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 > 0:00:41Saints and Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal
0:00:41 > 0:00:47millions every year and the crack teams of investigators determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49But we also
0:00:49 > 0:00:54shine the light on the Saints, those committed to putting money into
0:00:54 > 0:01:00the pockets of people who deserve it and the people too proud to claim what is rightfully theirs.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Coming up on today's programme: A property tycoon rips off
0:01:04 > 0:01:09the taxpayer by posing as a struggling single mum.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Every claim that that Rachel Berkel made to Cheshire East Borough
0:01:11 > 0:01:18Council, South Lakeland Council, Trafford Council and the Department for Work and Pensions was false.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23And the charity giving the young at heart a new lease of life.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27I'd been living on just under 150 and then all of a sudden
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I was living on almost double.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32It was the most wonderful feeling.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Some cheats follow a pattern.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44They spot a scam and try it out, and if it works, they'll do it again and again and again.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50But all it takes is just one mistake and their whole house of cards will come tumbling down around them.
0:01:54 > 0:02:00And this is exactly what happened to serial fraudster Rachel Berkel.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Single mum Rachel is a 40-year-old with a head for business.
0:02:04 > 0:02:10Over the past six years, she's made a packet from renting, buying and selling a portfolio of
0:02:10 > 0:02:17five properties and doing this while raking in tens of thousands by working as a high-class escort.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24Now you'd think that would have given her all the money she could want, but no, this Cheshire lady
0:02:24 > 0:02:28was also masterminding an epic cross-county benefit scam,
0:02:28 > 0:02:34ripping off the British taxpayer to the tune of £28,000.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44Berkel's devious scam began to unravel began in 2007 when a benefits application form was
0:02:44 > 0:02:50submitted to South Lakeland District Council, from an apparently destitute single mum
0:02:50 > 0:02:55who'd recently moved to the area with her eight-year-old daughter.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58She was already claiming Income Support, tax credits
0:02:58 > 0:03:02and child benefit, but now she wanted help with her rent,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05as fraud manager Alan Booth explains.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08She lived in a bungalow at a little village called Allithwaite,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10near Grange-over-Sands.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And she claimed housing benefit at this address.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17The rent she said she was paying was £575 a month.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And she also tried to claim council tax as well.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Ms Berkel had declared that she had no savings, no job and no capital
0:03:24 > 0:03:30assets, so on paper, she appeared to be entitled to help with her rent.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36All South Lakeland needed now was evidence of her tenancy and details about her landlord.
0:03:37 > 0:03:44The house is owned by a guy who lived in the Cheshire area and she provided
0:03:44 > 0:03:50a tenancy agreement to show this, which had been signed by this chap.
0:03:50 > 0:03:51So there was proof.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56Now Rachel Berkel could start banking her cheques, right? Wrong.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Fortunately, our benefit assessors are well trained and one of them
0:04:01 > 0:04:05cross-checked the housing benefit against the council tax record.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11She noticed that on the council tax system the previous owner of the property in Allithwaite
0:04:11 > 0:04:16had notified us that Rachel Berkel had purchased the property
0:04:16 > 0:04:19in April of 2007 and was the new owner.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29Hold your horses. So it appeared that the bungalow Rachel Berkel said she was renting, she in fact owned.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34At this point, alarm bells started ringing with the assessor
0:04:34 > 0:04:38and she immediately referred the case to the fraud team.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47The South Lakeland fraud team set to work and launched a full-scale inquiry into Rachel Berkel.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52And their first task was damage limitation regarding payments.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54We stopped the housing benefit immediately.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58The next stop was to verify with Land Registry who really owned the bungalow.
0:04:58 > 0:05:05The Land Registry document clearly shows that she became the owner of the property in April 2007.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13So it seems Rachel Berkel had been lying.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19Far from being on the breadline, this single mum clearly has the means to buy herself a property.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The fact that she owned a property valued at £163,000 and attempted to
0:05:22 > 0:05:27claim housing benefit there shows a degree of dishonesty and deceit.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31With confirmation that Rachel Berkel had
0:05:31 > 0:05:35deliberately deceived the council, investigators delved a bit deeper.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43Next, they ran credit checks to see what else she'd been up to and there was quite a shock in store.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46The credit agency checks revealed that she'd had a number of mortgages
0:05:46 > 0:05:51at a number of differing addresses in the Cheshire, Manchester areas,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56and obviously, we decided at this point we wanted to ask her some questions about this.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03But then, just as the fraud team are closing in on this fraudster, she pulled a fast one.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09In December 2007, Ms Berkel moved out of our area, out of Cumbria, moved to the Cheshire district
0:06:09 > 0:06:14and we were led to believe that she moved to Knutsford, which is now part of Cheshire East.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18So, clearly feeling the heat, Rachel Berkel had swiftly turned her Grange-over-sands
0:06:18 > 0:06:25retreat into a holiday let and hot-footed it over to Cheshire.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30But South Lakeland kept a close eye on Ms Berkel and simply waited for her next move.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35And sure enough, in November 2007, she put in another
0:06:35 > 0:06:40claim for benefits, this time at Cheshire East Council.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44The very fact that she'd claimed housing benefit in Cheshire East
0:06:44 > 0:06:48was a fraudulent act in itself because she'd failed to declare
0:06:48 > 0:06:51to Cheshire East that she owned the property in Allithwaite, in our area.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57Alan alerted the fraud team at Cheshire East to the fact that Rachel was a property owner.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02And, assigned to the case was investigation officer Louise Newton.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- Hi, Louise.- Hello, Dom.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Good to see you. The fact that she's jumped from one county to another,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11do you think that's her way of trying to avoid problems?
0:07:11 > 0:07:14More than likely. Looking at the case, as soon as
0:07:14 > 0:07:20as South Lakeland got wind that she owned the property, she moved to a different area thinking that
0:07:20 > 0:07:26her problems that she left behind wouldn't follow her and she could start afresh.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- Doesn't work like that, though, does it?- No, it doesn't at all.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33A few simple checks quickly revealed that far from being new to the area,
0:07:33 > 0:07:42Berkel had claimed from Cheshire East on three previous occasions going back to 2005.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Determined to get a clear picture of what this suspect claimant was up to,
0:07:46 > 0:07:52investigators took a closer look at the Land Registry document for the Grange-over-Sands property.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55We noticed on the back there was a mortgage taken out on that property
0:07:55 > 0:07:57with Mortgage Express, and from that we got details of
0:07:57 > 0:08:00the application form, which detailed that she owned
0:08:01 > 0:08:03two further properties, buy-to-let properties.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08So when she applied for the mortgage for the Grange-over-Sands property,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11she was already, in fact, the proud owner of two other houses.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16These were in Cleethorpes on the north-east coast, rented out to paying tenants
0:08:16 > 0:08:21and were providing her with a nice little profit of nearly £600 a month.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26By tracking back a bit further, Louise also uncovered
0:08:26 > 0:08:30a fourth property that Berkel had sold in February 2005.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- So all of a sudden, it's starting to snowball now, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36And also an undeclared income as well, she was actually working.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Just how low can this woman go?
0:08:39 > 0:08:43She's not only been juggling a property portfolio, but now it seems
0:08:43 > 0:08:47the supposedly destitute Berkel had also been working.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52She's declared two employments which have been continuous from
0:08:52 > 0:08:58when she made the application, in April 2007, way back to August 2005.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Now, she's declared her annual income as £45,000
0:09:01 > 0:09:07and that her take-home monthly income is £3,000.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- So again, that's a substantial amount of money to be taking home. - Yeah, not bad at all.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Unbelievable.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19According to the mortgage application form, Berkel was
0:09:19 > 0:09:24raking it in, but just what was she doing to earn that amount of cash?
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Meanwhile, investigators were to uncover another surprise.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31A secret bank account.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Why would she not declare this account to us?
0:09:34 > 0:09:37From my experience, it's normally because they have an income or they
0:09:37 > 0:09:41have capital in that account that they don't want you to know about.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44It was crucial that the fraud team get access to this bank account
0:09:44 > 0:09:47to see what Berkel was keeping so quiet about.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53We actually obtained a full set of bank statements for that account for the period she claimed with us.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- You went through those with a fine-tooth comb.- We did.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The shocking truth was that on each of the occasions Rachel Berkel had
0:10:04 > 0:10:06claimed benefits from Cheshire East,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11she'd consistently had large sums of cash sitting in this secret account.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15At one point, the balance even hit £42,000.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- I mean, it's a very healthy bank account.- It is, yeah.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24- For a single mum claiming she's not earning much money...- Yeah, definitely.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Damning evidence was coming in thick and fast.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31And then the eagle-eyed investigators picked up on another lead...
0:10:33 > 0:10:36A possible fifth property in the council borough of Trafford.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43The housing benefit and council tax benefit application forms
0:10:43 > 0:10:48that she supplied to us in support of her claims...it asks for previous addresses on there.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52And on those forms it had the Trafford address on there.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Berkel's scam appeared to be exploding in scale.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Could the investigation be about to cross into a THIRD county?
0:11:09 > 0:11:10Later in the programme,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the real truth about Rachel Berkel is exposed.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17She could have earnt as much as £1,000 per night...
0:11:22 > 0:11:26From the scroungers ripping off the system, to the people we call our saints -
0:11:26 > 0:11:30those individuals who help put money into the pockets pockets of people in genuine need,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35and the people too proud to claim what is rightfully due to them.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41If you've been working all your life, chances are you're
0:11:41 > 0:11:44going to be looking forward to those golden years of your retirement.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47But life has a nasty way of scuppering those plans,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and for some people, those happy years
0:11:50 > 0:11:54turn into a struggle with finances, health and loss of independence.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05I've come to Kent to meet Queenie, a former community nurse whose hopes for a happy retirement
0:12:05 > 0:12:10were shattered when her health took a turn for the worse, and she started having blackouts.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- What happened? - Well, I was in the bathroom,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15and next thing I know I was patting the carpet.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I thought, "What am I doing down here?"
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And I got up and I thought, "That was strange."
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- You couldn't remember anything? - I couldn't remember a thing.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Queenie's daughter was worried about her mum.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31She suggested that it might be safer if Queenie moved into sheltered
0:12:31 > 0:12:35accommodation, where help could be available to her around the clock.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38When she first said that, how did you react to that?
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- Erm...badly.- I like the little smirk!
0:12:43 > 0:12:45No, I said, "No, I don't need it,"
0:12:45 > 0:12:49and she said, "We'll just find out about it."
0:12:50 > 0:12:54But despite Queenie's reservations, she agreed to leave her two-bed
0:12:54 > 0:13:01house in Gravesend, and move into a small warden-controlled studio flat five miles down the road.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05What was it like, once you moved into this sheltered accommodation?
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Terrible - cos I was losing my independence.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13And... you know, I felt really isolated.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I had THAT feeling.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Queenie was devastated about leaving her home behind -
0:13:20 > 0:13:23but her daughter's fears were proved well-founded,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25because she soon began to have more blackouts.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Extensive medical tests finally revealed an aneurysm
0:13:29 > 0:13:33on Queenie's brain, which was causing her to fall unconscious.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40It's a serious condition, but one her consultant said COULD be managed.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Well, he gave me tablets, and...
0:13:44 > 0:13:47touch wood, I've not had one since.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52Sounds to me that you got to a stage in life where you couldn't live on your own now.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- Oh, no. No. - You were well aware of that fact.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I was aware of that fact, it made me accept this place better.
0:13:59 > 0:14:07Queenie reluctantly accepted her new circumstances - but the isolation was compounded by financial worries.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10How were you surviving for money? What was coming in?
0:14:10 > 0:14:15- Well, I had a private pension, I had my old age pension...- Yeah.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17- And pension Credit? - And Pension Credit.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- So in total, what? - About £150 a week.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22OK. Were you comfortable with that?
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Well...it was a struggle, but
0:14:24 > 0:14:27you have to manage when that's all you've got coming in.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33Queenie was at rock bottom when her son-in-law came up with an idea that changed her life.
0:14:33 > 0:14:39He suggested she get in touch with her local Age Concern day centre in Northfleet.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43We offer services such as bathing, chiropody,
0:14:43 > 0:14:50hearing clinics, advice, information and a listening ear - which I think
0:14:50 > 0:14:53is very, very important. Sometimes it's just somebody to talk to.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Ann explained to Queenie that one of the first ways
0:15:00 > 0:15:03they'd be looking to help her was to give her a benefits check,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05to ensure she was getting her full entitlement.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10So you signposted her towards all the different benefits that she was rightly entitled to.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Yes, the forms can take up to three hours. They're not easy for people
0:15:14 > 0:15:18- to always understand what's being said.- Three hours for you.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- Three hours for us!- Three months for somebody who's not used to them.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22People would probably put it in the bin!
0:15:22 > 0:15:29But luckily for Queenie, her forms didn't wind up in the bin, because thanks to Ann's guidance,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32she discovered she was entitled to extra help.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35In addition to her state pension,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Pension Credit and small private pension,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Queenie was also awarded Attendance Allowance,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43a tax free benefit for the over-65s
0:15:43 > 0:15:46who need extra help caring for themselves
0:15:46 > 0:15:48due to illness or disability.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52She was also awarded extra Pension Credit and her rent and council tax
0:15:52 > 0:15:56are now taken care of by the local authority.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01I'd been living on just £150 and then all of a sudden,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04I was living on almost double.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06And, well,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11it was the most wonderful feeling to know that I could go out now
0:16:11 > 0:16:16and shop for the things that I wanted instead of just
0:16:16 > 0:16:18a limited amount of things.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The Attendance Allowance has enabled Queenie to pay for extra help around the house.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28I've got a lady that comes in. Very, very nice and she'll do anything.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34She comes in and does cleaning for me. She does shopping.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40She does the ironing now, and if she's down the town and I want anything, she'll get it for me.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43In fact, she's the most pleasant person you could wish to meet.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- You look like you're in your element here?- I am.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52- You love it.- I do, I love it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56- Tell me what you like about it so much then?- When I came here, it turned my life around.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01It gave me something to sort of look forward to and enjoy,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and I seem to sort of be on the up and up again.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- Good for you.- Thank you.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08THEY SING
0:17:09 > 0:17:12APPLAUSE
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Back now to the world of the scrounger and the property tycoon
0:17:21 > 0:17:26posing as a destitute single mum in order to steal benefits.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Investigators had established that while Rachel Berkel
0:17:28 > 0:17:31was presenting herself as someone in need of financial help,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34in actual fact, she was running a property portfolio.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39But they were soon to discover that she had another secret she was trying to keep from them.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45South Lakeland and Cheshire East councils
0:17:45 > 0:17:48were investigating 40-year-old Rachel Berkel,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52and they'd uncovered a trail of deceit spanning three years
0:17:52 > 0:17:54across at least two counties.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59She was pleading poverty in order to claim Income Support,
0:17:59 > 0:18:04tax credits, as well as housing and council tax benefits.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09Investigators had discovered that this supposedly unemployed woman was not only working,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13but that she was juggling a lucrative property portfolio,
0:18:13 > 0:18:18including a Lake District hideaway and three buy-to-lets in Cleethorpes.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23From the outset, it looks as though she's made conscious decisions
0:18:23 > 0:18:27not to disclose the fact that she owned these properties.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Having fled South Lakeland and with a case ongoing in Cheshire,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Rachel Berkel now suddenly appeared in the council borough of Trafford.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44All three councils started talking
0:18:44 > 0:18:48and the investigator at Trafford was David Wright.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Right, what brought Rachel Berkel into your radar?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54We received a phone call from Cheshire East Council.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56They were conducting an investigation into her.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59They'd established she had an address in our area, in Hale,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and they asked us to check was she registered at that address?
0:19:05 > 0:19:09Following the tip-off, David Wright immediately trawled the council records
0:19:09 > 0:19:12for a Rachel Berkel that had previously lived in the area.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17What our checks revealed was that she'd completed housing benefit
0:19:17 > 0:19:21and claimed that she was living at that property in Hale
0:19:21 > 0:19:28and she was renting it for £595 a month from Mr Singh.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34It turns out that four years ago, Rachel Berkel was claiming benefits
0:19:34 > 0:19:37from Trafford Council for a period of six months.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41In fact, she had netted £2,500
0:19:41 > 0:19:44while simultaneously claiming benefits
0:19:44 > 0:19:49back in Cheshire and owning multiple buy-to-let properties.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52But the personal details she'd provided to Trafford
0:19:52 > 0:19:55painted a very different picture.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57So on this claim form, what does she say?
0:19:57 > 0:20:01She told us that she was living at this property with her daughter,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and she'd previously lived in Cheshire East Authority.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And she'd said that she was working part-time.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- Doing what?- As a nail technician.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13OK, so basically someone who just manicures and things like that?
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Yeah, yeah. She'd only recently set up business
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and she told us she was only earning £80 a week.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Clearly, nothing this woman said could be trusted,
0:20:21 > 0:20:27and there was another shock in store when the Cheshire fraud team suggested David take a closer look
0:20:27 > 0:20:30at the Land Registry document for the Trafford property.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36They told us they were already looking at her for the fact she owned property.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39They provided a document to us here
0:20:39 > 0:20:41which showed she'd not only bought it,
0:20:41 > 0:20:47she'd actually sold it on by the time we got involved, for £180,000.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- How much of that was profit? - About £40,000.- That's quite a bit.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Not bad. Not bad for six months.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56And that property that she's owned, bought and sold,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59was she paying the mortgage or was the council paying it?
0:20:59 > 0:21:01In effect, we were paying the mortgage for her.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Unbelievable. Rachel Berkel was up to her favourite trick -
0:21:07 > 0:21:11claiming benefits for a property she actually owned.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16But what about this supposed landlord, Mr Singh?
0:21:16 > 0:21:21- This person is totally fabricated, yeah?- As far as we were aware, he doesn't exist.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24How come you were giving her rent, thinking she's paying it to Mr Singh?
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Is it only when you investigate that you start looking?
0:21:27 > 0:21:32Only if we have reason to. Like all benefits, it's paid on trust and she provided a document,
0:21:32 > 0:21:37which, as far as we were concerned, proved that she rented the property, so we paid it on that.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- So it's the trust element which she's taken advantage of?- Yeah.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Now that the investigators at Trafford had the full picture,
0:21:47 > 0:21:53they passed back everything they knew to Cheshire East, who were leading the investigation.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Every single claim that Rachel Berkel made
0:21:57 > 0:21:58to Cheshire East Borough Council,
0:21:58 > 0:22:04South Lakeland Council, Trafford Council, and the Department for Work and Pensions, was false.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Investigators were now ready to make their move.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13We decided to formally invite Rachel Berkel in
0:22:13 > 0:22:17for an interview under caution so that we could present these facts to her.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23And on the 28th August, 2008, Berkel sat down to face a grilling
0:22:23 > 0:22:28by Cheshire East and the Department for Work and Pensions
0:22:28 > 0:22:29about her alleged benefits scam.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Investigators first confronted Berkel with
0:22:33 > 0:22:38the mortgage application forms that supposedly detailed her real income.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39They also queried her savings
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and the properties she'd previously owned.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44She denied any knowledge of these forms.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49When she was later questioned about the other properties,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53she declined to answer any of our questions.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54And when confronted with the fact
0:22:54 > 0:22:56that original benefit application forms
0:22:56 > 0:22:58showed she'd signed a declaration
0:22:58 > 0:23:01stating the information was true, Berkel said,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04"Nobody reads the small print, do they?"
0:23:08 > 0:23:11But with nothing like a confession coming their way,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15investigators needed evidence that would hold up in a court of law.
0:23:15 > 0:23:21Following the interview under caution, we decided to send all
0:23:21 > 0:23:27the documents that Rachel Berkel had provided to these mortgage companies
0:23:27 > 0:23:29to a forensic examiner to examine them
0:23:29 > 0:23:33and to clarify whether they were her signature or not.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37If the signatures do belong to Rachel Berkel,
0:23:37 > 0:23:42then the mortgage declaration forms detailing her income and savings
0:23:42 > 0:23:43must be hers.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45The information we received
0:23:45 > 0:23:47back from the forensic examiners
0:23:47 > 0:23:48confirmed that it was probable
0:23:48 > 0:23:51that these signatures were Rachel Berkel's.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55This was compelling evidence, but before investigators could
0:23:55 > 0:23:59throw the book at Berkel, there was one final loose end still to tie up.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07On her mortgage application form, Berkel said she'd been working,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09earning a whopping £3,000 a month.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Clearly if this was true,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14then it would be more evidence to wield in court.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19So investigators got in touch with the company
0:24:19 > 0:24:21where Berkel said she had worked,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23but they were in for another shock.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26So, on this letter that was provided by her employer,
0:24:26 > 0:24:32they wanted to advise us that all their self-employed staff were high-class escorts.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Investigators then discovered that Berkel had an active profile
0:24:36 > 0:24:40on the net and was going under the name of Cheshire Lady.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42And she didn't come cheap.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45She could have earned as much as £1,000 per night.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50So, obviously, you can see that she could have
0:24:50 > 0:24:54potentially been in receipt of quite a high amount of income.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59After another no comment interview, the fraud teams were finally ready
0:24:59 > 0:25:02to put benefit thief Berkel in front of a judge.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06In July 2010,
0:25:06 > 0:25:11the Cheshire lady was summoned to appear in Chester Crown Court.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18She was accused of stealing £28,133.72
0:25:18 > 0:25:23from South Lakeland, Trafford and Cheshire East Councils and the DWP.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29She was hit with 15 counts of benefit fraud,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31to which she pleaded guilty.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Berkel was then slapped with a criminal record
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and sentenced to two months in the slammer.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43You guys must feel pretty good with yourselves, because,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45collectively, you've got together
0:25:45 > 0:25:48from different counties and done a very good job.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53Yes, we have, and this clearly shows how bordering local authorities have worked closely together
0:25:53 > 0:26:00in successfully tackling this type of benefit fraud and it resulted in a very successful case.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06- You've networked, you've got on, and in this case, you've got your woman, haven't you?- Yes, that's right.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- Pat yourself on the back. - Pat on the back. Well done.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17Scrounger Berkel will now have to pay back every penny she pilfered in benefits.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Berkel has been ordered to pay back
0:26:22 > 0:26:26any profit she would have made from her one remaining property.
0:26:38 > 0:26:44And she's now been forced to sell her Lakeland bolthole to foot the bill.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Rachel Berkel gave three different councils the run around, but in the end,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52her own greed caught up with her and, thanks to a custodial sentence,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54she'll be the one getting escorted around now,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57except this time, it'll be by prison guard.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:27:08 > 0:27:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk