0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme tracks down thieves. It exposes fraudsters and it brings help to those who really deserve it.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12This is the front line in the battle against benefit fraud.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42Saints And Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal
0:00:42 > 0:00:45millions every year and the crack teams of investigators
0:00:45 > 0:00:48determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53And we also shine a light on those who genuinely need the money
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and the people who help them get it.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56They are our saints.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00The saints get help and the fraudsters get their comeuppance.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05Coming up on today's show, the single mum on benefits.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07But is she living a double life?
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It was pretty evident that she was committing
0:01:10 > 0:01:12what we call a living together fraud.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Will fraud investigators see through the lies?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I've never heard of an excuse like it so no,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20we didn't accept what she said.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24We meet a woman who's worked for 20 years but now can't get hired.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30I thought that with the years' experience I'd got, I would not have a problem getting a job.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32After almost two years unemployed,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36find out how her life is turned around by a local saint.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The following week, when I actually applied for the jobs,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42out of the four that I applied for, I got two responses.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49If you're an unemployed single parent living on your own,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51the benefit system is there to help you.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55But if you are living with a partner who is working and helping to pay the bills,
0:01:55 > 0:02:00you might not be entitled to dip your fingers into the taxpayers' pot.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Not that that seems to stop some people, though.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Croydon, south London, home to Maria Blyth.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Maria is an unemployed single mum.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12So, as taxpayers, we all help her out with income support,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15housing benefit and council tax benefit.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20On average, single mothers receive an extra £100 per week
0:02:20 > 0:02:23compared to couples with children, which should mean that Maria
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and her son don't suffer undue hardship.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29But the shadow of suspicion has fallen on Maria
0:02:29 > 0:02:32because officials at the council think her claim
0:02:32 > 0:02:34might not be all that it seems.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Over at Croydon Council,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40David Hogan runs the fraud investigation Department.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42How many people live in Croydon?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45The population of Croydon is currently about 350,000.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47How many of them are on benefits?
0:02:47 > 0:02:51- Just over 42,000 people are in receipt of benefits in Croydon.- OK.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Quite a lot. Give me an idea of how much payout that is a year.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Erm... For last year,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01we paid out a total of £255 million in benefit in Croydon alone.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05So the more we can do about fraud, the better it is for the taxpayer.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Croydon Council can't be sure exactly how much money
0:03:08 > 0:03:12they lose through fraudulent claims each year.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18But they are pretty certain that the £1.3 million recouped by the antifraud department last year
0:03:18 > 0:03:21is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26which is why they take the business of fraud investigation so seriously.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31We've got ten staff here who work solely on antifraud activity.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- Purely dedicated to that? - Purely just working on antifraud.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37And, they leave no stone unturned.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40It was another Government department that alerted David
0:03:40 > 0:03:44and his team to the fact that Maria Blyth's benefit claim
0:03:44 > 0:03:46might not be above board.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50What brought Maria Blyth to your attention?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The case of Maria Blyth came to us via an anonymous tipoff
0:03:53 > 0:03:57to the Department of Work and Pensions hotline.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02An average of almost 700 possible benefit cheats are reported
0:04:02 > 0:04:05to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline every day.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Many of these get passed on to local councils.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Croydon Council investigate as many suspect cases as they can
0:04:12 > 0:04:14in the hope of clawing back taxpayers' money.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20David passed the case on to investigating officer Graham Clark.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's his mission in life to bust the benefit cheats.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27He started by going back through Maria Blyth's claims history.
0:04:27 > 0:04:33We discovered that she began claiming income support as far back as 1999.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38Her claim for housing and council tax benefit began in 2002
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and carried on through until 2007.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46On all her claim forms that she had completed,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50she stated she was a single parent and did not have a partner living with her.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53On the face of it, it's a perfectly normal claim,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57except that the anonymous tipoff received by the DWP suggested
0:04:57 > 0:05:00that Maria Blyth was not actually single,
0:05:00 > 0:05:05but was in fact living with her partner Kevin West.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Graham needed to dig deeper to find out more.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11His first step was to identify the father of Maria's child
0:05:11 > 0:05:15and find out more about his circumstances.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18We made enquiries with the registry office
0:05:18 > 0:05:22to establish who the father was.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26We obtained a copy of the birth certificate which clearly
0:05:26 > 0:05:31showed that both Maria and Kevin registered the birth together
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and that they had both given the same address.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39So, when her son was born, single mum Maria appeared to have been
0:05:39 > 0:05:44living with the father of her child and that man was Kevin West.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46But that was 16 years ago and of course,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50it was entirely possible that their relationship had now broken down.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Graham needed to find out whether Kevin West was living
0:05:53 > 0:05:57at Maria's current address which was on Crowley Crescent in Croydon.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58Because if he was,
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Maria might be carrying out what's known as a living together fraud.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06It's the most common type of benefit fraud.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Claiming as a single person when really,
0:06:08 > 0:06:09you're living with a partner.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12It's costing you and me, the taxpayer,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15more than £74 million a year.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17The definition of living together fraud
0:06:17 > 0:06:19is that for benefit purposes,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21any two people that are living together as a couple,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26whether they're married or not, should be treated as a couple,
0:06:26 > 0:06:32and that any earnings or capital that the partner has
0:06:32 > 0:06:36is taken into account when assessing the benefit.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41Sharing a life with someone usually means you're sharing their income
0:06:41 > 0:06:43which is why their earnings and savings
0:06:43 > 0:06:47as well as your own are taken into account when assessing for benefits.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50If two people are living a shared life,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53there is a trail of evidence waiting to be found
0:06:53 > 0:06:57which fraud investigators have extensive powers to uncover.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01We did a credit history check on Kevin West
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and we found a number of occasions
0:07:04 > 0:07:08where he had made financial applications
0:07:08 > 0:07:11for banking purposes
0:07:11 > 0:07:15and had quoted Crowley Crescent as being his home address.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20So, Kevin was using Maria's Croydon address
0:07:20 > 0:07:22on official application forms,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25and presumably, he was expecting his mail to arrive there,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29which must have been inconvenient if he wasn't actually resident.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33But that wasn't all Graham found out about Kevin West.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37He made enquiries with a local health trust and strangely,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41it wasn't just Maria Blyth who was registered with the local doctor.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Kevin was also registered at the same surgery
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and indeed had given Crowley Crescent as his address.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50So far, there wasn't much evidence that Kevin West lived
0:07:50 > 0:07:53anywhere other than at Crowley Crescent.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55And Maria Blyth's car insurance document
0:07:55 > 0:07:58proved to be an even bigger giveaway.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03The car was registered to Maria but Kevin West was named as a co-driver.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08Once again, the paper trail led straight to Crowley Crescent.
0:08:08 > 0:08:14We obtained a copy of the proposal form for the insurance
0:08:14 > 0:08:19which clearly stated that they were living at Crowley Crescent
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and indeed, that their marital status was as a common law couple.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31In fact, even Kevin West's driving licence showed that he was living at Crowley Crescent.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Investigators were now pretty convinced that Maria Blyth
0:08:34 > 0:08:37was lying about her single mum status.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42It was pretty evident that she was committing what we call a living together fraud
0:08:42 > 0:08:47and had not declared that Kevin was part of her household.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49It's not looking good for Maria Blyth.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54She told the Department for Work and Pensions and Croydon Council that she's a single parent
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and they're paying her housing benefit and income support on that basis.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02But it's starting to look like she's about a single as a double malt.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05The fraud team had plenty of written evidence
0:09:05 > 0:09:06but they needed more.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11It was time for Graham to get out of the office and hunt for some clues on the ground.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13In the course of his enquiries,
0:09:13 > 0:09:19Graham had found out that Kevin West used to work for a garage called Queen's Motors.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Queen's Motors told us that he'd recently left the company
0:09:23 > 0:09:29but they were able to confirm that he had given Crowley Crescent to them as his address
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and had named Maria Blyth as an emergency contact
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and next of kin.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39They were also able to tell us that he had
0:09:39 > 0:09:45previously worked for Arriva Buses before joining Queen's.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46We then approached Arriva
0:09:46 > 0:09:50who gave us Crowley Crescent as his address, as well.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56Once again, Kevin West's previous address was confirmed as being the same as Maria Blyth's.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00But the investigators still needed to find out where he was working now
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and to prove, once and for all,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04that he was still living with Maria Blyth.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09And the best way to do that would be to catch them red-handed.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12It was time for Graham to take his investigation up to the next level.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18'Coming up later,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22'the paper trail brings positive proof that Maria Blyth is lying...'
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- At this point, you've got them bang to rights.- We have.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27- There's no argument for that.- No.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31'..as investigators turn to surveillance to help close the case.'
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Having established that pattern,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37that, in effect, was the final piece in the jigsaw.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters
0:10:42 > 0:10:47and hello to the people we call our saints - those who are in genuine need of help
0:10:47 > 0:10:52but are too proud or don't know how to claim what is rightfully theirs,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56and the people who point them in the right direction.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59With nearly 40 years' retail experience behind her,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Sandra Morgan thought when she lost her job at a convenience store
0:11:02 > 0:11:06that she'd easily find another one.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08It wasn't as easy as she thought.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Sandra found herself out of work in 2009
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and spent months trawling through job listings, handing out her CV
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and applying for any job she could find.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19But she just couldn't get a break.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I actually put it down to my age.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And it's now generally accepted, even at the Jobcentre,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29that two types of people struggle the most
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and that is the school leavers and the over 50s.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Sandra was very depressed about her situation.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38She was now living in a one-room bedsit
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and surviving on just £30 a week.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45But she had been offered a glimmer of hope when guidance worker Liz Fraser
0:11:45 > 0:11:48from the charity Ascend appeared as the saint in her life.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53She put Sandra's name forward for a special course.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Liz called me in and said, we think it would be quite good for you
0:11:57 > 0:12:01to actually become part of the Flexible Routeway.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The Flexible Routeway scheme helps people like Sandra
0:12:04 > 0:12:06to get back into work
0:12:06 > 0:12:09by providing them with training, support and advice.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13It's paid for from the UK's £2.5 billion share
0:12:13 > 0:12:16of the European Social Fund.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20All European taxpayers contribute to the fund which aims to help
0:12:20 > 0:12:22create jobs across the EU.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25And in the current job market,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28it's more important than ever to stand out from the crowd.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32There's a lot of people out there looking for the same jobs.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36You've got people at the upper end of the scale trying to take the middle market
0:12:36 > 0:12:38so it's difficult for people coming from the other end.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Sandra completed the course which improved her IT skills
0:12:43 > 0:12:45and gave her more confidence.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50But the job market was so tough that she still hadn't managed to find work by the end of it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Liz had suggested in the past that Sandra should also consider
0:12:54 > 0:12:57taking on some voluntary work.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59They said it would look good on your CV
0:12:59 > 0:13:02because one of the biggest problems with a CV
0:13:02 > 0:13:04is that companies don't like gaps.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08But it took them an awful long time to get me on that side
0:13:08 > 0:13:12because I did not want to work for nothing.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16I was living on peanuts and thought, why should I give my time
0:13:16 > 0:13:20and not get any financial aid back to make my life a little bit better?
0:13:22 > 0:13:26But with the patience of a saint, Liz kept on pushing and eventually,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30she managed to convince Sandra that working for nothing
0:13:30 > 0:13:32might be better than not working at all.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36It was really important for Sandra to take up something that
0:13:36 > 0:13:39would create a positive atmosphere for her and give her hope.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41As luck would have it,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45a new local work skills project called Step Up was just starting,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and they needed volunteers.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Sandra put herself forward and was taken on.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54It might not have been a paid job but it was a job nonetheless.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Sandra was thrilled to be back in an office.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Step Up Learning and Wellbeing Centre, Sandra speaking.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05I found that the phone ringing, people knocking on the door -
0:14:05 > 0:14:07it was really good. It got me excited again.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09It didn't matter to me
0:14:09 > 0:14:11I wasn't going to get paid at the end of the week.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Thanks to Liz, Sandra had reached a real turning point.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20She updated her CV to show that she was now volunteering
0:14:20 > 0:14:21and carried on applying for jobs.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Then, something amazing happened.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28The following week when I actually applied for jobs,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32out of the four I applied for, I got two responses.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I thought, "I don't believe this."
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Although Sandra didn't get those jobs, she was hugely encouraged
0:14:38 > 0:14:41that employers were now taking more of an interest in her.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44With the volunteering on my CV,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I applied for a job
0:14:48 > 0:14:50at the beginning of September.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I received a response within 24 hours.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I had an interview within 48 hours
0:14:56 > 0:14:58and the next day I was offered the job.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Sandra was delighted. As was her adviser, Liz.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I feel very proud of Sandra
0:15:07 > 0:15:10because even though she didn't think she had the skills,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12actually they were there all the time.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14She found it again and came out well in the end
0:15:14 > 0:15:16so I am very proud of her.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21As for Sandra, there's only one word for her reaction.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Gobsmacked!
0:15:23 > 0:15:27I thought, I have spent nearly two my years of my life being depressed,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31bored, pulling my hair out.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35When maybe if I had listened to those words of wisdom from Liz,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39I would have got a job much sooner.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42There was just one small spanner in the works.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Sandra's new job was in London,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48an expensive train ride away from her home in South Oxhey.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Once the elation had passed that I had got the job,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54I then suddenly realised, how was I going to afford to get to London?
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Although Ascent couldn't help Sandra, they put her in contact with
0:15:58 > 0:16:02a government-funded recruitment service called Ingeus.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05They have access to a new government budget that's been set aside
0:16:05 > 0:16:09to help with the common problem of people being offered jobs
0:16:09 > 0:16:12but then not being able to afford to travel to work.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Sandra told them about her predicament.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I said, "I've gone through everything
0:16:17 > 0:16:21"and the cheapest way is an Oyster Card, £50 a week."
0:16:21 > 0:16:25I said, "It's monthly pay so it's going to be £200
0:16:25 > 0:16:26"that I'm going to need."
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Ingeus were able to offer Sandra a one-off payment of £200.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36They also helped her work out that she's entitled to £25 a week
0:16:36 > 0:16:40of working tax credit, which she can put towards her Oyster Card.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44So, she was finally all set for her first day back.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Did I feel good that morning when I could say,
0:16:47 > 0:16:48"I'm going to work."
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Sandra is now a supermarket sampling ambassador
0:16:54 > 0:16:56and that's quite a job title.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58It means she stands in store
0:16:58 > 0:17:02offering free samples of various goodies to passing shoppers.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Not only is she loving it, but she seems to be a natural.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09I was nervous about coming back to work but also
0:17:09 > 0:17:12because it's a job that I hadn't done before.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Had I lost my touch?
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Would I not be able to make people come over and sample?
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Would I not be able to make them laugh in a conversation?
0:17:22 > 0:17:25But Sandra needn't have worried
0:17:25 > 0:17:28because the old magic has come flooding back
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and Sandra hasn't forgotten the debt she owes to Ascent.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35As her job at the supermarket is Tuesday to Saturday, she still
0:17:35 > 0:17:39goes into Ascent and volunteers as a receptionist every Monday.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41I can't thank Ascent enough.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Where I am now is all because of them and it's not just the name,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47it's the people there.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52All of them are there for you and they will always be there for you.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57I am over the moon. I can't be as happy as I am coming out to work.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01And in all honesty, I'm even happier on payday.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07Because it's a lot different from the benefit pay.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Hello, young man. Would you like to try?
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Well, Sandra's back to her cheerful self and in a job that she loves.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16It's good to see that there are organisations
0:18:16 > 0:18:20and people out there like Liz, who could help put your life
0:18:20 > 0:18:22back on track and start enjoying yourself again.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Back now to the scroungers and the spotlight of suspicion
0:18:30 > 0:18:35has fallen on unemployed single mum-of-one, Maria Blyth.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38She claims income support, housing benefit
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and council tax benefit as a single person.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46The trouble is, Croydon Council suspect she's not single at all.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49They've been passed an anonymous tip-off from
0:18:49 > 0:18:51the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Hundreds of benefit cheats are now being shopped in every single week.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Why do you think you get so many anonymous tip-offs, then?
0:18:59 > 0:19:03I think it's just the public are very aware of benefit fraud
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and, of course, it's everybody's taxes that go towards paying
0:19:07 > 0:19:08other people's benefits.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Investigator Graham has already carried out background checks
0:19:13 > 0:19:14into Kevin West.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18He's the father of Maria Blyth's son and Graham suspects
0:19:18 > 0:19:23he's been living with them in the family home, which would mean
0:19:23 > 0:19:26that single mum Maria isn't quite as single as she's making out.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The credit checks that we ran on Kevin,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32we found that he had a bank account
0:19:32 > 0:19:36and this clearly shows that when he opened the account,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38he gave Crowley Crescent as his address.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Banks are quite thorough in their credit checks
0:19:41 > 0:19:43because of money laundering and things like that,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- so they were convinced he lived there.- Absolutely.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Anybody that opens a bank account,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52they would be asking for other documentation as proof of address.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Totally.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Kevin West's not short of documentation
0:19:56 > 0:19:58showing proof of his address.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02After all, it's on his driving licence, car insurance policy
0:20:02 > 0:20:03and job references.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07He doesn't seem worried about revealing it to lenders either.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12He also applied to the same institution for a loan
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and again, gave Crowley Crescent as his address.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21- The loan was approved?- Yes.- Not idiots, are they?- Absolutely not.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- At this point, you've got them bang to rights?- We have.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27There's no argument, but how long have they been getting away with it?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30They've been getting away with it, for some five or six years,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34since 2002 through to 2007,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36when we launched the investigation.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It looks like Maria has been fraudulently claiming
0:20:39 > 0:20:41housing benefit, council tax benefit
0:20:41 > 0:20:46and income support as a single mum for more than five years.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50To prove the case beyond all doubt, Graham decided it was time
0:20:50 > 0:20:54to put Maria Blyth and Kevin West under surveillance.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59Local authorities are allowed to use surveillance to help tackle fraud,
0:20:59 > 0:21:04under something called the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07which was introduced in 2000 to fight crime and terrorism.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10We say surveillance, that is such a powerful word.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14When you suspect something's wrong and you get permission,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16can you and your guys literally go out there
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and secretly film someone day or night, whatever they're doing?
0:21:20 > 0:21:21That's exactly what we do.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25You are right, it's a process that's very regulated so we have
0:21:25 > 0:21:28to think very hard about if that's the appropriate thing to do.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34With all the legal boxes ticked, Graham had the green light to
0:21:34 > 0:21:38start recording Maria Blyth and Kevin West's daily activities.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41He was hoping to get the crucial evidence
0:21:41 > 0:21:46he needed of Kevin West leaving Maria Blyth's property.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It didn't take long to strike gold.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52We conducted surveillance, every morning,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55over a period of three or four weeks.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59We saw both Maria and Kevin leaving the property
0:21:59 > 0:22:05on a regular basis at around about 7 o'clock each morning
0:22:05 > 0:22:09and that established a pattern that he was here
0:22:09 > 0:22:13and eventually we followed them to work and it transpired
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Maria was giving him a lift to work each morning.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Bingo. All this time, Maria had been claiming to live as a single mother,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25yet investigators had seen and documented her driving
0:22:25 > 0:22:28the father of her son to work every day.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Having established that pattern,
0:22:32 > 0:22:37that in effect was the final piece in the jigsaw and proved our case.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40After that, we invited her in for an interview.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Maria Blyth had some explaining to do.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Officers invited her to an interview under caution, where they put the allegation to her
0:22:49 > 0:22:52that she was not actually a single mother.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Throughout the interview,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57she maintained she was a single parent.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00When I put the surveillance evidence to her,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04the excuse that she gave was that Kevin just turned up,
0:23:04 > 0:23:09out of the blue and asked for a lift and she didn't question him
0:23:09 > 0:23:12as to where he had come from or where he wanted to go.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16You'd have to say it's pretty unusual to be living alone
0:23:16 > 0:23:20and yet still leave the house at the same time every morning,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22with the same person and drive them to work.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Investigator Graham wasn't fooled, either.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I've never heard an excuse like it so, no,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30we didn't accept what she said.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Maria's explanation was plainly a pack of lies. But if Kevin
0:23:35 > 0:23:39wasn't living at Crowley Crescent, where did he call home?
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Maria came up with three possible addresses for him.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47She said that he either resided with a friend in Croydon,
0:23:47 > 0:23:52or with two family members in Birmingham.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I asked Birmingham City Council to check those out
0:23:56 > 0:24:01but it transpired that Kevin was not known at either of those addresses.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04With the Birmingham addresses ruled out,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08investigators decided to pay a visit to the friend
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Kevin was supposed to be staying with in Croydon.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15We went round to see this friend,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19who told us that he was not friends with Kevin.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23He only knew Kevin because he drank in the same pub.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26It wasn't just a lie about a supposed friendship
0:24:26 > 0:24:28that Kevin was trying to engineer.
0:24:28 > 0:24:34What we found out was that, days after the interview,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Kevin had approached this person and asked him to lie
0:24:37 > 0:24:43to the investigation and state that Kevin did reside there.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48From that, it was clear that Maria had told Kevin
0:24:48 > 0:24:52that she'd been interviewed and they were under investigation.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53The plot thickens.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58It seems Kevin West had an inkling that fraud investigators
0:24:58 > 0:25:00were on to him and his partner's dodgy dealings
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and that the net was closing in on them.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05His attempts to give himself an alibi had fallen apart
0:25:05 > 0:25:07under proper scrutiny.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Time to speak to the man himself.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12In April 2008,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16officers called Kevin West in for an interview under caution.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20They asked him whether he was living with Maria Blyth and guess what he said?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26He denied totally that he had lived there.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32Indeed, attempted to give the same addresses that he had lived at
0:25:32 > 0:25:35despite the fact that we had already disproved those addresses.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41With the evidence investigators had collected,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43even the most convincing denial just wouldn't wash.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Maria Blyth and Kevin West were both charged with deceiving
0:25:47 > 0:25:51the benefits authorities into believing she was a single parent,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55when in fact they were living together off Kevin West's income.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00They appeared at Croydon Crown Court on 8th July 2011,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04where, in the light of all the evidence against them,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08they finally acknowledged the game was up and pleaded guilty.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13In total, Maria had stolen over £60,000 in benefits
0:26:13 > 0:26:15over a five-year period.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Kevin West was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment
0:26:18 > 0:26:21for his part in the fraud while Maria Blyth got 12 months
0:26:21 > 0:26:24in jail for failing to inform the Department for Work and Pensions
0:26:24 > 0:26:27of her real circumstances.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32They will have to pay back all the money they wrongfully claimed.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36It's another great result for the fraud team at Croydon Council and
0:26:36 > 0:26:40one that sends a clear signal to all would-be benefit thieves out there.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45It would take the average taxpayer working full-time more than
0:26:45 > 0:26:48two years to earn what Blyth and West stole in benefits.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51If you lie to authorities and take money that is not
0:26:51 > 0:26:53rightfully yours, sooner or later,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57the fraud investigators are going to track you down.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd