0:00:02 > 0:00:04Saints And Scroungers puts the spotlight on benefit thieves,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08those who ruthlessly steal millions of pounds from the British taxpayer.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11But we also search out the saints, the people who help
0:00:11 > 0:00:15put unclaimed cash into the hands of those that really deserve it.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42Saints And Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves
0:00:42 > 0:00:44who steal millions every year.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47And the crack team of investigators determined to
0:00:47 > 0:00:49scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53And we 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.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00The saints get help and the fraudsters get their comeuppance.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Coming up on today's show.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08How a family stole over £100,000 of benefit money
0:01:08 > 0:01:10to fund their property empire.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- How many are we talking about? - Five properties.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15- They're robbing the system blind? - Yeah.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17And the man whose disability threatened to stop him
0:01:17 > 0:01:20living the life he dreamed of.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I spent years looking for work.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24I felt like I was wasting my time.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Damien suffered a lot of knock-backs, he got depressed,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30he got to the point where he didn't want to get up no more.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33It's like he withdrew.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Families are there to support each other through good times and bad.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Now, to me, that means going out and earning an honest living.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Picking the kids up from school, helping with the elderly parents.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52NOT helping your child to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds
0:01:52 > 0:01:56of benefit money and get rich at the taxpayers' expense.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Meet the Guthries.
0:02:00 > 0:02:0334-year-old Riccardo and his sisters, Bianca and Cosima.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06On the surface a close-knit, loving family
0:02:06 > 0:02:08from Chingford in East London.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15But they are suspected of stealing nearly £112,000
0:02:15 > 0:02:17from local London councils to fund
0:02:17 > 0:02:20a property empire worth £1.5 million.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26North London council Barnet were making checks into all benefit
0:02:26 > 0:02:30claims across the borough and were alerted to some dodgy dealings.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Barnet's head of counter-fraud, Clair Green,
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- has been hot on their trail. - Alarm bells rang
0:02:37 > 0:02:40when we started looking at the benefit claims in more detail.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The same name cropped up at
0:02:43 > 0:02:45different addresses across our borough
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and when we looked there was the same names
0:02:47 > 0:02:50that were cropping up at addresses in other London boroughs as well.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Those names were all those of the Guthrie family
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and although there was no evidence of wrongdoing,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59it was enough to spark an investigation into the family.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I've come to meet Clair,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05to try and get to the bottom of this family of fraudsters.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09You've established benefit's been paid at different addresses,
0:03:09 > 0:03:10across different boroughs.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Nothing wrong with that though, is there?
0:03:12 > 0:03:16No, but what we'd started to do is look more closely at the claims.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19We kept coming across the same names at different addresses,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23three addresses in the Borough of Barnet and two addresses outside.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27So we held a meeting with the local authorities' investigators.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29We started looking more closely at the claims
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and we decided we would take the lead on the investigation
0:03:33 > 0:03:35because we had the same names, same landlords,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38same owners of the property and it wouldn't be possible to be claiming
0:03:38 > 0:03:41benefit concurrently in different boroughs at the same time.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- Was it at that point that alarm bells started to ring?- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48There were at least three other London boroughs
0:03:48 > 0:03:52that were also potentially caught up in this suspected family fraud,
0:03:52 > 0:03:57including Kensington and Chelsea, Waltham Forest and Ealing.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00The main investigator on this complex case
0:04:00 > 0:04:01was Tony Nash.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04It was his first job to discover who owned the properties
0:04:04 > 0:04:07where housing benefit was being claimed.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11He began with a property in Barnet.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16Paul Barratt purchased Willow House in December 2003
0:04:16 > 0:04:18for £170,000.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Further checks showed
0:04:20 > 0:04:23that Paul Barratt was an alias name
0:04:23 > 0:04:25used by Riccardo Guthrie.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28But how did they know it was an alias?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31The police have a national database whereby people
0:04:31 > 0:04:35who have been convicted of crimes will appear on that register.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39In addition, if somebody is using alias names
0:04:39 > 0:04:41they will also appear on this record.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44So their family fraud business began.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Not satisfied with just buying the house through shady means,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51the Guthries hatched a plot to get benefits through the house as well.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55A claim for housing benefit and council tax benefit
0:04:55 > 0:04:58was made at Willow House by somebody called
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Courtney Campbell on the 10th of July 2003.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05And who was Courtney Campbell?
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Courtney Campbell was an ex-partner of Bianca Guthrie
0:05:09 > 0:05:12who is a sister of Riccardo.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16So they've now have Bianca Guthrie's ex-boyfriend involved
0:05:16 > 0:05:18and this was no flash in the pan.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23These housing benefit claims on Willow House went on for four years
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and amounted to over £30,000.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Not to be left out, Cosima Guthrie -
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Bianca and Riccardo's younger sister -
0:05:32 > 0:05:36was paid £17,000 of housing benefit for the same address -
0:05:36 > 0:05:39to which, as a relative, she was not entitled.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43It was quite obvious this was a family job.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Riccardo Guthrie was the owner of the property.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Courtney Campbell was claiming housing benefit.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52His ex-partner, Bianca Guthrie, and also Cosima Guthrie
0:05:52 > 0:05:56were getting the benefit payments into their bank accounts.
0:05:56 > 0:05:592003 was a busy year for the Guthries.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02In September of that year, Riccardo Guthrie
0:06:02 > 0:06:06sold a further property he owned in North London to another member
0:06:06 > 0:06:07of the Guthrie clan.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Keeping true to the family business,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12it wasn't long before Riccardo's sister Bianca,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14held her hand out
0:06:14 > 0:06:17for some benefit help using this same address.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23A benefit claim form was received by Waltham Forest
0:06:23 > 0:06:27in July 2005 from a Bianca Guthrie.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30She was claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit
0:06:30 > 0:06:32in respect of Connington Crescent.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Now, it seems, the Guthries felt like they were on a bit of a roll
0:06:37 > 0:06:40and Riccardo quickly added another property
0:06:40 > 0:06:42to their growing portfolio,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44using another alias.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46This time, Paul Simpson.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50And he wasted no time in putting the house to use.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Two days after Riccardo Guthrie
0:06:52 > 0:06:54purchased Perry Mead Road,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58an application form for housing benefit and council tax benefit
0:06:58 > 0:07:03was received from Cosima Guthrie, who is the sister of Riccardo.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05She stated that her landlord was a Paul Simpson
0:07:05 > 0:07:09and she was not related to her landlord.
0:07:09 > 0:07:15It wasn't true, as Riccardo Guthrie was the owner of Perry Mead Road.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19These multiple identities seem to be catching!
0:07:19 > 0:07:23This family have had more IDs than I have had hot dinners!
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Time for some clarification.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31The kingpin is Riccardo Guthrie. He is the main player in this fraud.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33He has purchased all of the different properties.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- How many are we talking about? - Five different properties.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38- All under his name? - Either under his name,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41or various alias names that he uses.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- And what was he doing with the properties? - Once he got the properties,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49he created a fake tenancy agreements either with a member of his family, normally his sisters,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and in one case an associate.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Whenever he put them in there, were they under their own names, or aliases?
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- No, they were all under aliases as well.- This must have been a nightmare to investigate.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Yes, really complicated.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Just how many aliases were involved?
0:08:07 > 0:08:10They had a number of different aliases.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Riccardo, the main person, he had five different aliases.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19His sister had four different aliases. Another sister had one.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23And how they created those identities, was they used DVLA records
0:08:23 > 0:08:26and they obtained driving licences in their alias names.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29From that driving licence, they used that as an identity document
0:08:29 > 0:08:32to build on and create a completely false identity.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35So they applied for a driving licence in their real name,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37then wrote to DVLA saying, "I've changed my name,"
0:08:37 > 0:08:38get another licence,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42then getting bank accounts and credit cards and things like that,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- building up a credit profile at various addresses. Some of them have four or five?- Yes.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- And then, obviously, they are robbing the system blind.- Yes.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51And the reason they needed
0:08:51 > 0:08:54so many fake identities was to disguise the fact
0:08:54 > 0:08:59that they were claiming housing benefit for so many addresses and from a relative,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03which is illegal unless you have a valid tenancy agreement in place.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Then, just when you might have thought the Guthries
0:09:09 > 0:09:11couldn't get any greedier,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14it seems Bianca Guthrie, using another name, Angel Smith-Walker,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18was after a further fraudulent housing and council tax benefit handout,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22using yet another property in the family's portfolio...
0:09:24 > 0:09:25..Mays Lane in North London.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30The payments for housing benefit in respect of the property behind
0:09:30 > 0:09:33were paid to Riccardo Morgan,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35who's a known alias of Riccardo Guthrie.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41So, that was over £11,000 going into the family pot
0:09:41 > 0:09:44from April 2004 to July 2005.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48But did she even live at this property she was claiming for?
0:09:49 > 0:09:52We're of the opinion that Bianca Guthrie
0:09:52 > 0:09:55never resided at the property behind, and even if she had,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59she would NOT have been entitled to housing benefit
0:09:59 > 0:10:02as she was related to the landlord,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and there was not a commercial agreement in place.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09But there was still another twist to this tale.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Bianca Guthrie actually owned another property
0:10:12 > 0:10:17which she did not declare on the application form.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18If she had declared that,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21she would NOT have been entitled to housing benefit anyway.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25But which house did she actually live in?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28We'll never know.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31The Guthries had clearly been using these properties
0:10:31 > 0:10:34to fund their criminal lifestyle but no-one who owns or lives
0:10:34 > 0:10:39in any of the houses now, has any connection with them.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Housing benefit is obviously there to help those in genuine need,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46to make sure they've a roof over their head.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48But in the last year alone, housing benefit thieves
0:10:48 > 0:10:53stole £290 million from you and me, the taxpayer,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57making it the largest single area of loss within the benefits system.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02And it seems to me that these Guthries
0:11:02 > 0:11:06had been playing fast and loose with our money for long enough.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and hello to the people we call our saints,
0:11:17 > 0:11:18those who are in genuine need of help
0:11:18 > 0:11:22but are too proud or don't know how to claim what's rightfully theirs.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27And the people who point them in the right direction.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Imagine, you've always known what you wanted to do for a job.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35You've studied hard, you've got the right qualifications,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37but no matter what you do,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39you just can't find that elusive job.
0:11:39 > 0:11:4329-year-old Damien Charlery has fought hard all his life
0:11:43 > 0:11:47to overcome the learning difficulties and speech impediment
0:11:47 > 0:11:49he's suffered as a result of being born prematurely.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Damien has a speech and language delayed reaction.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58It can be delayed from anything from five to ten minutes,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00depending on how comfortable he is.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Encouraged by his mother, Damien achieved the qualifications
0:12:04 > 0:12:07he needed to pursue his dream of standing on his own feet
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and carving out a career, but it was tough going.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15I was looking for work for quite a long time.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19I spent years looking for work. I felt I was wasting my time.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I knew he was going to come up against some barriers.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24The barriers he came up against was awful.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- How were you surviving? - I was still living with my mum.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30What were you doing for money?
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Well, like, I had incapacity benefit.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37- Income support and DLA. - Disability living allowance?- Yeah.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42Damien's entitlement to benefit help has never stopped him
0:12:42 > 0:12:45wanting to pay his own way and to build a career to be proud of,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47but the odds seemed stacked against him.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Damien suffered a lot of knock-backs.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54He got depressed, he got to the point where he didn't want to get up no more.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's like he withdrew.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Although Damien was struggling in his professional life,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04his personal life had never looked brighter.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09He had met Michelle on a training course soon after leaving college.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Michelle knew just how much having a job meant to Damien.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17He found it quite hard looking for jobs
0:13:17 > 0:13:19cos there was nothing really there
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and he wasn't like some other people that just wanted to stay at home.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26He really wanted to work, so it was quite stressful, I think, at times.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Finally, just when it seemed his years of struggle
0:13:29 > 0:13:33would count for nothing, in stepped Damien's very own saint.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Meet Ameeta Pathak from Ellingham Employment Services
0:13:37 > 0:13:41whose mission in life is to help people with disabilities find work
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and then continue to support them throughout their career.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48We offer a variety of accredited courses. For example, catering
0:13:48 > 0:13:50or horticulture.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Really, the aim is to tailor-make the courses to suit our clients' needs
0:13:54 > 0:13:57and their skills.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01It was first clear when Damien came here,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06though very motivated and very positive and keen to find work,
0:14:06 > 0:14:12he lacked some of the skills needed to find paid employment.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Although Damien had worked hard
0:14:14 > 0:14:19to gain qualifications at college in animal care and horticulture,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22his voluntary work experience so far hadn't fully equipped him
0:14:22 > 0:14:26for a full-time job. But that was about to change as there was
0:14:26 > 0:14:30a training course just starting that was right up Damien's street.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36At the time, we were running an accredited programme
0:14:36 > 0:14:40which offered Damien an NVQ in horticulture.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Damien was determined to make the most of this new opportunity.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Damien completed the course which ran for a year.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50He did extremely well.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57And he shone because he was so enthusiastic and very motivated.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59And, consequently,
0:14:59 > 0:15:04he was offered a place on a social enterprise that we were setting up.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07This social enterprise was a gardening service
0:15:07 > 0:15:09called Weedbusters,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11employing people with learning disabilities
0:15:11 > 0:15:14to carry out a variety of gardening jobs
0:15:14 > 0:15:16for corporate and private clients.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19What was your job? What sort of things were you doing there?
0:15:19 > 0:15:21We were doing other people's gardens,
0:15:21 > 0:15:26but as well as that, we were also doing contracts, jobs like,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28for example, schools, parks.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33- How much did you enjoy it? - I enjoyed it, it was nice hard work.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Finally, Damien was able to combine the horticultural knowledge he had gained at college
0:15:38 > 0:15:41with the new practical gardening skills he'd learnt on the training course.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Everything from landscaping jobs, to planting borders,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49to pruning hedges, and, most importantly, get paid for it.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54While you worked at Weedbusters, what happened to your benefits?
0:15:54 > 0:15:58I finally came off income support and incapacity benefit.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59How did that feel?
0:15:59 > 0:16:04It felt great, because I don't like having to rely on anything.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08You didn't actually like being on benefits, is that what you are saying?
0:16:08 > 0:16:13Yes, I would have liked something to do, it has been so difficult until now.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Damien's life was finally on track. And to add the icing on the cake,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21he moved in with Michelle.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26However, Michelle lived on the other side of London
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and although he loved his hard-won job,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32travelling up to three hours a day eventually took its toll.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37Damien hung onto his newfound confidence and came to a decision.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42I decided to look for a job closer to home which would suit me better.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Once again, his saint was there to help.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49When Damien spotted the job, we contacted the employer
0:16:49 > 0:16:51and explained although he had a disability,
0:16:51 > 0:16:58he had all the relevant skills to do this job, which was a gardening assistant.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02We explained that we offered support in employment,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04should he be successful.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10- What happened?- I got a first interview to begin with,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and I did well in that interview.
0:17:13 > 0:17:20Then-then-then again, I had a second interview in which I did well,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23then I heard that I had got the job.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25- You did?- Yeah.- Congratulations.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Thank you.- Are you still there? - Yeah.- How long have you been there in total?- I have been there
0:17:30 > 0:17:33since November 2008 - I have been there for two years.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35He's excelled.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38He's done things that I never thought he could do.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43He's stuck when I thought he was going to give up,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46when I thought there was no other way for him to turn,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and I saw him come back from that.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I know he's got great ability.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53And he's a lovely person. A beautiful person.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56It's clear things are on the up for Damien.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59His work ethic and persistence are finally paying off
0:17:59 > 0:18:01and his dreams are coming true.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Now, back to the Guthries and the world of scroungers.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12The fraud team at North London council Barnet are taking the lead
0:18:12 > 0:18:17on an investigation into one of the largest family frauds the council has ever seen.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22They are closing in on the Guthrie clan.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Kingpin Riccardo, his two sisters, Cosima and Bianca
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and Bianca's ex-boyfriend, Courtney Campbell.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32It seems they have been building up
0:18:32 > 0:18:34a property empire across London,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37claiming housing and council tax benefits
0:18:37 > 0:18:40by renting houses to tenants who turned out to be family members
0:18:40 > 0:18:43using made-up names or who didn't exist at all.
0:18:43 > 0:18:50But benefit thieves by any other names would still be known as cheats.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52When they were registered to that house,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54were they actually living there?
0:18:54 > 0:18:58We found no evidence of them living at the properties in most cases.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03These fraudsters were clearly up to their eyes in crooked deals.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06The Guthries created a minefield of misinformation
0:19:06 > 0:19:07and multiple identities
0:19:07 > 0:19:10to try and put investigators off the scent.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14But the evidence is piling up.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It's overwhelming.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19It is over 5,000 pieces of evidence that all had to be logged
0:19:19 > 0:19:24and analysed by our investigators. At times we had the entire team working on this case.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28We have never dealt with anything this big before at Barnet.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31The investigators had their work cut out
0:19:31 > 0:19:34keeping track of the tangled web of properties and names
0:19:34 > 0:19:37that this family gang of fraudsters was using to steal
0:19:37 > 0:19:39thousands of pounds a month in benefits.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47Then the Guthries came up with a new scheme to maximise the money
0:19:47 > 0:19:50they could make from their property empire.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54The Guthrie family purchased properties on the ends of terraces,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59so they could build on the side of these properties.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Riccardo Guthrie purchased the property behind,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07and then obtained planning permission to build on the side of it, which you can see here.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Two houses were clearly better than one
0:20:11 > 0:20:14when it came to squeezing double the money out of the taxpayer.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Over in another family property in North London,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22a new-build had been created on the side of the house.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25And Bianca Guthrie was carrying out her own little scam
0:20:25 > 0:20:30to contribute to the family's ill-gotten gains.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35She was claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit in respect of Connington Crescent.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42Bianca Guthrie claimed nearly £15,000 from the new address at Connington Crescent.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44And guess what?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Not only did it seem that she never lived there,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50but all the money she received to pay her rent
0:20:50 > 0:20:54went into an account that she used under a different name.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02Now, we know that the Guthries had been using these properties to fund their criminal empire.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07But none of the current owners or occupiers of these properties has any connection with them.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12It was time to knock on the Guthries' many front doors.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18In February 2007, we organised raids
0:21:18 > 0:21:20with Metropolitan Police
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and investigators from other local authorities as well.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26We simultaneously visited eight properties early in the morning.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33None of the family members were there on the morning of the searches at the properties.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38We searched the houses and we found a large number of documentary evidence
0:21:38 > 0:21:41that assisted us in our investigation.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46We found benefit application forms, bank statements,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48driving licences, all in the alias names.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53We seized over 5,000 pieces of evidence that day.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Although there wasn't a Guthrie in sight,
0:21:56 > 0:22:01in another twist to this tale, the houses were far from empty.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06- Who was living there?- At some of the addresses, we found that there was genuine tenants in there,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10paying rent to him as well as the housing benefit that he was receiving.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14So, presumably he rented those out to people who were working
0:22:14 > 0:22:16- and paying rent privately.- Yes.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20OK, which is fairly shrewd, because he is keeping under the radar then.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- He has tenancy agreements set up and gets benefit too. - Yes.- A lot of money involved?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Yeah, a lot of money involved.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31Was there no end to the Guthries' greed? Apparently not.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33So the family have
0:22:33 > 0:22:36four grand a month in benefits that is totally fraudulent.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39They have also got private rents coming in on the various houses as well.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43- Were they living a lavish lifestyle? - Yeah, very lavish lifestyle.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46When we visited them on the day of the arrest,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50it was established that they were driving Porsches, Land Rovers,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53they had flashy watches, designer clothes,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55a really good lifestyle, they was living.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59- OK. And we are paying for it! - We are paying for it, yes.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01That does hurt, doesn't it?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Finally, armed with a stack of evidence,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07it was time to bring in the Guthries to interview under caution.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12First up was the kingpin himself, Riccardo Guthrie.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13Who, wouldn't you know it,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17when confronted with his crimes by the interviewing officer,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19suddenly seemed lost for words.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33And if Riccardo thought he had any secrets,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35he was in for a big surprise.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Time to name names.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Have you ever used that name?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Have you ever used that name?
0:24:03 > 0:24:07But it didn't matter how many names Guthrie tried to hide behind.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11There was just no escaping his trail of lies and deceit.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Then it was his sister's turn, Bianca, to be in the hot seat.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Would fraud investigator Tony Nash have any more success
0:24:20 > 0:24:22in getting her to open up about the family business?
0:24:41 > 0:24:44NASH: ..certainly since that date. Is that correct?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The Guthries might have had nothing to say,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53but the facts spoke loud and clear.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Finally, it was time for this fraudster family to go to court.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And if you thought that would be the end of their conniving,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05you'd be wrong.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Once the jury went out to deliberate on their verdict,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12evidence came forward that there potentially had been some jury tampering
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and the judge at the time had to consider this evidence.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16There was an investigation
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and she decided that there was sufficient evidence
0:25:19 > 0:25:21that there had been some jury tampering,
0:25:21 > 0:25:22and she discharged the jury.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27She decided at that point to deliver the verdict herself
0:25:27 > 0:25:30and this has made legal history.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34At last, after five long years of hard investigation,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37the Guthries were about to get a taste
0:25:37 > 0:25:39of a different kind of tenancy.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46All four benefits cheats were found guilty of conspiring with others to defraud.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Riccardo Guthrie was sentenced to three years in prison.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Bianca Guthrie was sentenced to two years.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Cosima Guthrie was given a sentence of 18 months in jail.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03And Courtney Campbell, Bianca's ex-boyfriend,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06was given a 12 month suspended sentence
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and made to serve 160 hours of unpaid work.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15As for the properties, the London Borough of Barnet,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18working with the Metropolitan Police payback unit,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20have started confiscation proceedings
0:26:20 > 0:26:25which hopefully will result in as much money as possible going back into the public purse...
0:26:25 > 0:26:27where it belongs.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29At times, it was completely overwhelming,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32due to the scale and the complexity of the case.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It is very satisfying to know they all got guilty verdicts
0:26:35 > 0:26:36and are behind bars now.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42It has taken five long years for investigators to dismantle
0:26:42 > 0:26:44the Guthrie property empire.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48An empire that was built with taxpayers' money.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51But brick by brick, this family fraud has been exposed
0:26:51 > 0:26:55and now Riccardo, Cosima and Bianca are behind bars...
0:26:55 > 0:26:57where they belong.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd