0:00:02 > 0:00:04In this country, the money we pay as taxes goes to provide
0:00:04 > 0:00:07essential services that we rely upon every day.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10It's also there to give us a safety net
0:00:10 > 0:00:13if things go wrong or life takes an unexpected turn.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17This help comes in the shape of vital support that improves lives.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Without the benefits, I would have had to take her out of nursery.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26Then there are people who see that money as something they deserve, even when they don't.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Those who cheat the system tend to get their comeuppance.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Clearly, she was able to make significant profit.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This is a world of Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Saints And Scroungers highlights the people using and abusing our benefit system.
0:01:04 > 0:01:11On one hand, you have the genuine, on the other, fakers and fraudsters.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16While investigators across the UK battle to bring the bogus claimants to justice,
0:01:16 > 0:01:22the saints try their hardest to get people the help that they desperately need.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Coming up on today's show -
0:01:25 > 0:01:31a fraudster operating across two London boroughs using different identities...
0:01:31 > 0:01:34He defrauded London Borough of Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham
0:01:34 > 0:01:37of £174,000 in housing benefit claims.
0:01:37 > 0:01:43..a scrounger who has been claiming sickness benefits while living the high life...
0:01:43 > 0:01:46They were computers with photographic evidence
0:01:46 > 0:01:51showing details of holidays in Indonesia and the Maldives.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56..and we meet a grandmother struggling to bring up her troubled grandchild
0:01:56 > 0:01:59who finds help she didn't know existed.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03I'm a very proud woman. A very proud woman.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I don't like asking for help, really.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14Hello, I'm Matt Allwright, I'm a TV presenter.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Luckily for you, there's only one of me. Imagine if there wasn't.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Imagine if there were more of me with different names
0:02:22 > 0:02:25but the same face, running around the country.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27It's a scary thought.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Hello.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30Hola!
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Funnily enough, that is exactly what some people do to commit benefit fraud.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They create false identities
0:02:37 > 0:02:41and then use those aliases to claim more benefits than they deserve.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Go on, get lost!
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Accept no substitute.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Meet Rachid Walid, a 41-year-old French national who worked
0:02:54 > 0:03:00part-time as a cleaner in a bakery and lived in a rented flat in Acton.
0:03:00 > 0:03:06His wages were so low that Ealing Council paid for his housing costs and his council tax.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11In total, he received nearly £26,000 in benefits over a 22-month period.
0:03:13 > 0:03:19Everything appeared to be above board until the fraud unit at Ealing Council got a tip-off
0:03:19 > 0:03:23that some foreign nationals might be using fake IDs.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28Manager Sudhi Pathak was in charge of the case.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Islington provided us with some intelligence,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35specifically on the use of fake passports to claim benefits.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39There were a batch of passports that had been stolen from France,
0:03:39 > 0:03:40either from a variety of people
0:03:40 > 0:03:43or an actual batch from the French authorities themselves.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Those were the fake passports in circulation.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51With the prospect of loads of dodgy French passports floating around,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Sudhi immediately searched the benefits database in Ealing
0:03:55 > 0:03:59to flush out any suspicious French claimants.
0:03:59 > 0:04:06We had a fraud profile, broadly they were of Algerian nationality,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09single males,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14in the main, working a low number of hours, part-time hours,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18which made them eligible to apply for housing benefit.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21That was a fraud profile that we were after.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Yep, the profile fitted our part-time cleaner Rachid well.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Well, almost.
0:04:28 > 0:04:34He was a French Algerian but still pinged up on investigators' suspect list.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Rachid Walid came to our attention
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and he had provided a number of documents to us that fitted
0:04:42 > 0:04:47our profile of a single male living in a particular postcode at the time.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Initially, when his claim went through he had to submit his identification,
0:04:52 > 0:04:53he submitted his passport.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56He also had to provide proof of employment
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and he'd provided a letter from an employer and payslips
0:05:00 > 0:05:05and some timesheets to show the hours that he had worked.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Walid had given council officials all of the right paperwork
0:05:10 > 0:05:12but it needed to be checked.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17C'est incroyable! It's unbelievable in French!
0:05:17 > 0:05:24A series of hooky French passports being used to make fraudulent benefit claims.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Time for Ealing Council to channel their energies into investigating.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Sudhi's fraud team now prioritise their investigation
0:05:37 > 0:05:44into the use of fraudulent French passports and they call it "Operation Rapport".
0:05:44 > 0:05:47The lead officer on the team, who has asked for his identity
0:05:47 > 0:05:49to remain anonymous, due to the nature of his job
0:05:49 > 0:05:54had responsibility for investigating Mr Walid amongst others.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00His first job was to confirm whether the passport Walid had used in his claim was genuine.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05The French Embassy or the UK BA will normally tell you
0:06:05 > 0:06:08whether the passport is counterfeit,
0:06:08 > 0:06:15i.e. not on their database at all or if it's been substituted photograph.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19So it's a real person but the passport has been stolen
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and the photo replaced with that person's identity.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Now, as EU nationals, French people are perfectly entitled
0:06:28 > 0:06:32to claim benefits when they reside in the UK.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36But if Walid was, in fact, Algerian, he wouldn't be entitled to anything.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Had he been using a fake passport to get access to benefits?
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Rachid Walid was confirmed as being a counterfeit passport.
0:06:44 > 0:06:51They had no record of that individual on the database from the French Embassy.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54He wasn't French, he was a fake.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59The fraud team was now on the trail of a suspected benefit cheat
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and the lead investigators started looking at all of the documents
0:07:03 > 0:07:06that Walid had provided to support his claim.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10Checks were conducted with the employer he'd declared
0:07:10 > 0:07:13initially in his claim for benefits, which is the Baker's Oven.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19It became apparent that the proof provided for Baker's Oven was fake.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22He'd never worked for them,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25they had never employed anyone by the name of Rachid Walid.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28He'd made up everything about his employer.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31He never worked for Baker's Oven at all,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35he just forged references, timesheets
0:07:35 > 0:07:37and wage slips to qualify for benefits.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40So, who was this mysterious benefit claimant?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42He was using a fake passport
0:07:42 > 0:07:47and stolen and false identity to claim benefits
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and the employer he claimed to be working for had never heard of him.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It was time for the fraud team to get to the bottom of things.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Rachid was now a prime suspect in Operation Rapport.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03The fraud team decided to pay him an early-morning visit
0:08:03 > 0:08:06to find out what he had to say for himself.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09After we'd gathered enough evidence, my investigators
0:08:09 > 0:08:13and the police raided a property on this road.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17We were intending to break into the property if necessary
0:08:17 > 0:08:24in order to attempt to recover the fake passport, if possible.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27It was approximately 6.50 in the morning,
0:08:27 > 0:08:34we alerted the occupant just by knocking, who then opened the door.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39It was then clear from the person who opened the door
0:08:39 > 0:08:44that they resembled the person who was on the photo
0:08:44 > 0:08:47used in the fake passport.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Bingo!
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The investigating team had got their man, or at least they thought they had.
0:08:53 > 0:09:00We asked if we could speak to Rachid Walid and he stated that no, he didn't know him.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03He gave his name as Mr Brahim Lounnas.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08So, he didn't know Walid but was living in a house registered under that name.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10That doesn't sound right.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The officers had not come across the name Lounnas before
0:09:14 > 0:09:19so they decided to make a quick call to find out if the story from Walid was valid.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25We phoned the number that was provided on the claim form for Rachid Walid
0:09:25 > 0:09:28and the phone started ringing in the house.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33So, let's get this straight.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38The bloke lived in Walid's house, had Walid's mobile phone and was a dead ringer for him
0:09:38 > 0:09:43but was insisting he'd never met the man. Clearly, he's having a laugh.
0:09:43 > 0:09:49The investigators now knew that Lounnas or Walid or whatever he was calling himself,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51was not being honest with them.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55But he still wasn't going to make their job easy.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01Mr Lounnas remained silent pretty much throughout the time we were in the property.
0:10:01 > 0:10:08A full search was conducted in which various documents were seized,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13including a number of passport photos of the individual.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19The same photos that were used by...as Rachid Walid in the photo on his passport.
0:10:20 > 0:10:27A number of benefit documents relating to the Rachid Walid at Ealing.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32A passport and benefit papers all in the name of Walid.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Evidence just doesn't get much better than that.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41It was looking like an open and shut case until the officers turned up with even more ID
0:10:41 > 0:10:44with exactly the same picture on it.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50We found an ID for Brahim Lounnas, an Algerian ID.
0:10:50 > 0:10:57An Algerian identity card with his photo attached.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02So, who was this guy? Lounnas or Walid?
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Whoever he was, he'd potentially stolen nearly £26,000 from Ealing Council
0:11:07 > 0:11:11and Sudhi's team had now put together the evidence to prove it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Back of the net.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16The team finally had the man but they were starting to realise
0:11:16 > 0:11:18that the scale of this man's fraud
0:11:18 > 0:11:22was much bigger than they'd ever suspected.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24When the property was raided,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29we found a number of bank statements, details of mobile phones
0:11:29 > 0:11:34but, more interestingly, documents that showed a number of other fake IDs.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and hello to the people we call saints.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Those in our society that help others in genuine need
0:11:47 > 0:11:51but who are sometimes too proud or don't even know how to claim what is rightfully theirs.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00Family life for most of us is the thing that brings and binds us together,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02and in many cases, makes us who we are.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05But when tragedy strikes at the heart of a family,
0:12:05 > 0:12:10it can change your life in a way you never thought possible.
0:12:10 > 0:12:1641-year-old Jackie Somerford was a young grandmother who enjoyed an active social life.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21But her carefree lifestyle came to an abrupt end in 1999
0:12:21 > 0:12:26when Bonnie, her teenage daughter, found out she was having Jackie's second grandchild.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Bonnie had a drugs problem and was in an unstable relationship.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38She didn't think she could cope with having a baby and neither did Social Services.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43I did ask her one day, "Are you pregnant?" She said no.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48And then a few weeks after, I asked her again, I said, "Are you pregnant?"
0:12:48 > 0:12:53She said yeah...cos she was too far gone to have an abortion.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00And the day of the scan, she found out what she was having as well
0:13:00 > 0:13:06and then she came back from the hospital and asked me if I would take the baby on.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10When Bonnie asked her mother for help with her unborn child,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Jackie really didn't feel she had any choice.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19I thought, I'd have to bring this child up
0:13:19 > 0:13:22because I couldn't see him going in care.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28I knew she wasn't in a position, with the partner that she was with, to bring this child up.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33In July 2001, Roger was born.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Jackie was hopeful that Bonnie's chaotic lifestyle would change
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and she would grow into the mother she knew her daughter could be.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44But it was soon clear that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49- Hello, how are you doing, Jackie? - Hello.- Good to see you.- Come in. - Thank you.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54Are you able to talk to Bonnie about this and make sense and talk about responsibilities?
0:13:54 > 0:13:59How do those conversations work?
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Bonnie's attitude was, once he was born, she'd come out that hospital
0:14:03 > 0:14:08and Roger was going to me, and that was it.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Suddenly, you have got a young child to look after, a baby.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14But you have got your own life.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17How did things change for you, practically?
0:14:17 > 0:14:22- I had to give up work.- How does that work out financially for you?
0:14:22 > 0:14:29It didn't at the time because I had to go on state benefit.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Not something you would have chosen to do?
0:14:32 > 0:14:37No, not at all. I was happy working.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45I was just getting my life together, working, I was happy.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48All of a sudden, I had to give it all up.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52- Suddenly, this bombshell. - This little boy's appeared
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and I had to give quite a lot of things up.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Jackie wanted to provide Roger with a secure and stable upbringing
0:15:00 > 0:15:05so she applied for and was given custody of him by the family court.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09She was determined to give her grandson the same positive start in life
0:15:09 > 0:15:11that her own three children had,
0:15:11 > 0:15:17but when Roger became a toddler, Jackie realised this was going to be difficult.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21At the age of three, I noticed the behaviour with him.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I would go up to the nursery to pick him up
0:15:24 > 0:15:31and he would have had an outburst where he would trash the whole playgroup.
0:15:31 > 0:15:37That's books, toys. He would trash about twice, three times a week.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42They got fed up with cleaning it up, so what we used to have to do,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44if he trashed it, we'd have to go up and clean up.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49I just couldn't make out why he was doing it.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55I used to ask the nursery assistant, "Has something gone on here,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59"has he fallen out with a friend or something?"
0:15:59 > 0:16:04They couldn't pinpoint what was going on.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07As he's getting older, though,
0:16:07 > 0:16:12when was the point when you noticed that actually Roger might have
0:16:12 > 0:16:16erm...certain areas of his life
0:16:16 > 0:16:19where it's not quite working out the same as your other three kids?
0:16:19 > 0:16:25He went to Year 1 and he started to really be bad.
0:16:25 > 0:16:32Erm, wouldn't do any work, he would disrupt the class.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Still, clearly, things are wrong. - Yes.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39What were you thinking at this point? "How did I get into this situation?"
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Yes, I did. That's how it was. "Why is it happening to me?"
0:16:43 > 0:16:48After Roger's disruptions at school, he was assessed by a doctor
0:16:48 > 0:16:52and diagnosed with having emotional social behaviour.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57He was taken out of mainstream school and placed in a special needs school.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Jackie was struggling to cope with Roger's violent outbursts
0:17:01 > 0:17:06and just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Bonnie disappeared.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09I got a phone call from a friend of hers
0:17:09 > 0:17:11to say that she had been missing a week.
0:17:11 > 0:17:18So, I told that friend to phone the police and report her missing.
0:17:18 > 0:17:24In that week, she would either had got in contact with me or this friend. But she hadn't.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30No-one had seen nothing of her and that wasn't like Bonnie.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Bonnie was placed on the missing person's list
0:17:33 > 0:17:38and when Jackie heard from the police, nothing could have prepared her for the news
0:17:38 > 0:17:41that she got about her daughter.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I received a phone call from the police
0:17:44 > 0:17:47asking to come over
0:17:47 > 0:17:51and, erm, to see me.
0:17:51 > 0:17:58They came over and they introduced themselves to me as homicide.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03And I just looked at them and they said, "Murder squad."
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I said, "I know who you are."
0:18:05 > 0:18:10At that time, Bonnie was a very serious, serious, missing person.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19I told them she was dead and they asked me how do I know?
0:18:19 > 0:18:23I said because the week she was missing,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27I had a gut feeling that something was wrong but I couldn't tell you...
0:18:27 > 0:18:30to this day, I still can't tell anyone -
0:18:30 > 0:18:33that gut feeling was horrible.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Tragically, her gut feeling was spot-on.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39The police confirmed Bonnie had been killed.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42It was a nightmare for Jackie
0:18:42 > 0:18:44but even as she was grieving for Bonnie,
0:18:44 > 0:18:49she had to stay strong for her grandson, who was just six years old at the time.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53There was Roger that I had to think of.
0:18:53 > 0:19:00I had to try and shield him but when he found out about his mum,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04that did have a big impact on his behaviour again.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Jackie wanted to help Roger as much as possible.
0:19:09 > 0:19:15It was tough for her as a single gran on benefits just to get basic things like clothes.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18He was growing fast, was larger than other kids his age.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24His growth spurt meant Jackie was struggling to cope and keep him in new clothes.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Have you read that one?
0:19:26 > 0:19:29She was at a loss as how to provide more for him
0:19:29 > 0:19:34until she heard about an organisation which might be able to help.
0:19:34 > 0:19:41I heard about Family Fund through another parent at school, who is now a friend of mine.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44She told me what she got for her son off them.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47She said to me, "You want to try."
0:19:47 > 0:19:51I always thought Family Fund was for cancer victims,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56not children with disabilities, like with behavioural problems.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01The fund distributes money on behalf of the government to children with disabilities
0:20:01 > 0:20:06for things that will improve their lives for which they can't afford.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10It takes as much as three times more to raise a child with a disability
0:20:10 > 0:20:12than without a disability.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17So there are those increased costs for families to find.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Even very basic things like providing new clothes and shoes
0:20:20 > 0:20:24can be an added strain on families' finances.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It sounded like just the kind of help Jackie had been dreaming of for Roger.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33She'd been finding caring for him really hard work
0:20:33 > 0:20:37both in terms of his outbursts and trying to provide basic things for him.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40So she applied to the charity for help.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45But would Roger's diagnosis of emotional social behaviour
0:20:45 > 0:20:48be considered a specific enough condition to warrant that help?
0:20:49 > 0:20:52'We have a clear set of guidelines.'
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The grants that people apply for
0:20:54 > 0:20:58have to be very clearly related to the child's disability.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06At last count 5.9 million UK residents of working age
0:21:06 > 0:21:09were claiming benefits, whether it's because of their disability
0:21:09 > 0:21:11to bridge the gap while they're out of work
0:21:11 > 0:21:14or to top up their income to make a living wage.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Now, for the majority, the welfare system provides a crucial safety net
0:21:18 > 0:21:22that they can rely upon in their hour of need.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26But for all those innocent benefit claimants out there,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30there will be a few pocketing money which isn't rightfully theirs.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Whether they've forgotten to declare a change in their circumstances
0:21:34 > 0:21:36or deliberately misled the authorities,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39a billion pounds a year is lost to benefit fraud.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Thankfully, teams of investigators all over the country
0:21:44 > 0:21:48are trawling data on computers, studying claim forms
0:21:48 > 0:21:51or out there on the streets determined to catch the cheats red-handed.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Today's cheat - the scuba-diving scammer.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04A painful back condition can be debilitating and depressing
0:22:04 > 0:22:09when it leaves you unable to fulfil even the most simple of tasks.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12It can ruin your basic quality of life
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and make very hard work for those who are supporting you.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The benefit system is designed to help people
0:22:20 > 0:22:23who happen to find themselves struggling with illness,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26people like Rose Jones who claimed she had a painful
0:22:26 > 0:22:30degenerative spinal condition after suffering a stroke.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Rose Jones first claimed incapacity benefit in June 1994
0:22:35 > 0:22:41because she had a back condition that was such that she was unable to work.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Later she also claimed disability living allowance.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51In September 2008, she submitted another self-assessed disability living allowance claim
0:22:51 > 0:22:55saying that her condition had deteriorated.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58She said she had trouble walking, getting up and down the stairs,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01she had trouble at night when her back locked up
0:23:01 > 0:23:05and she required assistance. She had trouble washing.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07She had trouble cooking
0:23:07 > 0:23:10and she even said she was unable to open a bottle of wine.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Her life sounds like a complete nightmare.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Fortunately she could rely on the benefits to help her out
0:23:17 > 0:23:21and because she was assessed as requiring the highest rate of assistance,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24her husband, Reg, got a carers allowance as well.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28The Department for Work and Pensions had no reason to suspect
0:23:28 > 0:23:33there was anything wrong with Rose's claim until they got a tip-off
0:23:33 > 0:23:35she was a bit more mobile than she was letting on.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44It was in November 2009 that we received an anonymous allegation
0:23:44 > 0:23:48that Rose's claim may not be correct.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51In this instance the suggestion was that Rose was working.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Working with a back like hers?
0:23:56 > 0:23:59She can't even walk up the stairs or open a bottle of Chateau le Cheat
0:23:59 > 0:24:01let alone get out and about.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Rose had been claiming benefits for over 15 years
0:24:05 > 0:24:10so if she'd been working on the sly, how long had this been going on?
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Using access to systems that were available to the department,
0:24:14 > 0:24:19we checked her National Insurance records and we found information
0:24:19 > 0:24:22to show that, yes, she was receiving an income from an employer.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26That sounds serious.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Oh, yes, and the investigators thought so too.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Rose's story of being unable to do the most basic things just didn't ring true
0:24:32 > 0:24:37and the Department for Work and Pensions was on the case.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Having established that Rose was in receipt of income
0:24:42 > 0:24:46from an employer, what we wanted to assure ourselves then
0:24:46 > 0:24:50was that that income was in respect of paid work.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Our inquiries established that Rose had started work in 1996
0:24:57 > 0:25:01whilst claiming her benefits as a care worker in a care home.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Later in 2001,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10she started work as a caretaker in London working 35 hours a week.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13It was at this time that she also took on an additional job
0:25:13 > 0:25:17as a concierge for a further 40 hours a week.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21So, at one stage, she was working up to 75 hours a week.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Those are some pretty long shifts.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Her back must be in better shape than mine
0:25:28 > 0:25:31if she's doing those kind of hours.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Oh, dear. It sounds like it's all about to unravel.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39And it did when the Department for Work and Pensions fraud team
0:25:39 > 0:25:42decided to take the investigation to the next level
0:25:42 > 0:25:44and raid Rose's home with the police.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Rose was not at the address but we were able to search the address
0:25:50 > 0:25:53and it was there that we found scuba-diving equipment
0:25:53 > 0:25:54and skiing equipment.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Of the other evidence that we found at the address,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01there were computers with photographic evidence
0:26:01 > 0:26:05showing details of holidays in Indonesia and the Maldives.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Rose had been doing, what can only be described as, adrenaline sports
0:26:09 > 0:26:14and jetting off around the world at the taxpayers' expense.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Her back was obviously in quite good shape.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18But seeing holiday snaps was one thing,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22proving she was defrauding the benefit system is quite another.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25During the search, we seized information that showed us later
0:26:25 > 0:26:28when we put it together as a timeline,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31that there was a fortnight period in August 1994
0:26:31 > 0:26:35where Rose signed her initial claim to disability living allowance,
0:26:35 > 0:26:40went away on holiday and passed the basic diving qualification.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44There was also a diving watch that later provided evidence to show
0:26:44 > 0:26:48the details of where Rose had been diving and when
0:26:48 > 0:26:52over the whole period of her claim to benefit.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57In court, Rose found it, well, a bit difficult to explain
0:26:57 > 0:27:01why she'd been claiming benefits while working and going on exotic holidays.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05The couple also found it tricky to justify why Reg was getting paid
0:27:05 > 0:27:09for taking care of Rose when she was as clearly as fit as a fiddle.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13After a two-week trial at the crown court,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15they were found guilty of all charges.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Reg was sentenced to 18 months in prison
0:27:19 > 0:27:21and Rose was sentenced to 15 months.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The total amount of incapacity, disability and carers benefits
0:27:26 > 0:27:32fraudulently claimed by the couple was just over £138,000.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37If you want expensive holidays and hobbies,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39you've got to be able to afford them.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43This is one group of Joneses that I wouldn't suggest you keep up with.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51It's time to leave the devious world of the scrounger
0:27:51 > 0:27:54and return to those who are genuinely in need.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Jackie Somerford has been bringing up her grandson Roger
0:28:00 > 0:28:02since he was a baby after her daughter Bonnie
0:28:02 > 0:28:05was considered too unfit to care for him.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Living on benefits, she's been finding it tough to afford
0:28:08 > 0:28:10basic things for him like clothes.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Roger was diagnosed with having emotional social behaviour aged five.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20When him mum Bonnie died, his behaviour got really bad.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Lucy Cope is a close family friend
0:28:22 > 0:28:27and saw first-hand how his behaviour changed after the tragedy.
0:28:27 > 0:28:33He became obviously distressed, first and foremost.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Angry, volatile.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37There's no way to begin to imagine
0:28:37 > 0:28:41what was going through his mind at that time and at that stage.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Last summer, the amount of tears...
0:28:45 > 0:28:47..Jackie shed was like a river.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50She didn't know which way to turn or where to go. It was heartbreaking.
0:28:50 > 0:28:51Heartbreaking.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54I brought some information around.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Desperate to help Roger get back on track
0:28:56 > 0:29:02Jackie approached a government fund that gives grants to children with disabilities.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Roger was growing out of his clothes fast so she needed help,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08she also wanted to get him a computer
0:29:08 > 0:29:11so he could catch up at school and focus on his homework,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14something he often failed to do at home.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Jackie applied to the fund earlier this year
0:29:17 > 0:29:23and she needed some help with some basic items like clothing
0:29:23 > 0:29:26and was looking for help with a computer.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29We prioritise who we do visit.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34We have a number of groups of people that we prioritise.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37So, grandparents is one of those groups
0:29:37 > 0:29:40because we feel they are particularly isolated,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42that they don't have access to information.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45So those are some of the things that we help with.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49We looked at her application form and felt that Jackie needed a visit
0:29:49 > 0:29:53by one of our advisers who would go into her home,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55talk about her application.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00In 2011, the charity handed out grants to over a thousand grandparents
0:30:00 > 0:30:03who were bringing up their grandchildren.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06In recent years, they've seen an upsurge in applications
0:30:06 > 0:30:08from grandmothers like Jackie.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11The big question was,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14would Roger be one of the lucky beneficiaries in 2012?
0:30:17 > 0:30:21We have a clear set of guidelines for assessing disabled
0:30:21 > 0:30:24and seriously ill children at visits.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Those guidelines were used by the adviser at the visit
0:30:28 > 0:30:31to look at Roger's needs on a number of levels.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34So, we've looked at the fact Roger attends a special school,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37the fact he needs a huge amount of supervision
0:30:37 > 0:30:41in terms of his personal care, in washing and dressing and eating.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Jackie was hoping that her request for a computer for Roger
0:30:45 > 0:30:48to help him with his education would be successful.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54I went to visit Jackie in South London to find out what's happened.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Two weeks after me visit, I got a phone call from them
0:30:59 > 0:31:02to say that I'd been accepted...
0:31:03 > 0:31:05..and Roger had got his computer...
0:31:06 > 0:31:09..which I think's good because it'll help him
0:31:09 > 0:31:12learn a little bit more and help him with homework.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15Do you think it's something that'll make a big difference?
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Yeah, a very big difference to him.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Would it have been outside your budget otherwise?
0:31:19 > 0:31:24Yeah, yeah, definitely. I wouldn't have been able to afford it myself.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26How does it make you feel?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29You've been through such an incredible story
0:31:29 > 0:31:33and at the end of this I'd imagine there's part of you
0:31:33 > 0:31:36that just feels that you're kind of up against it,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40you're in it by yourself and you don't want to accept help,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42- does that make sense?- Yeah.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- I mean...- I'm a very proud woman.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51A very proud woman. I don't like asking for help really.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I'd rather save if I have to.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59But if there's people out there to help you,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01well, go for it.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Tell me about Roger now. Where's he at?
0:32:05 > 0:32:07How is he these days? Because he's had some problems.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Yeah, he's had problems.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12At his new school, he's doing really well
0:32:12 > 0:32:16which we thought, again, another change.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20From primary school to secondary is a big change.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24We really thought we was going to have a lot of problems.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28But, no, he's really settled down and knuckled in.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33The small grant provided by the charity has been instrumental
0:32:33 > 0:32:35in helping Roger move on with his life.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40And for fund manager Clare Kassa it's been a successful case of
0:32:40 > 0:32:45helping a particular type of family unit that all too often misses out.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Let's just look at Jackie and Roger.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52He's not had the best time at schools in the past.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56This is a way, presumably, he can educate himself a little bit.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00It means he can have access to those tools and go online
0:33:00 > 0:33:03and improve his ability and skills
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and help him to reach his potential academically.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Jackie seemed not to really know about Family Fund
0:33:11 > 0:33:15and she didn't really feel that she was due anything from you.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Is that something you encounter quite a lot?
0:33:18 > 0:33:20We do encounter it quite a lot with grandparents.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Lots of grandparents don't know that the Family Fund exists
0:33:24 > 0:33:27because they're not linked into the same support networks
0:33:27 > 0:33:29that other parents are.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32And grandparents looking after their grandchildren,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35is that a special area, do you think, that sometimes gets overlooked?
0:33:35 > 0:33:36It certainly is.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Jackie's story is incredible, it really is,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I've never heard anything quite like it.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46You're able to make a judgment there and individually say, "Look,
0:33:46 > 0:33:50"this is someone who needs just a bit of help and we can give that."
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Yeah. Families like Jackie and Roger
0:33:52 > 0:33:55have immense other challenges to face
0:33:55 > 0:34:00because of the child's disability and their access to technology
0:34:00 > 0:34:03and to recreation is much more limited than for other families.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08So we provide those things to give people the choices
0:34:08 > 0:34:12that actually lots of other families have as a right.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15These families don't have those opportunities.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Jackie's been through some dark times with Roger
0:34:18 > 0:34:21but this government-funded organisation has helped
0:34:21 > 0:34:24to make the future look a lot brighter.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Something good has happened out of this with Family Fund.
0:34:29 > 0:34:30Because they've helped my family.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34If they can help my family, they can help other families as well
0:34:34 > 0:34:37and make life better for a lot of people.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43Jackie's having to steer her family through a series of experiences
0:34:43 > 0:34:45which for most of us are unimaginable
0:34:45 > 0:34:51and she's helping her grandson to heal the most painful of scars.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53The help she's receiving may seem small
0:34:53 > 0:34:57but when you're trying to be strong sometimes knowing that there's someone
0:34:57 > 0:35:00looking out for you can make a huge difference.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10OK, everyone, sit up straight, it's scrounger time.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15The fraud team at Ealing Council have been taking part
0:35:15 > 0:35:20in a London-wide investigation into fake French passports being used to claim benefits.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The team discovered that a claimant called Rachid Walid had been
0:35:25 > 0:35:28using a false passport to get housing benefit.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32But when they raided his address, despite looking like Walid,
0:35:32 > 0:35:34he claimed he was someone else.
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Brahim Lounnas -
0:35:37 > 0:35:39his name came to our attention
0:35:39 > 0:35:42when we visited the property
0:35:42 > 0:35:45initially looking for Rashid.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50The door was opened by a gentleman who introduced himself as Brahim Lounnas
0:35:50 > 0:35:57who looked very similar or identical to the photograph of Rachid Walid.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02Brahim Lounnas was a new name to me.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05It wasn't someone... It wasn't a name that we were investigating
0:36:05 > 0:36:07or that we were connected with.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09So, um...
0:36:09 > 0:36:13It was new to us but the decision was taken because of the look
0:36:13 > 0:36:16and the resemblance,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18that we wanted to go inside and look.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And it was a good job that the team did go decide to search his house
0:36:22 > 0:36:25because not only did they find fake documents
0:36:25 > 0:36:28relating to Walid, they found other incriminating evidence.
0:36:30 > 0:36:36As the search continued and the different IDs were being found,
0:36:36 > 0:36:42bank cards, chequebooks, bank statements
0:36:42 > 0:36:46in the names of Abdeslem Farahi,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49and Kerrime Messikh
0:36:49 > 0:36:51and benefit documents for Hammersmith and Fulham
0:36:51 > 0:36:55relating to a Nouredine Messikh.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59This wasn't just a case of one man and his alter ego.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02This man seems to have a different identity
0:37:02 > 0:37:04for every day of the working week.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09The team had uncovered a treasure trove of other fake IDs
0:37:09 > 0:37:12but they still had to find out who was behind the operation.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17The three other fake IDs in the names of Abdeslem Farahi
0:37:17 > 0:37:20and Kerrime Messikh and Nouredine Messikh were being used
0:37:20 > 0:37:25to make benefit claims from neighbouring Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Benefit claims that matched identically the type of claims
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Lounnas had been making in the name Rachid Walid.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38The team in Ealing immediately contacted their colleagues
0:37:38 > 0:37:41in Hammersmith and Fulham about what they'd found.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The investigation became a joint investigation
0:37:46 > 0:37:51between ourselves in Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53They had...
0:37:54 > 0:37:59..three different claims in three different IDs mentioning
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Abdeslem Farahi, Nouredine Messikh and Kerrime Messikh
0:38:03 > 0:38:07at different addresses going back over various time frames.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Quite a large overpayment of benefit had been made
0:38:12 > 0:38:14from Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17During the search of the house, the investigators found
0:38:17 > 0:38:21different folders with the names of the three bogus claimants,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25Abdeslem Farahi, Kerrime Messikh and Nouredine Messikh
0:38:25 > 0:38:28and fake documents relating to their claims
0:38:28 > 0:38:31from Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33They started looking into the other three claims.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35All of them worked short, part-time hours
0:38:35 > 0:38:37in order to qualify for benefits.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40All were doing the same kind of job
0:38:40 > 0:38:43and all their IDs had been stolen, according to the French Embassy.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Some people have skeletons in their closet,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50this guy had whole identities in his cupboard.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Passports, bank cards and statements, correspondence
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and all in different names.
0:38:58 > 0:39:04When the fraud team analysed the employment documents relating to the benefit claims,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07they discovered the names of employers had been made up.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09The whole thing was a pack of lies.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13We passed on all our findings to Hammersmith and Fulham
0:39:13 > 0:39:15and gave them that information
0:39:15 > 0:39:18and unfortunately they'd been defrauded as well.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21He defrauded the London borough of Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham
0:39:21 > 0:39:26of £174,000 in housing benefit claims.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Wow! £174,000.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Serious money.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34£26,000 had been stolen from Ealing Council
0:39:34 > 0:39:38and £148,000 from Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41The team knew the fraudster had rented three properties in Fulham
0:39:41 > 0:39:43and one in Ealing in order to commit the fraud
0:39:43 > 0:39:46but what was he doing with all of them?
0:39:46 > 0:39:50The rents were being paid in the property in Acton, in Cotton Avenue,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54but we don't know if he was residing in the Acton property
0:39:54 > 0:39:59at that stage or in any of the Hammersmith and Fulham properties.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04It seems likely that there may have been, in order to obtain
0:40:04 > 0:40:08financial gain, there may have been subletting taking place
0:40:08 > 0:40:14in some or all of the Hammersmith and Fulham properties.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20So he was getting the properties paid for by the taxpayer
0:40:20 > 0:40:22and then renting them out again.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26For over five years, the fraudster had been a landlord at our expense.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29The estate agents that managed the properties
0:40:29 > 0:40:33where the bogus claimants were registered had to be contacted
0:40:33 > 0:40:35and they turned out to be very helpful.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41I went along to Churchill's letting agents and showed them
0:40:41 > 0:40:43a photo of Brahim Lounnas,
0:40:43 > 0:40:49the person we had identified at the address who had given that name.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53They confirmed that the photo of Brahim Lounnas
0:40:53 > 0:40:57was the same of that for Rachid Walid
0:40:57 > 0:41:02who had taken out a tenancy at that address in Cotton Avenue.
0:41:04 > 0:41:05Result!
0:41:05 > 0:41:08An independent eye witness that could confirm
0:41:08 > 0:41:10Lounnas had been posing as Walid.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13When the team interviewed the other letting agencies
0:41:13 > 0:41:17about the other aliases, Nouredine, Kerrime and Abdeslem,
0:41:17 > 0:41:21they all confirmed they'd been dealing with Lounnas as well.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Once we'd carried out the raid and carried out further checks,
0:41:24 > 0:41:26we came to the conclusion we'd found out that the
0:41:26 > 0:41:30true identity of this person was Lounnas
0:41:30 > 0:41:32and all of the other IDs were false IDs.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Sudhi had to piece the complicated case together
0:41:36 > 0:41:39and his prime suspect wasn't being very helpful.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44After Brahim Lounnas was arrested, he was brought in for questioning
0:41:44 > 0:41:46and interviewed under caution.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48He did identify himself as Brahim Lounnas
0:41:48 > 0:41:52but he refused to comment and didn't answer any of our questions.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55He might have been tight-lipped in the interview room
0:41:55 > 0:42:00but when he was faced with a judge, somehow he found his voice.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05In January 2012, Lounnas appeared before Isleworth Crown Court
0:42:05 > 0:42:09and pleaded guilty to 13 charges.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11He was sentenced to serve three years in prison.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20It was a good result for Ealing fraud team
0:42:20 > 0:42:25and it's a case the council has certainly learned some lessons from.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30In the aftermath of the Lounnas case, we decided to take some proactive action.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33What we've introduced is a document ID checker.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37That allows us to scan passports and to scan driving licences.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40As soon as something fake is discovered, we know what's happening
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and we can contact UKBA and do an investigation ourselves.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Hopefully nothing like this will happen again.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49So, fraudsters, beware.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53You may be good with coming up with new names, different haircuts
0:42:53 > 0:42:57and different faces but when you end up in jail,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00the identity you'll be using will be the real one.
0:43:27 > 0:43:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd