0:00:02 > 0:00:05Saints And Scroungers puts the spotlight on benefit thieves
0:00:05 > 0:00:09who steal millions of pounds every year from the British taxpayer.
0:00:09 > 0:00:16We also search out the saints who help put unclaimed cash into the hands of those who deserve it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Saints And Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves
0:00:42 > 0:00:44who steal millions every year
0:00:44 > 0:00:49and the crack teams of investigators determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:55We also shine a light on those who genuinely need the money and the people who help them get it.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57They are our saints.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01The saints get help and the fraudsters get their comeuppance.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Coming up on today's show -
0:01:03 > 0:01:08the claimant with one of the highest child tax credit incomes in the UK.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12At this point, she was actually receiving in excess of £32,000.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15But is she really a mother of 14?
0:01:15 > 0:01:20It appeared that she had just invented these children in order to claim tax credits.
0:01:20 > 0:01:26We meet a man who fought off a major illness, but is now battling to stay in his home.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29To carry on living in my own home means everything.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Will he get the cash lifeline he needs to help secure his future?
0:01:34 > 0:01:40We couldn't afford to get any adaptions done, so I was worried he might have to go in a care home.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49If you're down on your luck and you're forced to survive on government hand-outs,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53you've got to thank your fellow citizens for paying their taxes
0:01:53 > 0:01:58because that is exactly what benefits are - other people's taxes.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02But it's there for those people who need it, not for those people who want to milk it.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Tipton, West Midlands,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12home to 30-year-old Kerry Melia, her husband and their family.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17With young children to look after, it's difficult for Kerry to get out to work
0:02:17 > 0:02:21and with her husband also unemployed,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Kerry claims tax credits to supplement her family's income.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Tax credits was introduced in April 2003
0:02:28 > 0:02:33and was designed to be a flexible credit system
0:02:33 > 0:02:37to allow people to claim Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
0:02:37 > 0:02:43Child Tax Credit is generally paid to people on low incomes who have a child resident with them.
0:02:43 > 0:02:50£27 billion is paid out every year in tax credits, mainly to families with children.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55It's money intended to benefit the most needy families in our society
0:02:55 > 0:03:00and this huge sum is fiercely guarded by officers at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
0:03:00 > 0:03:07who have robust systems in place to try to ensure the wrong people can't get their hands on the cash.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11We regularly do a search of the top 5% of tax credit claims in payment.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16This might be the highest amount or we may use other search criteria to pick out
0:03:16 > 0:03:19which we subject to greater scrutiny
0:03:19 > 0:03:24and that top tier that we select is then subject to data cross-matching
0:03:24 > 0:03:30with information held by other government departments, like the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:03:31 > 0:03:37In the course of one of these routine checks, Kerry Melia's name has popped up.
0:03:37 > 0:03:43The file was handed to an HMRC case manager who, due to the sensitive nature of her work,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46needs to remain anonymous.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50In the Melia case, the claim was quite a high claim.
0:03:50 > 0:03:56Therefore, it immediately triggered some of the systems that we have in place.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Kerry Melia was in receipt of more than £30,000 a year
0:04:01 > 0:04:04in Child Tax Credit. With a sum that large,
0:04:04 > 0:04:10the Revenue's crack team of undercover investigators are obliged to do a few extra checks.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14It was time for a thorough review of Kerry Melia's claims.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18The first claim that Kerry Melia submitted
0:04:18 > 0:04:22was on the 16th of August, 2005.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27On this she claimed for four children and one baby.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32The first claim, there was no questions asked.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36The correct documents were provided and the award was made to them.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42Nothing suspicious so far. Four children and one baby - that takes the total to five.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48That year, Kerry received just over £6,000 in Child Tax Credits which she was entitled to.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But less than a year later,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Kerry got back in touch with the Tax Credit Department.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00On the 31st of January, 2006, Kerry Melia contacted the HMRC Helpline
0:05:00 > 0:05:06to advise them that she had now taken on responsibility for her sister-in-law's three children
0:05:06 > 0:05:08and she'd be fostering them,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12so was incurring expenses and would like to claim tax credits for them.
0:05:12 > 0:05:19OK, Kerry's original five children plus three foster children makes eight. That claim was also approved.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21And by later the same year,
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Kerry had given birth to another baby of her own.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Cue another call to the HMRC Helpline.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32On the 20th of November, 2006,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Kerry rang up to notify that she'd had a baby boy
0:05:36 > 0:05:41and therefore wanted to add him to her claim and increase the payment.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Are you keeping up? Now she's claiming for nine children.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Once again, Kerry's payments increased.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54By now, she was receiving almost £15,500 a year in Child Tax Credits.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56No questions were asked,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00but it was her subsequent claims for even more children
0:06:00 > 0:06:02that started to arouse suspicion.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06By 2009, Kerry was claiming for five genuine children
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and a further nine children which she said she was fostering.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15At this point, she was actually receiving in excess of £32,000.
0:06:16 > 0:06:2114 children and £32,000-worth of tax credits in one year?
0:06:21 > 0:06:23That's one heck of a total.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28No wonder alarm bells had started to sound at HMRC.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32The sophisticated internal systems started to red-flag Kerry's case,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36getting the investigators rather hot under the collar.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42Kerry Melia's claim was subject to greater scrutiny because of the sheer number of children.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48This included her children and children which she was fostering on behalf of her sister-in-law
0:06:48 > 0:06:54and other children which had allegedly been put to her to foster from the local authority.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The only way to move this investigation forward
0:06:58 > 0:07:04was to find out whether all these children really were living with Kerry Melia.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07She made over 300 calls to the tax credit helpline,
0:07:07 > 0:07:12so it was necessary for us to obtain the call recordings and transcribe them.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17We had to listen to them to see what declarations she had made to us.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Initially, investigators found little evidence
0:07:20 > 0:07:23that Kerry was trying to cheat the system.
0:07:23 > 0:07:29When Kerry made the calls to the tax credit helpline, she did come across as very convincing.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34She gave the air of somebody who was wanting to do her best by these foster children.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36But the cracks soon started to show.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40As the calls progressed, she did on a number of occasions
0:07:40 > 0:07:45actually slip up with dates of births and getting names a bit confused.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Gotcha!
0:07:47 > 0:07:50The anti-fraud team now smelled a rat,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53so they cross-checked the information from the call logs
0:07:53 > 0:07:57with information held at other government departments.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Kerry's first claim for four children in 2005 was cross-checked
0:08:01 > 0:08:05with Child Benefit records from the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09All four children were receiving Child Benefit,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13so the investigator knew those initial claims were genuine.
0:08:13 > 0:08:19But what about the claims she had made in 2006 about fostering her niece and nephews?
0:08:19 > 0:08:24We needed to verify whether the niece and two nephews had been placed with Kerry,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27therefore, we contacted social services.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32They confirmed that these three children hadn't been placed with Kerry for fostering,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34though they were aware of them.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39Kerry hadn't officially been fostering her niece and nephews,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43so had no right to claim Child Tax Credit for them.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47She had been overpaid more than £5,500 of tax credit.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51Her story was starting to seriously unravel.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56But what about the other foster children for whom she made claims?
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We contacted the General Register Office to establish
0:08:59 > 0:09:03whether the nine other children did actually exist.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06The General Register Office holds a central copy
0:09:06 > 0:09:12of all registrations for births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16If they don't hold a person's birth certificate, they don't exist.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20When the investigators looked closely at the birth records,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24more of Kerry's foster children simply dropped off the list.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30For example, she claimed that Martin Crompton had been born on the 15th of May, 2004,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and he was a child that didn't exist.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37This was the killer piece of evidence the investigators had been waiting for.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41The other eight children for whom Kerry Melia had claimed tax credits
0:09:41 > 0:09:45were subject to the same scrutiny with the General Registry Office
0:09:45 > 0:09:49and like Martin Crompton, they couldn't trace any records
0:09:49 > 0:09:53for children born on the dates claimed by Kerry Melia.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57This was the conclusive proof
0:09:57 > 0:10:02that none of Kerry Melia's supposed foster children officially existed.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07It appeared to us that she had just invented these children in order to claim tax credits.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13Claiming tax credits for 14 children when you only have five? That's brazen.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19Investigators were now convinced that Kerry Melia's Child Tax Credit claim didn't stack up.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24They suspected that she had been overpaid almost £20,000 in tax credits
0:10:24 > 0:10:26she simply wasn't entitled to.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30But they wanted further proof before they could throw the book at her.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34It was time to pay the Melia family a visit.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Coming up later, we discover more
0:10:39 > 0:10:43about the many residents of Kerry's three-bedroom semi.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47We came across various animals and reptiles,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49a snake.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And her tissue of lies unravels
0:10:51 > 0:10:54when she inadvertently leads investigators
0:10:54 > 0:10:57to the key evidence against her.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02She said, "Please don't look in the cupboards in the kitchen, third drawer down."
0:11:05 > 0:11:11For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters and hello to the people we call our saints,
0:11:11 > 0:11:17those who are in need of help, but are too proud or don't know how to claim what is rightfully theirs
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and the people who point them in the right direction.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Imagine working all your life, paying all your taxes
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and really looking forward to your retirement,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36but then instead of being able to enjoy that well-earned freedom,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40you become a prisoner in your own home.
0:11:41 > 0:11:4671-year-old Ken Hunter from Walton-on-Thames can't get out and about much any more.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50He needs help just to get out of bed and is unable to cope
0:11:50 > 0:11:53with even the most simple of household tasks.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57But it wasn't always like that.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02He enjoyed a happy marriage with his wife Joyce and worked for 25 years as a bookbinder
0:12:02 > 0:12:06before starting a window-cleaning business with his brother-in-law.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11Ken worked another ten years until poor health forced him to stop.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15I had internal abscesses and part of my bowel had turned gangrenous.
0:12:16 > 0:12:22And when I left hospital, I realised I would never be fit again to do window cleaning,
0:12:22 > 0:12:27so it effectively... That's when my work life ended.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Ken was signed off as unfit to work.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34He was entitled to Disability Living Allowance and later, a state pension.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39To help support her husband and two adopted children, Danielle and Mark,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Ken's wife Joyce took work at a local factory.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47But then Ken came up with an idea that he hoped would make their lives a bit easier.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52When you're there in bed and you see your wife leaving the house at 6.30 in the morning,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57and she's got rheumatoid arthritis, you think, "This can't be right."
0:12:57 > 0:13:03So that's when I came up with the idea of applying for equity release, which we got.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09Equity release is a method of obtaining some of the capital value of your property as cash.
0:13:09 > 0:13:15You get a lump sum to live off which is usually repaid by the sale of your property when you die.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Having an extra small income meant that Joyce could retire,
0:13:19 > 0:13:25but it wasn't long after Joyce's retirement that things took a dramatic turn for the Hunter family
0:13:25 > 0:13:27when she became seriously ill.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31She was found to have ovarian cancer.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35And also she had a weakened heart.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Anyway, they was going to do her hysterectomy,
0:13:39 > 0:13:45but when they got her on the table, her heart was fluttering and they said, "We can't do it."
0:13:45 > 0:13:48So she was just basically sent home.
0:13:48 > 0:13:55She did have chemo and they gave her a blood transfusion every now and again which perked her up no end.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00We'd come back from one of those and she got some fish and chips on the way home.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04She said, "I fancy some fish and chips." Anyway, we went upstairs
0:14:04 > 0:14:10and all of a sudden, Danielle, my daughter, was going nuts. I thought, "What's going on here?"
0:14:10 > 0:14:14She'd died, but because she had her face away from me, I didn't realise.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19One minute she's chatting away with an appetite, the next, she's dead.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22She's there with her fish and chips, then she's gone.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Ken had always been close to his daughter Danielle,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29but now she had to try and fill the gap left by her mother.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35Dad took it really, really hard when Mum passed because he was heavily reliant upon her.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38She did pretty much everything.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42He helped out here and there, but she did most things.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Just a short time after the death of his wife,
0:14:45 > 0:14:51Ken Hunter had to suddenly have his leg amputated at the hip as a result of vascular disease.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57Now he's confined to a bed or a wheelchair and unable to access the first floor of his house
0:14:57 > 0:15:00where his bedroom and bathroom are located.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05I quickly came to realise that I was, in essence, a prisoner in my own home.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10All I could do was get the wheelchair and go from the bed to the kitchen. That was it.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16Ken's daughter Danielle has pulled out all the stops to get her father all the extra benefits she can.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I needed help and Danielle was there.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26You know, she was on the phone to people, she knew what organisations to contact.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28And, you know, all the rest of it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34Although Ken is currently being cared for day to day in his home, he needs to look to the future.
0:15:34 > 0:15:41His house needs major adaptations if he is to be able to stay there - work that won't come cheap.
0:15:41 > 0:15:47We couldn't afford to get any adaptions done, so I was worried he might have to go in a care home.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Ken has really started to worry about what the future holds for him.
0:15:51 > 0:15:57In my head, I thought I'm going to end up in a care home, which was the last thing I wanted.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00To carry on living in my own home means everything
0:16:00 > 0:16:03because it's not a house, it's a home.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08All my memories are here, which are with me all the time, you know.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Fortunately, a saint has come to Ken's rescue in the nick of time
0:16:13 > 0:16:16in the form of occupational therapist, Shelly.
0:16:16 > 0:16:23She has drawn up a list of work to be carried out in Ken's home to make it possible for him to stay there.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26We looked at door widenings for the wheelchair.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28We put a through-floor lift in
0:16:28 > 0:16:32from the living room up into one of the bedrooms
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and for Ken's bed to be moved up into the bedroom,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39door widenings upstairs and a wet-floor shower area
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and rails around the toilet to make transfers easier.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48There's just one possible drawback to Shelly's plan for Ken's house.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51All the work will cost a massive £26,000 -
0:16:51 > 0:16:53money Ken doesn't have.
0:16:53 > 0:17:00But Shelly has referred Ken's case to Helen Emin at Elmbridge Council Home Improvement Department
0:17:00 > 0:17:04in the hope that they might be able to throw him a lifeline.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09I've come to meet her and to find out more about what she can do for Ken.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11We are a home improvement agency.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14We're there to assist vulnerable people
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- to continue to live independently. - What do you class as "vulnerable"?
0:17:18 > 0:17:21- You're not just saying "disabled", are you?- No.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Disabled, elderly, people on a low income.
0:17:26 > 0:17:32'The council's Home Improvement Department is there to help people in situations like Ken's.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35'It's not just a great service for vulnerable people,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39'but it helps to save taxpayers' money in the long run.'
0:17:39 > 0:17:41For a severely disabled wheelchair user,
0:17:41 > 0:17:47if they couldn't remain in their own home and have to go into residential care,
0:17:47 > 0:17:52you'd be looking at a cost of about £700, £800 a week for residential care.
0:17:52 > 0:17:58By assisting them and putting in, for example, a stairlift to enable them to stay in the property
0:17:58 > 0:18:01or ramp access, that's avoiding that cost.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Helen also really wants Ken to be able to stay in his home
0:18:05 > 0:18:11and she's going to try and help him get some funding to cover the cost of the work that's needed.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17It's called a Disabled Facilities Grant and it's paid out by local councils
0:18:17 > 0:18:22to help make changes to a disabled person's home, but the conditions for approval are quite stringent.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26- Was Ken entitled?- As Ken was in receipt of a means-tested benefit,
0:18:26 > 0:18:32that meant he was eligible for a grant, but also as he is registered disabled,
0:18:32 > 0:18:37it automatically meant that he would be available to have adaptations carried out.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42- He's double-qualified, isn't he? - He is, yes.- Both boxes ticked. - Absolutely.
0:18:45 > 0:18:51When I heard that Dad was entitled to the full grant, I couldn't believe it.
0:18:51 > 0:18:58You're never really sure until you get the OK and I was so excited. I was really pleased for him.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04So with the grant and works approved by the council, the builders could get started at Ken's house.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08They're constructing a wheelchair-accessible ramp
0:19:08 > 0:19:13to Ken's front door, so he'll finally be able to get outside on his own
0:19:13 > 0:19:19and they'll also give him access to the upstairs of his house by installing a through-floor lift
0:19:19 > 0:19:24to take him to his bedroom. They've already finished Ken's wheelchair-accessible wetroom.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Now that everything is coming together, he's getting excited
0:19:28 > 0:19:31about soon being able to make use of all the fantastic adaptations.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36I'm feeling very pleased that I'll be able to get out on the ramp
0:19:36 > 0:19:41because for a year, I haven't been able to get out. I'm really looking forward to that.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46I'm looking forward to going on the lift and going up for a shower.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I haven't seen my upstairs for a year.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51I can't remember what it looks like!
0:19:52 > 0:19:57The total cost of the work at Ken's house came to £26,000.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Although it didn't cost him a penny, if Ken decided to sell his house,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05he would be liable to repay a portion of the cost,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08up to a maximum of £10,000 over ten years.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14But it's safe to say that the first place Ken plans to go is definitely upstairs.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21I think the lift that they've put in for me is an absolute boon.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It makes it easier to go up and down, take a shower when I want to. Absolutely wonderful.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32Ken's also loving being able to get out and about once again
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and no longer feeling like a prisoner in his own home.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43The last time you brought me down here wasn't that long after Mum died.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49- I haven't been down here for about 18 months.- It's nice to be out. - Yeah, and to get a bit of fresh air.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53- So is this going to be the start of things to come, then?- Yeah.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59All the things they've done for me has totally given me my independence back, you know?
0:20:59 > 0:21:04I've gone from being able to do virtually nothing to practically anything I want.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07You know... I can go out in a car if I want to.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Whereas I couldn't before because I'm terrified of going out the door.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16You know, it's just transformed my life.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21It might have cost over £25,000 of taxpayers' money to adapt Ken's house,
0:21:21 > 0:21:26but when you look at the alternative of long-term care, that's a small price to pay.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31But giving him back his independence and his lifestyle, that's priceless.
0:21:35 > 0:21:42Back now to the world of the scrounger and the case against Kerry Melia is building up pace.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Investigators have become aware that her huge claim for Child Tax Credits
0:21:46 > 0:21:49is partly based on nine foster children
0:21:49 > 0:21:52she appears to have invented.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56It was time to go and see if the Melia family were at home.
0:21:56 > 0:22:02From the outside, Kerry's house certainly didn't look like a home for a very large family.
0:22:02 > 0:22:08So you're telling me they got 14 kids and two adults into a three-bed semi-detached house like this?
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Right-o. What happened when the little one said, "Roll over"?
0:22:16 > 0:22:22On the 28th of July, 2010, we went to Kerry's house to arrest her,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25but found that she was on holiday in Rhyl.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Only one of Kerry's children and her brother-in-law
0:22:28 > 0:22:30were at the family home that day.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34The rest of the Melia clan were on a caravan holiday in Wales.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40But word soon got through to Kerry that fraud investigators were in her house.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43A couple of hours later, Kerry contacted me.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46I explained that we wanted to arrest her
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and that she would be under arrest for tax credit fraud
0:22:49 > 0:22:53and we would search her house for evidence of those offences
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and to see whether she did have 14 children living there.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01On entering the house, it didn't look fit as a home for one child,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03let alone 14.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08When we got into the house,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12it appeared as if the family had only recently moved in there.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16There was clothing strewn all over the place, boxes,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18bin bags...
0:23:18 > 0:23:23It was very difficult to distinguish the beds underneath all the clothing.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27And while only one of Kerry's children was in evidence,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31investigators did find a whole host of other residents.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Then we came across various animals and reptiles.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37A snake,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40iguana, cockatiels
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and in the fridge, there were dead mice.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46There was also, on the kitchen floor, an aquarium
0:23:46 > 0:23:49full of tropical fish.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Investigators had the run of Kerry's house and were on the hunt
0:23:53 > 0:23:58for evidence of her suspect Child Tax Credit claims, but didn't have to look for long.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03With the severity of the situation now dawning on Kerry,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05she rang the investigator back
0:24:05 > 0:24:09and inadvertently landed herself right in it.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14She said, "Please don't look in the cupboards in the kitchen, third drawer down."
0:24:14 > 0:24:16SHE LAUGHS
0:24:16 > 0:24:21Talk about red rag to a bull! One guess what the investigators did next!
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Obviously, we went straight to the drawer
0:24:24 > 0:24:29and in this drawer, we found lots of documents relating to the children -
0:24:29 > 0:24:32their names, their dates of birth,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34something I would consider to be a cheat sheet
0:24:34 > 0:24:37in case she got questioned about them.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Investigators now had the proof they needed
0:24:41 > 0:24:45that Kerry had fabricated the existence of nine foster children,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48so that she could claim extra benefits.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52By the end of the day, she knew her number was up.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Later that evening, I received a text from Kerry
0:24:56 > 0:24:58where she said, "I know I've done wrong,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02"I know that my claims are fraudulent and I'm sorry."
0:25:02 > 0:25:06But it was too little, too late.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10When she returned from her caravan holiday in Wales,
0:25:10 > 0:25:16Kerry Melia was asked to attend an interview under caution at the police station.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Kerry, under cautioned interview,
0:25:18 > 0:25:25admitted that the nine children were fictitious that we had paid tax credits for.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30She also admitted that she had made attempts
0:25:30 > 0:25:32to claim for a further six more.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Kerry said that she didn't realise what she was doing was fraudulent
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and she knew other people that were doing the same
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and they had never been caught.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45What Kerry Melia was doing was fraudulent.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49She was charged with ten counts of obtaining tax credits by deception.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53On the 29th of July, 2011, she appeared in court
0:25:53 > 0:25:55where she pleaded guilty.
0:25:58 > 0:25:59Over a five-year period,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Kerry Melia claimed over
0:26:01 > 0:26:03£65,000-worth of Child Tax Credits
0:26:03 > 0:26:06for foster children that didn't exist.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12She was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Tax credits is designed to help those most needy in society
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and people like Kerry Melia have effectively stolen money
0:26:22 > 0:26:25which was destined for those people in need.
0:26:25 > 0:26:31Kerry set out deliberately to claim for children that didn't exist
0:26:31 > 0:26:37and she was punished as she should have been for this offence.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41The government won't tolerate false claims like Kerry Melia has made.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Kerry Melia thought she could invent children left, right and centre
0:26:45 > 0:26:48and claim tax credits she wasn't entitled to,
0:26:48 > 0:26:54but those over-inflated claims set alarm bells ringing at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and eventually, her greed was her downfall.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2012