampala.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04- Are we talking about large sums? - They were significant sums of money.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I can't give you the actual values off the top of my head, but it was considerable amounts,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13and we believe, because the search also found pictures of the family
0:23:13 > 0:23:16standing in newly built properties over in Kampala,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20so we think she was sending money home to fund those properties.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23If that's right, us as taxpayers have bought her and her family
0:23:23 > 0:23:27- a house in Uganda.- Effectively, yes. - That's got to hurt. It hurts me.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32It hurts us, as well. That's why we investigate these and hope that we can catch these people.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38The team didn't only find cash transfers to Uganda.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41They found forged documents and bank account details
0:23:41 > 0:23:43showing significant savings.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49The other thing we found that was quite interesting
0:23:49 > 0:23:54was some home videos. They showed the lifestyle they were living.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59There was one video where a stretch limousine had been hired.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03The video showed them inside the stretch limousine
0:24:03 > 0:24:06opening champagne, laughing.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09They were very happy with the circumstances they were in.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13There is pictures of them having extravagant Christmas presents.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Clearly, this family had access to money
0:24:16 > 0:24:18and were not afraid to spend it.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26And this, of course, was in clear contrast
0:24:26 > 0:24:30to how she presented to the council. This was, after all, somebody who
0:24:30 > 0:24:32was meant to be living on food stamps,
0:24:32 > 0:24:37who received a cash allowance just to take care of her bare subsistence.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40And, clearly, the two just didn't align.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48After two years and the combined efforts of three agencies,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51investigators now had both sisters under arrest
0:24:51 > 0:24:54and all the evidence they needed to put this scrounging pair
0:24:54 > 0:24:56in front of a judge.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01So, basically, you had them bang to rights, two people working,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05- both using false identities in this country.- That's correct. - Filtering money out.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Yep. Stealing off the public purse. It was a long investigation, but worth it.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18In 2009, the sisters were summoned to court to face the prosecution.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25Racheal Thorn received numerous charges, including entering the UK by deception,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29obtaining wages by deception and using a false identity.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Despite the weight of evidence against her,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Racheal pleaded not guilty.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39But on 6th July, 2009,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44a jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to 21 months behind bars,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47to be followed by immediate deportation.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Her sister, Yudaya, was in even bigger trouble.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55She faced more charges, including possession of false documents,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59obtaining advantage by deception,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01making false representations
0:26:01 > 0:26:05and three charges of conspiring to enter the UK illegally.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Knowing her card was well and truly marked,
0:26:08 > 0:26:13Yudaya pleaded guilty and was subsequently thrown into jail for three years,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18after which she, too, will be on a one-way trip back to Uganda.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23This was a very big case for us here in Croydon.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25It spanned a long time, it was high value,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27so we're extremely pleased with the outcome
0:26:27 > 0:26:32and it shows you how, when agencies get together, how much more effective we can be.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Well, I don't think that pair of scrounging sisters
0:26:36 > 0:26:39are going to be sipping champagne for quite some time now.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Unless they serve it in jail, which I doubt very much.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Now, where shall I go to lunch?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Oysters at The Ivy, I think. Yeah.
0:26:48 > 0:26:49Oi!
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:27:04 > 0:27:08E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk