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 frontline in the battle against benefit fraud.
0:00:35 > 0:00:42Saints And Scroungers puts the spotlight on benefit thieves who ruthlessly steal millions of pounds
0:00:42 > 0:00:45every year from the British taxpayer.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50And we search out the saints, who help put unclaimed cash into the hands of those that need it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Coming up on today's programme:
0:00:54 > 0:00:57The scrounger who tied herself up in knots
0:00:57 > 0:01:03trying to hide her whopping savings account, four businesses and two properties.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07There was about £14,000 in the bank account,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10so we were looking at potentially ten years of fraud.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15And we meet the parents who needed all the help they could
0:01:15 > 0:01:20when they discovered their children are at constant risk of brain damage.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24It was a horrible, horrible night. The worst 24 hours I think I've ever had.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32If you're down on your luck and living off of Government handouts, under normal circumstances,
0:01:32 > 0:01:38you should be applauded for showing some entrepreneurial spirit and starting up your own business.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Bear in mind Government money isn't there for the rich and prosperous, it's there for those who need it.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47So when your company starts making money, you should stop claiming it.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Meet Deirdre Hynes. She's 51, single and living in Croydon.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Deirdre has been unemployed for several years
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and claiming Housing Benefit to help with the rent.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03But in 2004, she got a job working for a tie company.
0:02:03 > 0:02:10She immediately did the right thing and told her council in Croydon, but as it was a very low wage,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12she was still able to claim.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Everything seemed to be above board, but Deirdre is about
0:02:16 > 0:02:21to find herself under suspicion of carrying out a £25,000 swindle.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Fraud investigator Gail Campbell
0:02:29 > 0:02:31is on the case.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Originally Deirdre Hynes said
0:02:33 > 0:02:37the only money coming into the house was income support.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40She later on declared she'd changed her income.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43She'd started working for a local tie supply company
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and she was going to earn £51 a week.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49There was no declaration of any savings at all.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54If you're a low earner and you don't have other assets or savings,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57you can still claim benefits to help with the bills.
0:03:01 > 0:03:07Although Deirdre's claims seemed legit, a routine internal check made Gail's team take a second look.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11The council received a Housing Benefit match
0:03:11 > 0:03:15which showed that Deirdre Hynes had failed to declare a bank account.
0:03:15 > 0:03:22The information that was reported suggested that there was about £14,000 in the bank account.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So we were looking at potentially ten years of fraud.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Deirdre had been claiming Housing Benefit since 1996,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38but a sophisticated computer system the council use triggered off an investigation into her case.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49The Housing Benefit Matching Service is a tool investigators use to spot scams.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53The computer system looks through the names of people on benefits
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and matches up addresses, National Insurance numbers, bank account numbers
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and crucially, interest received on bank and savings accounts.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09David Hogan is Head of Audit at Croydon Council.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Croydon pays out benefits
0:04:11 > 0:04:14to over 38,000 households.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20David uses the matching service to weed out the ones that shouldn't be getting handouts.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25David, when you pull people in and question them over this, that must come as quite a shock.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29They're surprised at how much information we can get hold of.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33They're surprised at the level of the checks and how deep we can go.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38I thought that was all data protected and people couldn't find that out, but not in this case, no?
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Well, this has been obtained for one purpose.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44That is to look at whether somebody is out there committing fraud. If they're not, it's just ignored.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49We don't know what the savings are, but from the interest we can calculate roughly what they are.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52From there we know whether fraud may have been committed or not.
0:04:53 > 0:04:59If you have £16,000 or more in savings, you're not entitled to Housing Benefits.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03If you don't declare it, you're breaking the law.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07If you've got a claimant and they've got more than £16,000, what will you do about it?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10That will automatically trigger a fraud investigation.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15We will look at trying to recover all the money we've paid out from the savings they've got.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20- Every single penny?- Every penny. - Interest as well?- Interest as well, back to the taxpayer.- Ouch!
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Gail Campbell has got information through the Housing Benefit Matching Service
0:05:30 > 0:05:36that Deirdre Hynes may have thousands of pounds of savings that she hasn't told the council about.
0:05:36 > 0:05:37So Gail wants to know more.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41So we decided that we would invite her to come for an interview.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49During the interview when it was explained to her why we needed to interview her under caution
0:05:49 > 0:05:54and the information that we received from the matching service was explained to her and shown to her,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57she became a bit on the defensive,
0:05:57 > 0:06:03a bit cagey, and didn't really want to volunteer any information to us.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05I don't work.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08She couldn't remember
0:06:08 > 0:06:10how many bank accounts she had.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Couldn't remember balances.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Couldn't explain where money came from.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21It appeared that she had some kind of memory problem!
0:06:23 > 0:06:27At one stage she did ask me what I knew and she would tell me if it was correct.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33I think she did that because she wasn't very sure of what information we had,
0:06:33 > 0:06:38and I don't think she wanted to commit herself to telling us about the wrong bank accounts.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Deirdre may have turned up to the interview, but that's about all.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Her sudden memory lapses and evasive answers are making Gail very suspicious.
0:06:52 > 0:06:59My thoughts were that there's some big holes in her story and we obviously need to fill the gaps.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Gail is now hot on the trail and writes to Deirdre
0:07:04 > 0:07:08to get hold of bank statements as far back as possible.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13When she receives some, they contain a key piece of information.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15'What was really important'
0:07:15 > 0:07:19to us was that a deposit was withdrawn from the account
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- that was over £57,000.- Wow!
0:07:22 > 0:07:27The next thing we did was to ask her for the source of the deposits and where it had gone.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32And that was the last communication that we had between both parties.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36There was nothing else received by the council after that.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40£57,000 is a lot of cash for anyone to have in a bank account
0:07:40 > 0:07:44and it's well over the £16,000 threshold for Housing Benefit.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Now that the Croydon team knew about it,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51they weren't going to allow Deirdre to sweep it under the carpet.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59Do people think that because they don't respond to you, that's it, you'll drop the case?
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I think she just buried her head in the sand a little bit
0:08:02 > 0:08:06- and thought it would go away. - What was the next step?
0:08:06 > 0:08:13Well, there was obviously something seriously wrong with the information that was received by the council.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It was thought that we would enlist the help of another agency.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26Council fraud investigation officers often team up with specialist police departments
0:08:26 > 0:08:28who can help them fight the fraudsters.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34In this case, the department Gail contacted was the Payback Unit.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37They have the power to freeze bank accounts
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and quickly obtain statements and financial application forms.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Within one day, they'd returned information to me
0:08:46 > 0:08:52that confirmed that not only had she large amounts of money going through her bank accounts,
0:08:52 > 0:08:59she had further bank accounts that she'd failed to declare and she'd purchased a property as well.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01A property?
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Surely that's a bit of a stretch for a woman earning £51 a week
0:09:05 > 0:09:07with no savings?
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Unless, of course, she was earning a bit more than she let on.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18She's provided information to the mortgage lender that confirms
0:09:18 > 0:09:24she has been in employment since 1997,
0:09:24 > 0:09:31which is what she's put on here, and that her basic wage is £38,000.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32£38,000 a year!
0:09:32 > 0:09:35That is 14 times as much
0:09:35 > 0:09:37as Deirdre said she was earning
0:09:37 > 0:09:39on her benefit forms.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44But that mortgage form had another shocking revelation.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49The property price was £245,000.
0:09:49 > 0:09:55- Her intention was to pay a deposit of £140,000.- Wow.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59And she was only requesting a mortgage of £105,000.
0:09:59 > 0:10:06- This all went through? - This mortgage was approved and the £105,000 was paid to her.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- This is not a lady who's skint by any means.- No.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'140 grand is a huge deposit.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14'It was pretty obvious that this scrounger'
0:10:14 > 0:10:19was hiding massive amounts of cash to conceal her real situation.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24But there's something else a bit fishy about this property purchase.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31When that mortgage went through, did she then go and live in that house?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33No, she's never lived at that house.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38The plot thickens.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Deirdre Hynes is hiding the fact that she's got enough savings
0:10:41 > 0:10:47to pay a 140 grand deposit, and yet she is still using it to buy a house she doesn't even live in.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Where on earth is all of this money coming from anyway?
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Surely not from a £51 weekly wage selling ties.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Coming up, a police raid reveals that Deirdre
0:11:06 > 0:11:09is taking working from home to a whole new level.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13The police entered that property and they found
0:11:13 > 0:11:15that it was full of novelty ties.
0:11:21 > 0:11:28Next, it's farewell, fraudsters and hello to the people we call our saints.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33Those who are in genuine need of help but who are too proud or don't know how to claim
0:11:33 > 0:11:38what is due to them, and their saintly helpers who point them in the right direction.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49Starting a new family is an exciting and nerve-racking time.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Think about it.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54What does every prospective parent want for their new baby?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56For it to be healthy.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00So what happens after a successful birth and you get news,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03news that could turn out to be your worst nightmare?
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Corinna and Nick Lunn tied the knot in 2008.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13After the wedding, they were keen to start a family straightaway.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Corinna fell pregnant, but there was a surprise in store.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22The nurse said to Corinna, "Has anybody commented on your size?"
0:12:22 > 0:12:25She said, "No, nobody has, but I feel quite large."
0:12:25 > 0:12:28They said, "Oh, that's because there's two in there."
0:12:28 > 0:12:31There's no twins in the family, so we weren't expecting it at all.
0:12:32 > 0:12:39On 28th August 2009, Emily and Benjamin were born.
0:12:39 > 0:12:40You realise that that's it.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Life as you know it is done with.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Suddenly you've just got to completely change the way you think.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52At six days old, twins Emily and Benjamin had a routine blood test.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Then of course the next day, we got the phone call to say that the tests
0:13:01 > 0:13:07for PKU had come back positive and we needed to go to Manchester Children's Hospital.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10So what does it mean if you've got PKU?
0:13:10 > 0:13:12PKU is an inherited
0:13:12 > 0:13:17condition whereby people are... babies are born
0:13:17 > 0:13:23lacking an enzyme which breaks down protein foods
0:13:23 > 0:13:29and they're unable to convert a specific part of protein called phenylalanine.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Phenylalanine is found in all protein foods.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40That includes fish, meat, cheese, eggs, milk, but also foods that people
0:13:40 > 0:13:48don't often think of as containing protein, so ordinary flour, bread, biscuits, pasta, rice and so on.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54The treatment for PKU is to avoid eating this protein
0:13:54 > 0:13:58that causes all the damage, otherwise things can go badly wrong.
0:13:59 > 0:14:05In previous years, before national screening came in,
0:14:05 > 0:14:13untreated PKU patients had to be in institutions or mental hospitals,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16as we had in those days, because the damage was so serious.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Teatime.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23Children with PKU need to eat between three and seven grams of protein a day.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28That means planning, measuring and watching them like a hawk.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30And with twins, that's a full-time job.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37At this stage, you go back to work, you're at home, a 24-hour carer.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39How did that affect your finances?
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It was really hard. We were paying lots of things on credit card.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Presumably you weren't paying the credit cards off?- No.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51- The balances were going up every month.- Up and up?- Yeah. Yeah.
0:14:51 > 0:14:59What was going out was about £700 or so more than what was coming in.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01- Per month?- Yeah.- Yeah. So you can imagine
0:15:01 > 0:15:07in six months we'd run up at least £4,500 worth of debt, really.
0:15:07 > 0:15:13A health visitor told them they should be eligible for Disability Living Allowance for the twins
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and so they applied.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22But after putting forward what they thought was a strong case, they were turned down.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24I was heartbroken, wasn't I?
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- Absolutely.- I'd spent so much time filling these forms in.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33I'd got letters from our dietician and our health visitor to support our application.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Then just to get this letter that said, "No, sorry, you don't meet the criteria."
0:15:38 > 0:15:42You just think, "We're doing all of this extra hard work."
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Obviously we do it because we want what's best for the twins,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48but it felt like nobody was acknowledging that, really.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54- Yes.- It just felt very dismissive and, you know, it was really upsetting.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Convinced there was some mistake, they appealed, but they were turned down a second time.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07Corinna and Nick were confused, frustrated and getting more and more in debt.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15Corinna phoned a welfare advisor and was told to look up a charity called Disability Information And Support.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Amongst other things, they help people with long-term illnesses and disabilities
0:16:19 > 0:16:22apply for the benefits they urgently need.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26When Corinna first came to me,
0:16:26 > 0:16:31she was quite devastated she'd been turned down for Disability Living Allowance.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35She felt she had a strong case. When you get a refusal
0:16:35 > 0:16:39like that, it can just sort of tip you over.
0:16:39 > 0:16:45You feel as if you've been working so hard towards it and then you've been knocked back.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Jeanie was convinced Corinna had a case because if the children didn't have constant supervision,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56their health was in danger.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00She went through all the paperwork with me and asked me some questions about the twins' condition.
0:17:00 > 0:17:09Then said, "Well, I'm absolutely certain that you meet the criteria, so we need to go for a tribunal."
0:17:14 > 0:17:18On the day of the hearing, Corinna has one last chance to get the help
0:17:18 > 0:17:21she and Nick need, but she's not facing the panel alone.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24She's got a secret weapon - Jeanie King.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30The tribunal was really scary.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Because when you go to a tribunal, there are three people there.
0:17:36 > 0:17:44One is a GP, one is a lawyer, and the other is like a disability rights expert.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49But with Jeanie to support her, she survived the ordeal.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51'After the tribunal,'
0:17:51 > 0:17:58the decision was made and both children were awarded middle-rate care.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Finally, they triumphed.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08After the months of struggle, their determination to get the benefits they were entitled to was rewarded.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Getting middle-rate Disability Living Allowance meant that the panel could see
0:18:14 > 0:18:20that the twins need constant supervision during the day. But as a bonus, it also meant
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Nick could apply for Carer's Allowance
0:18:22 > 0:18:25as he had stopped work to supervise the twins.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31For the DLA, the family got nearly £50 per week per twin,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35and for Carer's Allowance they got an extra £150.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38This makes a grand total
0:18:38 > 0:18:40of £550 per month.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Now THAT has changed their life.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44It's meant
0:18:44 > 0:18:48that we can pay the priorities, like the mortgage,
0:18:48 > 0:18:53without having to worry about it and without using credit cards and without running up debt.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57It has made things better, made things more comfortable.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Now, anybody else out there with similar problems,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07not identical, cos I know you have a very unique case here, what would your advice be to them?
0:19:07 > 0:19:14Go and get some help. Go and speak to either Disability Information Support or a welfare adviser.
0:19:14 > 0:19:21Just go and get some advice right from the moment you think you might be applying for benefits.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24We'd have been a lot more successful if we'd got help earlier.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27That's what I would say to people, just go and get some advice.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- OK. Things have turned now. - Mm-hm.- You're happy?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33- Yeah, definitely.- Yes, we are. - I tell you what, it's freezing here.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- It's blowing a gale. Shall we find a nice warm cafe? - Yes, let's go.- Good idea.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Now it's back to Croydon and the net is closing in on our scrounger.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Deirdre Hynes
0:19:48 > 0:19:53is suspected of cheating us, the taxpayer, out of £30,000.
0:19:53 > 0:20:01She's been on Housing Benefit since 1996 and claims she earns just £51 a week selling ties.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04But she's kept quiet about her savings accounts,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07the property she owns and the massive deposit she put down for it.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Investigator Gail Campbell is on her case.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14What I find incredible here is here's a woman claiming poverty.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20She's got enough money to buy a house, she's got enough money to put down 140 grand as a deposit,
0:20:20 > 0:20:25- and she's got huge amounts of money going in and out of various bank accounts.- Yes.- Right?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27She's a bad girl, isn't she?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30We needed to find out a lot more about her circumstances.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35What's more, Deirdre never even lived in the property she bought.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40Here's where it gets a little bit complicated.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Gail knows of three houses associated with Deirdre Hynes.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48The first one is the address where Deirdre first claimed Housing Benefit,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51but she's not living there any more, because she's living
0:20:51 > 0:20:53in house number two,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58a different property rented from the same landlord as house number one.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02The third house is the one that Deirdre's bought, but she's never lived in it.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06After buying it, she got a tenant, but here's the twist.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08The tenant is her landlord.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12He's living in her house and she's living in his.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Let me get this right.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19In the house that she was renting, claiming benefit from,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21that was owned by her ex-landlord.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25The house she'd purchased, she had her ex-landlord living in that one?
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- That's right. - It stinks a bit, doesn't it?
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It definitely stinks a little bit.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32And the police
0:21:32 > 0:21:34at the Payback Unit thought so too.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39So on 8th June 2009, the investigation was cranked up.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It was time to pay Deirdre a visit.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48This is the property that she was renting from the landlord.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50The police entered that property
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and they found that it was full of novelty ties.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00We're not just talking about a few boxes of novelty ties either.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03The house was filled top to bottom with thousands of them.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08There was also an office space, files and documents.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13Deirdre wasn't just an employee selling ties for £51 a week,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16she was heavily involved in running the company.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17But what else was she hiding?
0:22:20 > 0:22:23If you look further down the street...
0:22:24 > 0:22:29when the police went to that address they found members of the landlord's family living there.
0:22:29 > 0:22:35This is the house that Deirdre had bought but not told the council about.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40There was a third property also visited by the police on the same day, not too far away from here,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43that Deirdre Hynes was renting, also from the same landlord.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It was at the third property where Deirdre was living
0:22:48 > 0:22:50that officers discovered photos
0:22:50 > 0:22:55that made them think she'd been more to her landlord than just the tenant.
0:22:55 > 0:23:02When we went into that property, we discovered that there were holiday pictures on display
0:23:02 > 0:23:06of Deirdre and her landlord, very much looking like they were a couple.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08The plot thickens, eh?
0:23:08 > 0:23:13So that tied into the claims for benefits
0:23:13 > 0:23:17when the suspicion was there all the time whether or not she had been a partner of the landlord.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24So in 1996, at the time of her Housing Benefit application,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Deirdre Hynes kept quiet
0:23:26 > 0:23:31about the fact that she was in a relationship with her landlord.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36How significant was it finding out that she had this relationship with her supposed landlord?
0:23:36 > 0:23:41It showed that the first application she made for benefit, they had to have been a couple at that time.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I would say that when she made that first application, she knew
0:23:45 > 0:23:48what she was doing and she's continued to feed us false information.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53So let's just get this straight.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57This scrounger couldn't have been less entitled to Housing Benefit if she tried.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03She was living in her lover's house to start with, had thousands in savings, bought a property.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Oh, let's not forget the tie website.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08But that's not all.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13How many different businesses was she involved in?
0:24:13 > 0:24:20There was export business that was run solely by her from that address, where she was exporting to Japan.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23She was exporting different types of teas
0:24:23 > 0:24:26and the tie business. Four different businesses
0:24:26 > 0:24:29that we can see from what we took away from the property.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34None of this ever before she declared at all? It was all brushed under the carpet.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38We didn't know about any of that information.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Four businesses. That's a far cry
0:24:41 > 0:24:45from a struggling tenant who needs the taxpayer's help to pay the rent.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51What makes somebody go to all that bother and put themselves on the spot like that
0:24:51 > 0:24:54to try and claim Housing Benefit, various different benefits,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57- when they have that much income coming in?- I suppose it was greed.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59- It is, isn't it?- A greedy lady.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02She's obviously got a fair income and she just wants more and more.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09But Hynes' money-grabbing days came to an end in June 2009.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15She was arrested and admitted everything the team suspected and more.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20She also confirmed that she had thousands of pounds invested in stocks and shares
0:25:20 > 0:25:25and there was evidence to show that she owned property in Ireland.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28With all the information that we'd managed to collect,
0:25:28 > 0:25:35there was more than enough evidence there to take this lady to court and put forward a very good case.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Faced with all the evidence, Deirdre had to agree.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57In March 2010 at Croydon Crown Court, Deirdre pleaded guilty
0:25:57 > 0:26:03to fraudulently claiming a total of over £25,000 in benefits.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06She'd been cheating the system for ten years.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Does anyone ever get away with this sort of crime or will you always get them?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15I would like to think we always get them eventually,
0:26:15 > 0:26:20but sometimes, as you can see, it does go on for a long period of time before we catch up with them.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- It means that the penalty and the punishment is even worse, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28- You will go after her assets now? - That's the next stage of the investigation.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31We've restrained what we know she has and we'll look to confiscate it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33- She's not having a good day, is she? - No.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41For stealing over £25,000 of taxpayers' money, Deirdre was given
0:26:41 > 0:26:45a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48and ordered to do 240 hours
0:26:48 > 0:26:50of unpaid work in the community.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Now that should keep her
0:26:52 > 0:26:53tied up for a while.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk