0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme tracks down cheats, exposes fraudsters and brings help to those who really need it.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11This is the front line in the battle against benefit fraud.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14This is Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Saints And Scroungers is all about busting the benefit cheats who steal millions of pounds every year,
0:00:43 > 0:00:49and the crack teams of fraud investigators determined to expose their scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53We also shine a light on those who genuinely need the money
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and the people who help them get it. They are our saints.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00And, coming up on today's programme...
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Living like royalty and hiding her husband.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07- The bogus asylum seeker who wasn't quite who she seemed. - I was now sure
0:01:07 > 0:01:12that we were dealing with one person that was using two identities.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And the DIY training scheme that turns the unemployed into handymen
0:01:16 > 0:01:19for pensioners and the disabled.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23It's satisfactory for them, and I go away thinking, "I've helped someone out today."
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But first, the scrounger who's been living like a royal,
0:01:30 > 0:01:36courtesy of the benefit system, while we've been slaving away to pay our taxes.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41What makes this country great is that we give money to people who genuinely need it.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45The problem is, wherever there's money, there are people who want to steal it.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52This shadowy figure goes by the name of Queen Hanson,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55but clearly she's not one for making public appearances.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58She claims to have come to the UK seeking asylum
0:01:58 > 0:02:02from war-torn Sierra Leone, in West Africa.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06She also claims to be a hardworking single mum who needs help paying the rent.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Croydon Council's anti-fraud team suspect that Queen Hanson
0:02:11 > 0:02:13has been living like royalty.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16What's more, we've all been paying for it.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19She is suspected of running a sophisticated scam,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23using dual identities to flout the immigration laws
0:02:23 > 0:02:29and cheat the benefit system out of over £70,000.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31I've come to Croydon to find out more
0:02:31 > 0:02:34about this dodgy-sounding claimant.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38This is one of London's biggest and most diverse boroughs.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41The government's asylum screening unit is based here.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45For many migrants, it's the first place they come, and they make it their home.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49David Hogan is in charge of stopping benefit fraud for the council.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Morning, David. Nice to meet you. - Hello, Dom.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57- Croydon, it's a big town, isn't it? - It's a very big town.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01You're talking about roughly 350,000 households here in Croydon.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- It's a huge melting pot here. - It's a big, diverse mix. Yes.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10- How many people claiming benefits and how much money are we talking? - Well, we've 38,000 people in Croydon
0:03:10 > 0:03:13that are claiming benefit of one type or another.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Um...the spend on that is just under £100 million.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22- Woah, think about it weekly - that's nearly two million quid a week. - It is. It's a huge sum.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27- How much of a drain is that on the council? That's a lot of money. - It is a lot of money,
0:03:27 > 0:03:32and the council are responsible for ensuring that all of those payments are made correctly.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35But, as we know, they're not always made correctly
0:03:35 > 0:03:40because there are people out there who are looking to take extra money, or money they're not entitled to.
0:03:40 > 0:03:46And David and the fraud team suspect that Queen Hanson is just one of those fraudsters.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49In 2003, they received what looked like
0:03:49 > 0:03:54a legitimate claim for housing benefit and tax credits.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59In the case of Queen Hanson, she presented herself to the council as a single mum of two children,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01working in a local supermarket.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04She told us that she was a UK citizen and that
0:04:04 > 0:04:09she was entitled to receive housing and council tax benefit and she was paid them, on that basis.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Queen Hanson might have been able to continue claiming benefit
0:04:15 > 0:04:19if the council hadn't run a search on her name with other organisations.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24Using sophisticated computer systems in a process called data matching,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28they discovered she had thousands of pounds of savings.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Top investigator Gail Campbell was straight on to the case.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38Well, this case came to the council after a data match,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43and that was from the housing benefit matching service.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46It advised us there was undeclared money held in a bank account.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Even though she was working, Queen Hanson had raked in
0:04:51 > 0:04:55over £45,000 in tax credits, by claiming to be a single mum.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59But clearly she didn't need the money to live on, as she'd opened
0:04:59 > 0:05:03a string of bank accounts to stash it away in.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08If you've more than £16,000 in savings, you're not entitled to benefits,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and if you don't declare it, you're breaking the law.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16If you find out a claimant has got more than £16,000, what will you do about it?
0:05:16 > 0:05:21It will automatically trigger a fraud investigation. We will look at trying to recover
0:05:21 > 0:05:24all the money we've paid out, from the savings they've got.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26- Every penny?- Every penny.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- Interest as well?- Interest as well, back to the taxpayer.- Ouch!
0:05:33 > 0:05:38The discovery of the claimant's secret savings were the starting point
0:05:38 > 0:05:42of Croydon Council's investigation. Though she had thousands in the bank,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45she was still claiming to be penniless
0:05:45 > 0:05:48so she could carry on getting housing benefit.
0:05:48 > 0:05:54And the fraud team were about to discover her domestic circumstances were more complicated
0:05:54 > 0:05:55than she was letting on.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We checked to see whether there was any credit history,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04and that brought back information that showed there was another person
0:06:04 > 0:06:09er...making credit applications from the same address, and...
0:06:09 > 0:06:13his name was Ekhator Ojo-Osagie.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Hold your horses! Queen Hanson told the council she was a single mum.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20So who was this man living at her address?
0:06:23 > 0:06:26If they were in fact a couple, her housing benefit form
0:06:26 > 0:06:27would have been fraudulent.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30When we did these credit checks,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34we knew that Queen Hanson had made claims for housing benefit
0:06:34 > 0:06:39and she'd made claims from three separate addresses in the borough. We made further checks
0:06:39 > 0:06:45on these addresses and it showed the same male appearing on all the credit checks.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47So it looked as if he'd been at the same address
0:06:47 > 0:06:49at the same time as Queen Hanson.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Something didn't add up.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Queen Hanson had only qualified for benefit
0:06:58 > 0:07:01because she claimed to be a single mum.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04If it was now looking like she might not be single after all -
0:07:04 > 0:07:08the team suspected the man she lived with was more than a lodger.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Was he, in fact, the father of her children?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Queen Hanson's benefit application
0:07:16 > 0:07:21listed two children, and the children had the same surname, Ojo-Osagie.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And that linked into the male that we found on the credit checks,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and that was the surname that was coming up
0:07:27 > 0:07:29on the other checks that we can make.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35The evidence seemed to be stacking up that this was a family.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37But they needed more.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Mrs Ojo-Osagie had started to claim income support.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43So the Department for Work and Pensions
0:07:43 > 0:07:45were now taking an interest.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Gail asked them to check if Mr Ojo-Osagie had a paid job.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56The DWP were able to tell us that Ekhator Ojo-Osagie
0:07:56 > 0:07:58was employed by the Royal Mail.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Queen Hanson had failed not only to declare that she was living with a man,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05but that he had a full-time job.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08A trip down to the Croydon sorting office
0:08:08 > 0:08:10for a little chat with Mr Ojo-Osagie's boss
0:08:10 > 0:08:14proved beyond doubt that they were in fact a family.
0:08:16 > 0:08:22A period of paternity leave had been approved for Mr Ojo-Osagie, and the dates
0:08:22 > 0:08:26of that paternity leave coincided with the birth
0:08:26 > 0:08:29of one of Queen Hanson's children.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Everybody that knew him
0:08:30 > 0:08:34was aware that he did have a wife, and he had children,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and he spoke about them a lot
0:08:36 > 0:08:38while he was at work.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Gail now had evidence that Mr Ojo-Osagie and Queen Hanson were living together as a family.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46All the pieces of the jigsaw were falling into place.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50It was time to confront the suspected fraudster.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55By this stage of the investigation it was quite clear that not only had she undeclared bank accounts,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59but there was a strong possibility that she'd also got an undeclared partner,
0:08:59 > 0:09:04who had an income, so it was felt that it was appropriate
0:09:04 > 0:09:05to bring her in for interview.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09At this stage, Queen Hanson was suspected of lying
0:09:09 > 0:09:12about her circumstances so she could claim benefits.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16But now she had a chance to give her side of the story.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20She came to the interview and she brought a solicitor with her.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24She "no comment"-ed on every question, even when I asked her
0:09:24 > 0:09:26to confirm the names of her children.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36And Queen Hanson's suspected husband, Mr Ojo-Osagie, wasn't particularly co-operative either.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39He did say to me on the telephone
0:09:39 > 0:09:43that he wasn't coming to the interview cos... it wasn't anything to do with him.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46With this pair refusing to co-operate, the fraud team
0:09:46 > 0:09:48were going to have to start digging deep.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53What they didn't yet know was that Queen Hanson was hiding her real identity,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and if they couldn't unravel this complex fraud,
0:09:56 > 0:09:58she could end up getting away scot-free.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Coming up,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06The fraud team make a potentially vital discovery.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07This wedding programme
0:10:07 > 0:10:10was an excellent piece of evidence as it showed
0:10:10 > 0:10:12the couple due to be married.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14But will they be able to uncover
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Queen Hanson's real identity?
0:10:24 > 0:10:27From the scroungers defrauding the benefit system
0:10:27 > 0:10:30to the people we call our "saints".
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Individuals and organisations up and down the country
0:10:32 > 0:10:36that go out of their way to offer help to those in genuine need.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45Vulnerable pensioners and unemployed youngsters, two very different groups of people
0:10:45 > 0:10:47that share a common denominator.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Both could do with a helping hand.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53So, wouldn't it be great if there was a way of combining their problems
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and helping both groups at the same time?
0:10:55 > 0:11:00And that's exactly what a charity called In Touch sets out to do.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It teaches unemployed people DIY skills
0:11:03 > 0:11:08and offers a handyperson agency to vulnerable old or disabled people.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10We are working with
0:11:10 > 0:11:14younger people, who've had long periods of unemployment,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and we're helping them back into finding work, and hopefully,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21on to a more prosperous career in the future.
0:11:23 > 0:11:2624-year-old Mark Morley from Larkfield in Kent
0:11:26 > 0:11:30has been out of work for the best part of a year
0:11:30 > 0:11:31after losing his labouring job in London.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35'The training course was my last option.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38'I was beginning to think, "I'm never going to get anywhere."
0:11:38 > 0:11:40'The course started to look more promising.'
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It looked like my sort of...
0:11:43 > 0:11:44My treasure.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48When we're looking at the employment of younger people,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50um...we have to look at it in a way
0:11:50 > 0:11:55which doesn't really take too much account of the skills base. Having the right attitude
0:11:55 > 0:11:57makes all the difference.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01After an anxious wait, things are looking up for Mark.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06He gets that sought-after place on the training scheme.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12I did feel king of the world. I felt like Muhammad Ali in the champions fight, like, literally.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It brings a sense of inspiration to yourself. You're going to get work,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20you'll get certificates, and stuff. It makes life so much easier.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Getting a place on the training programme means that Mark
0:12:24 > 0:12:26has been able to stop signing on
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and now he's guaranteed a weekly wage for the next six months.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Today, Mark's heading out on a job with mentor Danny.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39But I'm keen to see how he's getting on with life as a trainee handyperson
0:12:39 > 0:12:41before he hits the road.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- Mark!- Hello.- Glad to meet you. I'm Dominic.- How you doing? Nice to meet you.- Now.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- You're one of the handypeople here. - I am indeed.- Tell me about the day
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- you found out you got it. - It was like being on heaven.- Right.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58It was brilliant. I thought, That's it. I've got myself a job. Six months of work.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01That means I can then look after my little girl, I can provide.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05- Yeah.- I can be a dad, sort of thing.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- And they're going to train you up to do...- Yep.- Quite a good handyman. - Yep. Basic DIY.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14- It ain't hard stuff.- Yep. - You could be putting a shelf up, tap washers in. Little things.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- You like the work? - I love the work. It's great. It gives me an insight
0:13:18 > 0:13:23- into how to do little simple DIY for people.- Yes. - It's satisfactory for them.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Makes their life the world better. And I'll go away thinking, "Well, I've helped someone out today."
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- You're a good talker. Am I holding you up?- I have got customers to see.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36- There probably is a muffin and a cup of tea waiting for me somewhere. - Going cold.- Probably going cold.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- Well get on with it!- Come on. You should come out with us.- OK. - I'll show you how we do.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48I'm heading off with Mark in his new company van.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51We're going to be meeting mentor Danny at today's first job.
0:13:52 > 0:13:5679-year-old Donald Lynch is a retired engineer
0:13:56 > 0:14:01who suffers from muscular degeneration and has extreme difficulty getting around the house.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05With DIY out of the question, Donald's reliant
0:14:05 > 0:14:07on the handyperson service
0:14:07 > 0:14:09for any adaptations he needs to his home.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15And helping people like Donald gives Mark real job satisfaction.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19I'm not just sitting at the dole office looking for jobs every day,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23and seeing everybody else struggle. I'm actually out there making my life
0:14:23 > 0:14:26and people around me's lives a bit easier.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Today's job is fitting a simple handrail by Donald's patio doors.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35He's having trouble getting in and out of his garden.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37He's got a half-step but he's struggling,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41- still, so we'll pop a handrail up. - It's the typical sort of job you do?- Yeah.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46It's a typical sort of job there, so...Like I say, we've just done the screws and rawl plugs,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47and Mark's going to fit it up for us.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54While Mark and Danny crack on, I'm keen to find out just what the handyperson service means
0:14:54 > 0:14:56to customers like Donald.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00In Touch, as an organisation, how many times have you used them?
0:15:00 > 0:15:05- Uh, five.- OK, quite a few.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07You trust them?
0:15:07 > 0:15:08Yes, they're excellent.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14They're effective, they're on time and they do what they say they will do.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15As simple as that.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20For people like Donald,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24knowing they're not being ripped off by rogue traders or cowboy builders gives peace of mind.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28I was looking for help with this door
0:15:28 > 0:15:32because the little wheel trucks had collapsed.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37I looked in the local paper and this chap turned up, made no attempt
0:15:37 > 0:15:42to inspect what was wrong. He just went outside, looked at it and said,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46"It's ever so old. We can't do anything with it. You need a new door.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- "We do a wooden one for £1,750." - Ouch!- Yeah.
0:15:50 > 0:15:56Then it struck me that In Touch had all the knowledge where they had contractors of their own.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59So I rang up, asked if they could help.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03- Yup.- They gave me two telephone numbers. I rang the first one.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08He came up, looked at it, gave a price on the spot.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10- How much?- £200.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13- Instead of 1,700? You've rung the bell, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19But the handyperson service isn't just about turning up and doing the job.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24Danny, Mark and the rest of the team are always on the lookout for other improvements they can make.
0:16:24 > 0:16:31Donald's call to In Touch to assess his loft and new insulation led to another vital job getting done.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Whilst the young lady was here,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36filling in the forms for the loft insulation,
0:16:36 > 0:16:41he said, "I can smell gas. I think I'd better get a surveyor down."
0:16:41 > 0:16:48He looked at the boiler, "How old is it?" And we worked out 17-22 years old.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- It was cream-crackered.- Exactly.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56"So I will submit that you need a replacement boiler."
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Thanks to the scheme, Donald's boiler is safe again and his new handrail
0:17:02 > 0:17:04is ready to use.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10That is brilliant.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12That makes it much easier.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17And there's more good news - a permanent position has come up with the handyperson service.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Even though he's only been with In Touch for two months,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Mark's got the job.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- Mark, I hear things are looking up for you.- Things are looking up.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28I have got a full-time job
0:17:28 > 0:17:30so I am now fully employed.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34You keep clapping your hands like that, someone will chuck you a fish!
0:17:34 > 0:17:38- Love it!- You're excited? - I am excited cos now I've got a full-time job.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40That means constant work, constant pay.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42It makes my life all the more easy.
0:17:42 > 0:17:49Just a few months ago, Mark had almost given up hope of getting a job. Now he's graduated
0:17:49 > 0:17:54to being a permanent member of staff, the future is looking much brighter.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59It's an absolute pleasure for me to give you this certificate of achievement
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- and really wish you a very long and prosperous career.- Thank you.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- So congratulations, Mark.- Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08- Well done.- Thank you.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10THEY WHOOP AND APPLAUD
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Mark's going to go a long way.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16From when he first started training to where he is now,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20I'm very proud of him. I know he's going to be a decent handyperson.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Helping the vulnerable and training up the unemployed.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Sometimes it's the simplest of ideas that are quite genius.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And it's projects like this that show exactly what can be done
0:18:30 > 0:18:33when a bit of creative thought goes into tackling problems.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35It's the best of both worlds.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38And I for one hope it continues to flourish.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Now it's back to Croydon,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49as the case against benefit cheat Queen Hanson hots up.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52The council and the Department for Work and Pensions
0:18:52 > 0:18:54suspect that by using a false identity,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57she's been able to flout the immigration laws
0:18:57 > 0:19:02and illegally claim over £70,000 of us taxpayers' money.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Posing as a single mum and using the name Queen Hanson,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10this suspected fraudster was hiding the fact that she was living
0:19:10 > 0:19:11with a man who had a full-time job.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14But this enabled her to steal thousands of pounds of benefits
0:19:14 > 0:19:16that she wasn't entitled to.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21It was time to knock this fake queen off her throne.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Top investigator Gail Campbell of the Croydon fraud team
0:19:25 > 0:19:26was leading the investigation.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Not only had she undeclared bank accounts,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34but there was a strong possibility that she'd also got
0:19:34 > 0:19:38- an undeclared partner. - If true, this would have affected
0:19:38 > 0:19:39her claim to benefits.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42When Queen Hanson was brought in for questioning,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47she answered "no comment" to all the allegations that were put to her.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The man Gail suspected to be Queen Hanson's partner
0:19:50 > 0:19:52was also declining to be interviewed.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So, it was time to turn up the heat.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Mr Ojo-Osagie was arrested,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00while the fraud team led a search of the house they shared.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04By this stage, they'd suspected that Queen Hanson
0:20:04 > 0:20:07wasn't who she said she was. They were hoping the proof they needed
0:20:07 > 0:20:10would be in the house they both lived in.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Found in the bedroom upstairs were some certificates,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and these certificates were in the name of Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Hang on a minute.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24This was supposed to be Queen Hanson's house.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27But investigators had just found a document in the name of a woman
0:20:27 > 0:20:30who shares the same surname as Queen Hanson's partner,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Mr Ojo-Osagie.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Mr Ojo-Osagie was asked at the time to explain
0:20:36 > 0:20:38who that person was and he said it was his sister.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Sister? A very unlikely story.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45And no-one was convinced by this explanation.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Don't forget, the fraud team already know that Mr Ojo-Osagie took
0:20:49 > 0:20:53paternity leave when Queen Hanson gave birth to her third child.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Gail was convinced that Queen Hanson was a false identity,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01used by Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie to conceal her marriage.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05I was now sure that we were dealing with one person
0:21:05 > 0:21:06that was using two identities.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Now, this could start getting complicated
0:21:11 > 0:21:13so let me break it down for you.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Queen Hanson comes into the UK as a single mum.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20She starts working and claiming benefits.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It's discovered she has savings she hasn't declared
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and there are three people registered as living in her house -
0:21:26 > 0:21:31Mr and Mrs Ojo-Asagie and Queen Hanson herself.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33But there was something else.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Documents with Mrs Asagie's name on
0:21:35 > 0:21:41showed her to be Nigerian, whereas documents in Queen Hanson's name
0:21:41 > 0:21:47from when she entered the country as an asylum seeker claim she was from war-torn Sierra Leone.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48Now, as well as being
0:21:48 > 0:21:53a benefit fraud investigation, this was now turning into an immigration case as well.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59It was time for Gail and the Croydon fraud team to contact the UK Border Agency.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03They're responsible for controlling migration into Britain and removing any migrants
0:22:03 > 0:22:06who break our immigration laws.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Tina Lyonette is one of their top investigators.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10To get to the bottom
0:22:10 > 0:22:14of this identity puzzle, she began by checking back through the immigration records.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21'So when Croydon Council came to me, they gave me three names to look at.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23'We had Queen Hanson,'
0:22:23 > 0:22:29Ekhator Ojo-Asagie and Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Tina started with the name at the top of her list - Queen Hanson.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34The records showed
0:22:34 > 0:22:39that she'd first arrived in the UK almost 20 years ago on a Sierra Leone passport.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41It was easy to find Queen Hanson.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46There was a Home Office file on her that showed that she'd claimed asylum
0:22:46 > 0:22:50back in the '90s and that had been refused initially.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Knowing she was eventually likely to be deported,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57in 1997 she asked for her passport back,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00explaining she wanted to get married.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04For a while, Queen Hanson disappeared completely off the map.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09So Tina's next step was to look into the immigration records
0:23:09 > 0:23:11for Adesuwa Ojo-Asagie.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Adesuwa had applied for a visit visa in 2002,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and her husband, as well.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23Her husband, of course, being named on the visa application as Ekhator Ojo-Osagie,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26had a legitimate right to work in the UK.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Adesuwa was only allowed to enter as a visitor.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Soon though, she was hatching a plan to try and stay.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38His wife, Mrs Ojo-Osagie, applied to become his dependant,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41alongside her children. That application was refused.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43So, in the name of Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47she had no leave to remain in the UK as a dependant.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Adesuwa's appeals for a visa failed in 2006.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58But in the same year, Queen Hanson resurfaced,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00pursuing her asylum claim.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06She tells the Home Office that she's not received the decision
0:24:06 > 0:24:08about her asylum claim.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12The Home Office say to her, "You've been refused". She said, "I didn't get the letter".
0:24:12 > 0:24:14So she puts in another application.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20But Queen Hanson's determination to claim asylum supplied Tina with the vital piece of evidence she needed.
0:24:20 > 0:24:27The photograph of Adesuwa matched the photograph that Gail had of Queen Hanson.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30That shows a clear connection between the two identities.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33At last, she'd cracked it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Tina had proved that Queen Hanson and Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie
0:24:36 > 0:24:38were, in fact, the same woman.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It was time for Gail and the fraud team to bring her in.
0:24:41 > 0:24:48And even more evidence was about to turn up that proved Queen Hanson and Mr Ojo-Osagie were married.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52We arranged for another arrest to be made of the couple
0:24:52 > 0:25:00and a thorough search of the property and the most damning document that we found
0:25:00 > 0:25:03when we searched the property was a wedding programme.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07This wedding programme was an excellent piece of evidence
0:25:07 > 0:25:11because it showed the couple that were due to be married,
0:25:11 > 0:25:19it listed their named in full - the lady in the wedding programme was Adesuwa Ojo-Osagie
0:25:19 > 0:25:24and we already knew this lady as Queen Hanson.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34In July 2009, the council had all the proof they needed
0:25:34 > 0:25:38to bring this fraud case before Croydon Crown Court.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Faced with the overwhelming evidence presented to the court,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43she pleaded guilty to...
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Mr Ojo-Osagie was charged with...
0:26:04 > 0:26:08The charges were left on file.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11She's used a false identity since 1991.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15She's accessed benefit systems while she's been using that false identity.
0:26:15 > 0:26:21I am quite thrilled that everything has gone our way and she's been convicted and rightly so.
0:26:21 > 0:26:28Queen Hanson has been sentenced to eight months in prison, and there's more good news for Croydon Council.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33Using the Proceeds of Crime Act, she's been ordered to repay the entire amount
0:26:33 > 0:26:36that she's cheated out of the benefit system.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41This case is a great example of the powers that local councils now have.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Not only can we get a successful conviction,
0:26:44 > 0:26:49but we can confiscate assets that we say are the proceeds of crime.
0:26:49 > 0:26:55Mrs Ojo-Osagie has also had her second appeal against deportation refused.
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0:27:06 > 0:27:10E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk