0:00:02 > 0:00:05Saints and Scroungers puts the spotlight on benefit thieves,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09people who steal millions of pounds every year from the British taxpayer.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10But we also search out the saints,
0:00:10 > 0:00:16people who help put unclaimed cash into the hands of those who really need it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44Saints and Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal millions every year
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and the crack team of investigators
0:00:46 > 0:00:49determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53We 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 > 0:00:57They are our saints.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01The saints get help and the fraudsters get their comeuppance.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Coming up on today's show:
0:01:04 > 0:01:09A fake asylum seeker who's not only fraudulently claiming benefits at home,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12but also abroad using a dual identity.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14All telephone calls made are recorded
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and we can tell it was the same person.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21And we meet the saints, a family whose lives are back on track
0:01:21 > 0:01:24thanks to getting the right advice.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28We sorted a few things out that they really urgently needed to be helped with.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Where would you be without her?
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Rock bottom.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Every year around 25,000 people apply for asylum in the UK
0:01:41 > 0:01:44and for those who are successful, there's help to start
0:01:44 > 0:01:47a new life here with benefits paid for by the taxpayer.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49So it's galling to say the least
0:01:49 > 0:01:53when someone takes advantage of our generosity by abusing the system.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Meet Amina Muse.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02This 40-year-old lady turned to the UK for help in June 2003,
0:02:02 > 0:02:07asking for asylum for herself and her five kids.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13The horrific story of her family's life back home in Somalia ensured she was granted asylum here in 2004.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18This enabled her to claim a variety of benefits
0:02:18 > 0:02:24from the Department for Work and Pensions, Camden Council, and her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28It's good to know that our welfare state is there
0:02:28 > 0:02:32for people like Amina and her children in their hour of need.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Unfortunately, not everyone our country extends its generosity to
0:02:36 > 0:02:38is quite what they seem.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43Amina may have cheated us all out of more than a quarter of a million.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52Steve Thompson is a fraud investigator for the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57In 2009, Amina's case landed on his desk.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05We received a tip-off anonymously through our benefit fraud hotline.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10The caller told us that not only was she claiming benefits
0:03:10 > 0:03:12under the name of Amina Muse that we knew her as
0:03:12 > 0:03:16but she also had a Swedish identity of Ayan Abdulle,
0:03:16 > 0:03:21that she was also claiming benefits in that name in the United Kingdom,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26but also she was claiming benefits in the name of Abdulle in Sweden for herself and her children.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Whoever this anonymous caller was,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33they weren't shy about dishing the dirt on Amina.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36The accusations kept coming.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38The information we got was quite detailed.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41For example, it gave us
0:03:41 > 0:03:43the different names of the different children.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47It gave us details of bank accounts in Sweden.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51It also gave us national insurance numbers, dates of birth,
0:03:51 > 0:03:56which led us to believe there was a lot in this fraud allegation.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00In fact, the information was so detailed
0:04:00 > 0:04:03it could only have been a family member
0:04:03 > 0:04:06or close friend who was making these accusations against Amina.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11Steve and his team start pulling together everything they can
0:04:11 > 0:04:13relating to Amina Muse's case.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20She didn't arrive on a plane and make a claim for asylum at an airport.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24She walked into an immigration office in London
0:04:24 > 0:04:29and said she had been dropped off in London by an agent from Kenya
0:04:29 > 0:04:35and that she wanted to claim asylum for herself and her children.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39The reason for her claim to asylum in the UK
0:04:39 > 0:04:42doesn't make for easy listening.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The story that she told to the immigration authorities
0:04:46 > 0:04:49was that her niece had been raped in front of her,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51that herself had been gang raped
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and one of her brothers had been killed in front of her.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58It was quite a horrific tale that she told
0:04:58 > 0:05:03and also she feared persecution if she returned to Somalia.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Despite the horrendous but plausible story behind her asylum application,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10it was originally turned down.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13But after an appeal, Amina and her kids
0:05:13 > 0:05:16were allowed to stay in the UK.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21When someone claims asylum and are granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24then they can claim social security benefits.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32The first benefit she claimed was her income support for herself and her children,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35housing benefit to pay her rent,
0:05:35 > 0:05:40child benefit for her children, disability living allowance.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42She made a claim as a carer for her son.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Tax credits for herself and her children. So in all she was receiving six benefits.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Fair enough, if Amina's story's legit.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54But now Steve has the job of working out whether there's any truth
0:05:54 > 0:05:58to the allegations that Amina Muse is using another identity,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01that of Ayan Abdulle,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05with which to claim yet more benefits in both the UK and Sweden.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10The first thing I did was I obtained the claim forms
0:06:10 > 0:06:12in both identities from Muse and Abdulle
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and could see that we had current claims by both identities
0:06:16 > 0:06:18with their children.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So, let's do the maths.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26That's two times six loads of different benefits.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I think you can work out the rest.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33At this stage of the investigation, these are still allegations,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and Ayan Abdulle could be a completely different person.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44Steve gets down to the nitty-gritty, and looks into the background of Abdulle,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48who the anonymous tip-off had said was originally from Sweden.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Ayan Abdulle was able to claim benefits in the United Kingdom
0:06:52 > 0:06:55cos she had Swedish identity documents,
0:06:55 > 0:06:56she's a European citizen,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59so she was able to claim for herself and her children.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03She was able to provide passports for herself
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and her children to satisfy us that she was a Swedish citizen.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11She also had to pass a test to prove that she lived in the United Kingdom,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14which she did, so she was awarded these benefits.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19Once again, like the asylum claim in the name of Amina Muse,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Abdulle's arrival from Sweden could be above board,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26as long as they're two different people.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Steve uses a tried and tested method to discover the truth
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and get a definitive answer on Amina and Abdulle.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Telephone calls made to the Department for Work and Pensions
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs
0:07:40 > 0:07:43are recorded in certain circumstances,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47so I was able to get those telephone calls for both identities
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and listen to them, and we can tell that it was the same person
0:07:50 > 0:07:53making the telephone calls in both different names.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56This is the strongest lead so far
0:07:56 > 0:08:02that the allegations against Amina Muse, AKA Ayan Abdulle, are real.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06But the team knows they will need more evidence to sort this potential scrounger out.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11All the claim forms were sent to a handwriting expert,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14so the Department's claim forms,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16the forms from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19the claim forms from Camden council
0:08:19 > 0:08:22were sent to this handwriting expert who could tell me
0:08:22 > 0:08:27that the handwriting for both sets of identities was written by one person.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32So, phone calls from Muse and Abdulle were made by the same person,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and claim forms submitted by them were completed by one person.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Fishy or what? But that's not all.
0:08:39 > 0:08:45So we obtained bank account details for Mrs Muse and for Abdulle
0:08:45 > 0:08:51and we can tell, for example, Amina Muse was consistently using
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Brecknock post office in Camden,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and then when I checked the same bank accounts for Abdulle,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01I could see on the same day that she was also using the same post office
0:09:01 > 0:09:05and withdrawing her benefits at the same time.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07And, as if that wasn't enough...
0:09:07 > 0:09:09From the bank accounts for Ayan Abdulle,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I can also see that she was buying items
0:09:13 > 0:09:16off these TV stations that sell over air,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and when I contacted them, they could tell me
0:09:19 > 0:09:22that the items purchased in the name of Abdulle
0:09:22 > 0:09:26were actually being delivered to the address of Amina Muse.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It's all pretty damning stuff,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and the bank statements revealed yet another layer
0:09:34 > 0:09:36to this scrounger's scam -
0:09:36 > 0:09:38flights to and from Sweden.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Steve decides it's time this case went international.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters and hello to the people we call our saints,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55those in genuine need of help but are too proud
0:09:55 > 0:09:59or don't know how to claim what is rightfully theirs,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01and the people who point them in the right direction.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07When a loved one dies, it's devastating,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and probably the last thing on your mind at that time
0:10:10 > 0:10:14will be how are you going to pay the next bill?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Dorothea Jordan was left widowed
0:10:16 > 0:10:20with her six children after Andrew, her husband of 27 years,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24passed away from cancer back in 2010.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27As the sole bread-winner of the family, Andrew's untimely death
0:10:27 > 0:10:33threw the family not only into emotional, but also financial chaos.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I've come to Peterborough to meet Dorothea
0:10:35 > 0:10:38to hear about the challenges she's been facing.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Are you Dorothea?- I am, Dom. - Good to meet you.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- Is it OK if I come in? - Yes.- Smashing.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Dorothea lives in the home she and Andrew owned together,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and it's full to the brim with all creatures great and small.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- You have got a full life at the moment, haven't you?- Yes.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- How many chickens you got? - I've got nine chickens.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- How many cats you got?- Six cats. - And how many kids?- Six children.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06So from the moment you get up till you go to bed,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- it's flat out, isn't it? - It certainly is.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Andrew, of course, was the breadwinner.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16- He was the person bringing home the wages, wasn't he?- Yes, he was.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Obviously he was on sick pay for a while from his job.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22But how long was it before money became really tight?
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Money started getting tight within about three months.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- OK. And how tight did it get? - It got really tight.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34It got to the point that we would wonder how were we going to pay for things.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39Even though he was entitled to carer's allowance and DLA, he wasn't claiming it?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41He didn't want to claim.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45He felt too proud to claim it.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Even though he was dying and money was very, very tight?
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Even when money was really tight,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54he said, "We'll try to live on what we've got".
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Eventually, Andrew did put in a claim,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02but he'd left it so long, the family received only minimal benefits
0:12:02 > 0:12:05in the period before his death.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08In desperation, Dorothea's eldest child Alex moved back home
0:12:08 > 0:12:11to try to help financially
0:12:11 > 0:12:15but their only income was this wage and Andrew's pension.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17What compounded the problem
0:12:17 > 0:12:20was that this was a family already in need of help.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Two of the children suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28a behavioural disorder combining hyperactivity
0:12:28 > 0:12:32and poor concentration, known as ADHD for short.
0:12:34 > 0:12:41when Michael started school, were told by his teacher that he had ADHD.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43They thought because Michael had it,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48they decided to test Jamie too to be on the safe side.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52And they tested him and said, "Oh, yes, he's got it too."
0:12:52 > 0:12:56After Andrew's death, Jamie's school contacted Dorothea.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59His behaviour was becoming unmanageable.
0:12:59 > 0:13:00Extremely close to his father,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03the loss had understandably hit Jamie hard.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The school suggested sending him to a new youth club
0:13:06 > 0:13:10that had opened up, run by the Papworth Trust.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14We've been running in Peterborough for just over a year now.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18We started up in August last year to work with young people who
0:13:18 > 0:13:23had disabilities or who had issues around just being a teenager, really.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Linda and the Fun United team encourage a range of activities
0:13:27 > 0:13:29and interests with the teenagers.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Everything from drama to beatboxing and street dancing.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36But Jamie was about to suggest something a little more
0:13:36 > 0:13:39conservative and green fingered.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41'Although I knew that Jamie was'
0:13:41 > 0:13:43a keen gardener, we hadn't discussed it much.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48We talked about his chickens and bits and bobs that he did at home.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53So I thought, how can we do something about that? What is it we can do?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55So I approached the church where we're based
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and they very kindly offered to give us a piece of their own land
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and to let us do pretty much whatever we wanted with it.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05- £9.98.- You can afford another one of them.- Yeah, £10.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- We are going to need another big tub like, aren't we?- Yeah.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12What's been great about that is, not only has Jamie been able to
0:14:12 > 0:14:16use his gardening skills to benefit the other young people in the club,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20but actually he's been teaching the other young people as well
0:14:20 > 0:14:22how to actually do this for themselves.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Where shall I put this?
0:14:23 > 0:14:26He's taught me what type of plants there is,
0:14:26 > 0:14:30how to use the shovels and how many times you need to water them.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31That sort of stuff.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34With a new project and new friends,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38young Jamie's confidence has now gone from strength to strength.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42What's so lovely to see is this young man
0:14:42 > 0:14:44actually taking other people under his wing.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Linda was amazed at his progress
0:14:47 > 0:14:50but was also amazed to hear how bad things had got
0:14:50 > 0:14:52with the family's finances.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Dorothea's a very proud lady and they are a very hard-working family
0:14:59 > 0:15:05and very determined to be independent themselves.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09But it became clear that this was actually becoming quite a struggle
0:15:09 > 0:15:12when she was explaining about having to turn her water off,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17and things like that, that really sent huge red lights flashing for me.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22I suppose the best way I could approach it to her was to say,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25you know, your husband has worked hard all of his life,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and has provided for his family so they hadn't had to claim before.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32But he'd paid tax. Therefore, that family were entitled
0:15:32 > 0:15:35to actually still be supported by their father,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40by claiming the benefits that they need in order to get through each day.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43So I got in touch with the Citizens Advice Bureau, to my colleague
0:15:43 > 0:15:47'over there, who was more than happy to meet with the family.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51'I explained the situation, and he was more than happy to meet with them'
0:15:51 > 0:15:56and offer them advice, and actually sort a few things out for them
0:15:56 > 0:15:58that they were urgently needing to be helped with.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03- What were you entitled to?- The widow benefit, which is a lump sum.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07And a higher rate of the child tax credit.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12Plus, I also get help with the council tax, to be lower down, too.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16- So that's keeping your head above water now, is it?- Yes.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I just wish I'd claimed for those things a bit sooner.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21How much of a help has Linda been?
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Help?
0:16:22 > 0:16:24In every way.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Helping, like, Jamie, the family.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Where would you be without her?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Rock bottom.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37And that was the last thing this hard-working, proud family deserved.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41And thank goodness they're now steadily getting back on their feet.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44'I think it's high time I spoke to the man of the moment, Jamie.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46'And guess where I find him.'
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Hello, Jamie. How you doing? Nice to meet you.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Now who's built this garden? Because I've got to say, it's pretty good!
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I did.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59When I'm older, I want to join a gardening business,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00as an apprentice.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Before you went to this youth club, what was life like?
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Well, I was, um, down in the dumps.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Linda's going to be watching this, so what would you like to say to her?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Thank you for trying to make me laugh,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and thank you for getting me out of the dumps.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22You've been out of the dumps for a while now. You a happy chappie?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- Mm-hm.- Do you want me to clear off and let you get on?- Yeah, please.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Nice to meet you, Jamie, you look after yourself, mate.- Yeah.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33It just goes to show, people with their hearts in the right place,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36combined with benefits being used in the right way,
0:17:36 > 0:17:41can go a long way to changing people's lives for the better.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Now it's back to the world of the scroungers.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53In 2009, DWP investigators received an anonymous tip-off
0:17:53 > 0:17:58about a Somali asylum seeker called Amina Muse,
0:17:58 > 0:18:03who came to live in London in 2004. The caller alleged Amina
0:18:03 > 0:18:07was using two identities to claim multiple benefits,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11for herself and her five children. But that wasn't all.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15She also had a Swedish identity of Ayan Abdulle
0:18:15 > 0:18:19that she was also claiming benefits in that name in the United Kingdom,
0:18:19 > 0:18:25but also, she was claiming benefits in the name of Abdulle in Sweden for herself and the children.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28DWP fraud investigator Steve Thompson
0:18:28 > 0:18:32set about trying to unravel this complex case.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35The evidence against Amina Muse
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and her alter ego Ayan Abdulle
0:18:38 > 0:18:40came thick and fast,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and was pretty damning stuff.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45All telephone calls made are recorded,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and we can tell it was the same person.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52The handwriting for both sets of identities was written by one person,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57the items purchased in the name of Abdulle were actually being delivered to the address of Amina Muse.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03Steve now believes Amina and Abdulle are indeed the same person,
0:19:03 > 0:19:04and the benefit fraud
0:19:04 > 0:19:08could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11He decides the case against her has to go international.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16The accusation that she's still also claiming benefits in Sweden needs to be cleared up.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21Her bank accounts showed that there were some flights to Sweden,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and also, we were able to contact the authorities in Sweden
0:19:25 > 0:19:29that gave us details when they had actually visited her in Sweden,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32so we knew that she was flying between London and Sweden.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35By talking to the Swedish authorities,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40the team discovers Ayan Abdulle is indeed claiming benefits there as well.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44The flights discovered on her UK bank statements matched up to the dates
0:19:44 > 0:19:47when the Swedish benefits officials had visited her
0:19:47 > 0:19:50at her address in their country.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53But the evidence doesn't stop there.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57When my colleague contacted the authorities in Sweden,
0:19:57 > 0:20:02he was able to obtain copies of the Swedish passports for Ayan Abdulle and her children.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05These obviously included photographs,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08which we was able to match with the photographs that were held
0:20:08 > 0:20:11on her asylum applications in the United Kingdom.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15And those photos in the asylum application were,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19you guessed it, made under the name Amina Muse.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22The Swedes also confirmed she now owes them
0:20:22 > 0:20:26around £50,000 in falsely claimed benefits.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Would you Adam and Eve it?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Muse and Abdulle are one and the same person,
0:20:31 > 0:20:36and this scrounger has been stealing from the public purse in two countries at the same time.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38The nerve of it!
0:20:39 > 0:20:41After months of investigation,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44the team was confident they had enough evidence
0:20:44 > 0:20:47to put a stop to this scammer's six-year benefit fraud bonanza.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56On 12 May 2010,
0:20:56 > 0:21:01the DWP and police get ready to raid the London home of Amina Muse.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08We went to Amina Muse's house, with the police,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and we had a search warrant that was issued by the court.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17We went into the house.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21And then we started to search the house for documents.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Steve was looking for hard evidence of Amina's dual identities.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28But what he found first was hardly the home of a refugee
0:21:28 > 0:21:31who had fled her country with nothing.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35The house had five bedrooms, two bathrooms,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38two living rooms, and a kitchen downstairs.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The house was fairly well furnished.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46And there was lots of um, PlayStations, um...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49there was TVs in most of the bedrooms.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53We found a lot of clothes and jewellery for Mrs Muse.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I got the impression, from looking round the house,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03that she was living a lifestyle beyond the means of someone on benefits.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And it didn't take long for the team to find evidence
0:22:09 > 0:22:12of how Amina Muse was able to afford this lifestyle.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Most of the documents were found upstairs in the bedroom.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17They were hidden in plastic bags,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19hidden down the side of the beds.
0:22:19 > 0:22:25We found a number of passports from Sweden for the children,
0:22:25 > 0:22:26in the name of Abdulle.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29We found a Swedish identity card
0:22:29 > 0:22:31in the name of Ayan Abdulle,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35we found documents from Sweden
0:22:35 > 0:22:37from the Social Security office in Sweden,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42and we also found a number of documents for the false claims
0:22:42 > 0:22:47that she'd made in the name of Abdulle in the United Kingdom.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49We found lots of documents
0:22:49 > 0:22:52for Ayan Abdulle in the house for Amina Muse.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58And of course, we wouldn't expect to find those documents unless they were the same person.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Muse was arrested and taken for interview,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04her six-year scam finally at its end.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Despite the overwhelming evidence against her,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09this scrounger stood her ground.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13In her interview under caution,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16she mainly went "No comment" to the questions that we asked her.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20But she did maintain throughout her interview that her true identity
0:23:20 > 0:23:21was Amina Muse.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26She also stated, or alleged, that her husband and another woman
0:23:26 > 0:23:30were trying to plant evidence on her to get her deported.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Yet another lie to add to the list.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Steve and his colleagues had worked out that Amina Muse and her alias Ayan Abdulle
0:23:39 > 0:23:45have cheated the British taxpayer to the tune of £216,000
0:23:45 > 0:23:49in false benefit claims.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54On top of that, there's also approximately £50,000 owed to the Swedish government
0:23:54 > 0:23:59for the claims she made there at the same time as claiming in the UK.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04In January 2011, Muse faced the courts.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Amina Muse was charged with 23 offences
0:24:09 > 0:24:12of making false claims to benefits,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15and she pleaded not guilty to all those charges.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19She was being charged under what the prosecution believed to be
0:24:19 > 0:24:21her real name.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25The name she'd come from Sweden with, Ayan Abdulle.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30During the ten-day trial, she tried everything to shift the blame from herself.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34During the trial, Amine Muse slightly changed her story,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38then she made further false allegations against myself,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42saying that I was also involved in planting documents in her house, with her husband.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Yet another lie to add to a very long list,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48but there was more to come.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Despite the overwhelming evidence against her,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Ayan Abdulle refused to acknowledge this name as her real identity.
0:24:56 > 0:25:02She maintained throughout that she was Amine Muse, a refugee from Somalia.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06It was this side of her defence that angered Steve the most,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08as the prosecution were to prove
0:25:08 > 0:25:12that her story of rape and persecution in Somalia was fake.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18We was able to obtain from Sweden the birth records for Ayan Abdulle,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21which showed she was actually in hospital having a baby
0:25:21 > 0:25:26at the same time that she said she was being raped in Somalia.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34It was quite horrific that she was using these stories,
0:25:34 > 0:25:39these atrocities that allegedly happened to her in Somalia,
0:25:39 > 0:25:45to cynically exploit the asylum system in the United Kingdom to obtain benefits.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Bearing in mind that there are many genuine asylum seekers
0:25:49 > 0:25:54who have genuinely faced these atrocities in their own countries.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58No matter what lie still spilled from Ayan Abdulle's lips,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01her scrounging ways had caught up with her.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06The jury took just two hours to find her guilty
0:26:06 > 0:26:08of all 23 charges against her.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14The judge sentenced Ayan Abdulle in the name of Ayan Abdulle,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16because he accepted, along with the jury,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18that that was her real identity.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20He sent her to jail for four and a half years.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26I was very pleased with that result. That's one of the longest jail sentences
0:26:26 > 0:26:30the Department of Work and Pensions has achieved
0:26:30 > 0:26:31in one of their investigations.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Ayan Abdulle actually stole £261,000.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40This is one of the largest amounts of fraud
0:26:40 > 0:26:43that I've had to deal with in my career.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46This scrounger thought she could play the system.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48She traded on our sympathy and our generosity,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51and the misfortunes of genuine asylum seekers.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54But someone, somewhere, blew the whistle on her.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56And thanks to fraud investigators,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59the long arm of the law brought her down.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd