0:00:02 > 0:00:04In this country, the money we pay in taxes goes to provide
0:00:04 > 0:00:08essential services that we rely on every single day.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12It's a safety net to help, when things go wrong.'
0:00:12 > 0:00:14We had got ourselves into this big dark hole.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17But there are some people who see that money
0:00:17 > 0:00:20as something they deserve, even when they don't.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22There's a sustained and calculated fraud.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And those trying to cheat the system
0:00:24 > 0:00:26tend to get their comeuppance.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29They could potentially face prison, as well.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33This is the world of Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Yes, this is Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59We expose people who think they can make a fast buck
0:00:59 > 0:01:03stealing public money from you and me, the taxpayer.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04We also share the stories
0:01:04 > 0:01:09of society's deserving unsung heroes and heroines.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12The saints get the recognition they deserve
0:01:12 > 0:01:16and, for the fraudsters, well, it's a kind of payback.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Coming up on today's show...
0:01:18 > 0:01:23An NHS healthcare assistant with multiple identities
0:01:23 > 0:01:25divides her time between hospital work,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and claiming at her local Jobcentre.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33We found a number of prescription drugs scattered around the address.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And the desperate mum of an autistic teenager
0:01:36 > 0:01:40seeks help from social services, to help him fly the nest.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45It was the darkest, darkest time of my life...for me,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49um, because, I just thought, "What are we going to do?"
0:01:52 > 0:01:56The National Health Service. What a treasure.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Funded by you and me, the British taxpayer,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04it employs 1.4 million people.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05To pull the wool over the eyes
0:02:05 > 0:02:08of such an amazingly large organisation,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11you really would have to be something else.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Meet Desree, a mother of two
0:02:14 > 0:02:18who was employed as a healthcare assistant at an NHS Hospital.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20After nine years of service,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23she seemed hard working and dedicated to the job.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27She was tasked with caring for patients and assisting
0:02:27 > 0:02:30ward nurses within a number of hospitals
0:02:30 > 0:02:33to care for elderly patients.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37During this time she would've had access to patient records,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and to patient medication.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But insider checks revealed this nurse
0:02:44 > 0:02:46wasn't everything she'd seemed.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49I've come to see Bob Gallacher from The Department for Work and Pensions
0:02:49 > 0:02:52to find out how their systems alerted him
0:02:52 > 0:02:55'to something dodgy, early in 2012.'
0:02:56 > 0:02:57'Bob, tell me about'
0:02:57 > 0:03:00the General Matching Service and what that does for you.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04The General Matching Service is a process where the department
0:03:04 > 0:03:11runs databases against both its own systems and other databases.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15It's basically done on a risk-profiling basis,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19where we gather intelligence and information of known areas
0:03:19 > 0:03:21where there is potential fraud.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23It's a very tight legislation process,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26so it's something that has to go through quite a lot of
0:03:26 > 0:03:30consideration before we actually run a General Matching Service match.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32'The DWP can obtain'
0:03:32 > 0:03:35permission to access employer databases,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38but they only ever do this when intelligence suggests
0:03:38 > 0:03:40there could be a fraud taking place.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43In this case, what did it throw up for you?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The department ran a data-matching exercise
0:03:46 > 0:03:50through NHS employee data and, in this particular case,
0:03:50 > 0:03:56it threw up a discrepancy for a person known as Desree Anderson.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01And Desree Anderson appeared to be claiming both income support
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and also working for the National Health Service.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Their checks suggested specifically
0:04:08 > 0:04:11that this person was working at Homerton Hospital in London.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Definitely something worth delving into a bit further.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16So, we've got this character,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18she's working and claiming benefit at the same time.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20What's the next step?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24We actually approached the hospital, to obtain details
0:04:24 > 0:04:28of the person that was actually employed by them.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30The man for the job was Colin Edwards,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33a senior fraud investigator, working for the NHS.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36He was supplied with a name, Desree Anderson,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39a date of birth and a National Insurance number.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Following receipt of the information
0:04:41 > 0:04:44from The Department for Work and Pensions,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47I set about making enquiries with London hospitals.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52This is when I found a person by the name of Desree Ann Marie Sesay
0:04:52 > 0:04:56with the same date of birth of that I had been provided with.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00So this Desree Anderson had the same date of birth
0:05:00 > 0:05:02as someone called Desree Sesay.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Had this person created another name,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08in order to work for Homerton Hospital, as a healthcare assistant
0:05:08 > 0:05:12AND to be able to claim income support at the same time?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15We are faced with two people and you are trying to demonstrate
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- that they're actually the same person?- Correct.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22However, we looked at the National Insurance number that Desree Sesay
0:05:22 > 0:05:27was using, whilst working as a nursing assistant.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But that National Insurance number actually defaulted
0:05:29 > 0:05:31to a 16-year-old male.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35So there were things clearly that we needed to follow up and investigate.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37That's very interesting.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39That's why we had suspicions, from our point of view.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41That's fishier than fishy.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45At this stage, you've got an employee working,
0:05:45 > 0:05:50you've got someone claiming benefit and you've got a 16-year-old boy,
0:05:50 > 0:05:55miles away, who seems to be giving his National Insurance number?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Or?- Or without his knowledge. We don't know.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00We don't know whether she's acquired it
0:06:00 > 0:06:03or purchased it through ill-gotten means.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06So, the investigation was now dealing with two names.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Bob needed to do further cross checks
0:06:08 > 0:06:11on this second name, Desree Sesay,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14this time looking at associated bank accounts, to check the wages
0:06:14 > 0:06:17being paid in by Homerton Hospital.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20We were able to see that there had been deposits made
0:06:20 > 0:06:24into the same account, from St Thomas's Hospital in London.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29So in effect, she was working for the NHS, doing two jobs,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31and also claiming income support.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36When we checked the identity that she was using in St Thomas Hospital,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39the National Insurance number that she provided them
0:06:39 > 0:06:42defaulted to a male living in Cirencester.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47So the plot was starting to really thicken at this point.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- Hold on, right. So, she's working in two hospitals...- Two hospitals.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53..she's claiming benefits...
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- She's using two National Insurance numbers, in each hospital.- Right.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00And she's also, it would appear, at this stage,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- claiming income support and housing benefit, as well.- Wow.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07She's working and claiming benefits,
0:07:07 > 0:07:12- but she's...even doubling up her workload, as well.- Correct.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14And this simultaneous investigation
0:07:14 > 0:07:17had stepped up a gear at the hospital, too.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Once I had gathered information at one London hospital,
0:07:21 > 0:07:27I was in a position to make enquiries with other London hospitals.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32One such enquiry established that Desree Sesay
0:07:32 > 0:07:36had worked under the name of Fanta Sesay at another London hospital,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38on a temporary basis.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41With three name variations to cross check,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44the branches of the investigation were growing.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Back at The Department for Work and Pensions,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49a check on the address Desree Sesay had provided
0:07:49 > 0:07:53to Homerton Hospital has thrown up yet ANOTHER name.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56We took the details we obtained from the National Health Service
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and fed them into our own database
0:07:58 > 0:08:03and they threw up a match with a Fanta Fofana,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06who was claiming income support for herself,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09her husband and two dependent children
0:08:09 > 0:08:10And, in addition,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14she was also receiving housing benefit from the address.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18So, Colin and Bob were now dealing with four names -
0:08:18 > 0:08:23Desree Anderson, Desree Sesay, Fanta Sesay and Fanta Fofana.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25All had some linking information,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and if, as they suspected, this was actually one person
0:08:29 > 0:08:31both working and claiming benefit,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35they would need to try to put a face to all these names.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40I asked for any information, or any documentation, to show
0:08:40 > 0:08:42a picture of this particular person.
0:08:42 > 0:08:49I was able to find and secure a copy of an identity pass,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52which I was able to match with the information that had been provided,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56in the form of a passport, from The Department for Work and Pensions.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00So, the woman of many names had the same face.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02It was all starting to come together nicely.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07But this hospital drama was about to get even more sinister.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09During a search of the property,
0:09:09 > 0:09:14we found a number of prescription drugs scattered around the address.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19These prescription drugs consisted of tramadol, diazepam -
0:09:19 > 0:09:23all of which have a market value on the streets,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27and cause me, certainly, from the NHS perspective,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30a concern that they were being obtained illegally.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Let's bid farewell to the fraudsters
0:09:37 > 0:09:40and hello to the people we call our saints,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43those in our society that help others desperately in need,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46to claim what they rightfully can.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54As parents, we try and give our kids what they need and, as they grow up,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58we try and adapt and change, so we can give them what they need.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01But what happens if your child has a disability
0:10:01 > 0:10:03and, no matter how hard you try,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06you can't give them the environment they require?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08What happens then?
0:10:08 > 0:10:13Mother-of-five Jo faced this exact problem when, at age 19,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15her severely autistic son James,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18left the comfort of his special needs secondary school,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20and faced the transition to college.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24'We had to talk to him about the next stage, preparing him
0:10:24 > 0:10:27'for leaving school and potentially getting into a special college.'
0:10:27 > 0:10:32James sensed that life as he knew it wouldn't be the same much longer,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and his teenage hormonal changes didn't help much.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38'James' behaviour began to deteriorate,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40'in terms of him becoming
0:10:40 > 0:10:45'more difficult and more challenging and very, very unsettled.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'He found it increasingly difficult to make sense of his environment'
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and when we explained to James he'd be going to college,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55what James didn't understand was that he was not going to college yet.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Jo managed to find James a local special-needs college,
0:10:59 > 0:11:00who offered him a place.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Social services also agreed he could have an escorted bus service
0:11:04 > 0:11:08there and back home again, so things were looking up.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13But, before he got to college, there was one other thing to content with.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18Every parent's worst nightmare... The summer holidays.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19He didn't know if he was going to school,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23he didn't know if he was going to college. He was beyond unsettled.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27He became hugely disruptive at home.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33Even Jo's friends noticed just how bad things had become with James.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39He wasn't that seven-year-old boy where you could just lift up
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and whip away and say, "No, that's not appropriate"
0:11:41 > 0:11:43and remove him from the situation.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46He was a strapping young man and Jo's a little thing.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I just think, physically, it became more exhausting, but also mentally,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55you're absolutely exhausted and you have been doing this for years.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01He could just push me out of the way and, more or less, knock me over,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04if he wanted to. I was desperately anxious.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Where was it all going to end?
0:12:06 > 0:12:10And that desperate feeling of thinking, "I can't go on,"
0:12:10 > 0:12:15was actually quite real, at the time. It was very real.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19I just thought, "I don't think I can do this any more.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22"I don't think I've got the mental capacity to do it any more."
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Jo and James struggled through the summer holidays,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30with Jo also running a home and looking after the other children
0:12:30 > 0:12:32and it was a huge relief when it was time
0:12:32 > 0:12:35for James to start his new college.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36But the feeling wasn't to last.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40It became apparent very quickly
0:12:40 > 0:12:43that James was struggling with the whole thing.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The bus driver complained about his behaviour -
0:12:46 > 0:12:49leaping up and down on the bus - the escort couldn't manage him.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51In college, they said he was very unsettled.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55He would obsess over the college prospectus and refuse to put it down
0:12:55 > 0:12:59and then he would hold on to it all day and not engage in anything else.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02He'd find lunchtimes noisy.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Before long, he was back at home, 24/7,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09and even medication prescribed to calm him wasn't working.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14It was the darkest, darkest time of my life, for me,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19because I just thought, "What are we going to do?"
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And I was begging social services to help me,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25to the point where I said,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29"I feel he needs to live in an environment
0:13:29 > 0:13:33"where he can have his needs met fully, 24/7."
0:13:36 > 0:13:40At Jo's darkest moment, social services did help.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43They agreed that James might be eligible for an alternative
0:13:43 > 0:13:48living arrangement more suitable to his needs and paid for by the state.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And the type of funding she received gave her more freedom
0:13:51 > 0:13:55to choose the type of place he might live.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I was actually told that there was a potential vacancy
0:13:58 > 0:14:01and that I ought to go and have a look.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06And I made the call and I went and had a look and I knew that
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I had found the place I wanted James to live.
0:14:09 > 0:14:15The vacancy was at a shared house, run by an organisation called UBU,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17who provide unique personalised living support
0:14:17 > 0:14:20to adults with learning disabilities.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And the house wasn't far from where the family currently lived.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The service itself is quite capable of
0:14:25 > 0:14:28supporting any individual with a learning disability
0:14:28 > 0:14:31or a particular autistic spectrum disorder.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Jo was in a very bad way.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36When I spoke to her the first time I met her,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39I could see straight away that she had major concerns,
0:14:39 > 0:14:40not only for the future of James,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44but was she putting her son in the right capable hands,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46to enable him to be more independent?
0:14:48 > 0:14:53James would go to the house every day and I would accompany James on
0:14:53 > 0:14:59the first few visits and I would go out and do things with James and the
0:14:59 > 0:15:04support staff, so that they could get to know James in a more natural way.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06And the technique worked wonders.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09James was able to break down those barriers and prove to himself,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13his family and everyone, really, that he was able to
0:15:13 > 0:15:16maintain a permanent residential place.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Should I wind it up for James?
0:15:18 > 0:15:21For all of us, it was a huge achievement.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24For James, as well, it was a huge achievement.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29But the relief and the weight lifted off his mum was just so evident.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33So with Social Services funding,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37not only is James able to live independently, but his quality
0:15:37 > 0:15:39of life has improved dramatically, as well.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43James now, for example, is an avid horse rider.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46He attends horse riding once a week and he is a natural John Wayne.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50You should see him on a horse.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52And James' disability living allowance
0:15:52 > 0:15:55has also helped him have this kind of active lifestyle.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01With the benefits that James receives, he is able to explore
0:16:01 > 0:16:04alternative opportunities. For example, in the past,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08he has done a streetwise course, which enables James to be more aware
0:16:08 > 0:16:10of the dangers of road safety.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13A drama class, where James is able to express himself to no end
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and I might add that he is one of his teacher's
0:16:16 > 0:16:19favourites in the class, because of his enthusiasm
0:16:19 > 0:16:22and because of the effort that he puts into the drama.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28James is so happy and loves the environment so much, to the point
0:16:28 > 0:16:33where he doesn't need me in his life any more and I do find that hard.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38But at the same time, it is a huge source of comfort for me to know
0:16:38 > 0:16:45and understand how content James is, how happy he is and he feels so safe.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48And when you have got special needs,
0:16:48 > 0:16:53feeling safe is the critical thing, above everything else.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56So, James was settled and happy
0:16:56 > 0:16:59but his enabler Alex wasn't about to stop there.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01An opportunity came to my attention,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04as a leaflet distributor round the local area.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07So I seized upon the opportunity, spoke to the relevant people and
0:17:07 > 0:17:12they were more than happy to take on James, who now has an active round.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16With a new independent home, a busy social calendar and a job,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18it's clear that the team have worked hard
0:17:18 > 0:17:21to get James where he is now.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And it was all down to one person, as far as Jo's concerned.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Alex has been absolutely fantastic.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I don't know where I would have been without him.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33And he listened where people haven't listened.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36He said, "What do I have to do to make James settle
0:17:36 > 0:17:38"and become the person he used to be?"
0:17:39 > 0:17:42We decided then that he could come off the medication.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48He doesn't have that any more and what Alex has done is he has actually
0:17:48 > 0:17:52given ME my life back,
0:17:52 > 0:17:58but given James this life that he loves now.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00You know, it's fantastic.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03It's just an achievement in my life that I'm very proud of,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07for James working towards that overall goal of him
0:18:07 > 0:18:11finding independent residential living.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17Nobody will love your child like you do. Ever.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21But if you know that...
0:18:23 > 0:18:30..he is being cared for and nurtured
0:18:30 > 0:18:34and happy, then what more is there?
0:18:44 > 0:18:48But now, back to the shady world of the scrounger.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Early in 2012, the Department for Work and Pensions
0:18:52 > 0:18:57grew suspicious that one woman Desree Anderson had, since 2003,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01been claiming income support and housing benefits.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04And not only that, she was working for two NHS hospitals
0:19:04 > 0:19:07by using many different names.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11We found out that, during that period, she had actually been
0:19:11 > 0:19:15earning between 1,700 and £2,000 per month, as a nursing assistant.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20So you have got somebody with the wrong name, but clues
0:19:20 > 0:19:23linking them to someone who is claiming benefit and that person
0:19:23 > 0:19:27is earning proper money, which means they shouldn't have any benefit.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28Correct.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Photographic evidence, in the form of a passport
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and work ID badge, supported the suspicion that it was, in fact,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38one person, with multiple identities.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42But Home Office information about one of the aliases - Fanta Fofana -
0:19:42 > 0:19:45really started to clear things up.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48By this stage, there's several organisations involved.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53UKBA, the Passport Service, we're working with the NHS investigator
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and we're also working with local authority investigators, as well.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59So we've got quite a team working on the case, at this point
0:19:59 > 0:20:01in the investigation.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03There's lots of you, but are you getting
0:20:03 > 0:20:08a sense of the scale of what this woman is trying to achieve?
0:20:08 > 0:20:12We approached the Home Office and the Home Office were able to give us
0:20:12 > 0:20:18details of the history relating to this lady, Fanta Fofana.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21And we were informed that she had entered the country
0:20:21 > 0:20:28back in 1994, from Sierra Leone, and she had applied for asylum.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31That application was actually turned down.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Fanta's application was rejected because it contained
0:20:38 > 0:20:40inaccuracies, so she married a British citizen,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43allowing her to stay in the country,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46seemingly so she could work and claim benefits.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49But the team needed concrete proof.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51It was time for a stakeout.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56We undertook some surveillance on her leaving work at Homerton Hospital.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00That surveillance led us back to the address
0:21:00 > 0:21:03that she was living at in London and giving to us
0:21:03 > 0:21:05as the address from which she was claiming
0:21:05 > 0:21:08income support and housing benefits.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10The next morning we followed her again,
0:21:10 > 0:21:16driving a car to go into work and she completed a shift, as normal,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18but, interestingly enough,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22the following week, she had been called in
0:21:22 > 0:21:24to Plaistow Jobcentre in London
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and again, we followed her
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and when she attended the interview at the Jobcentre,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33she did so in the name of Fanta Fofana.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38So the stakeout was evidence that a woman by the name of Fanta Fofana
0:21:38 > 0:21:42was sponging off the system, by signing on at her local
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Jobcentre and also working for two hospitals
0:21:46 > 0:21:47using different names.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52The teams now had what they needed to take Fanta to court
0:21:52 > 0:21:56and it was time for the police, the DWP and the NHS fraud team
0:21:56 > 0:21:59to stop this woman dead in her tracks.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01On the 29th of March,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05I met with the Department for Work and Pensions investigators
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and the police at Newham Police Station,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11at around 4.30 in the morning,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14We positioned ourselves with a view of the address.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18As soon as Fanta Fofana left the house for work,
0:22:18 > 0:22:19they closed in.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23We made our way to ensure that exits were blocked
0:22:23 > 0:22:29and that she had no way of leaving the street where she lived.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31We arrested her outside the property,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35the police arresting her and the Department for Work and Pensions
0:22:35 > 0:22:38introducing themselves and me.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40She was being arrested
0:22:40 > 0:22:42for allegations of fraud
0:22:42 > 0:22:47against the NHS and the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51She had been in the UK for a period of nine years,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55working within the NHS and claiming benefits.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59And it certainly appeared that she
0:22:59 > 0:23:02realised that it had, in fact, caught up with her.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07So for Fanta, the fantasy was finally over
0:23:07 > 0:23:10and I'm about to find out exactly what the fraud teams discovered
0:23:10 > 0:23:12when they searched her house.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18There were no signs of any children in the household so, in effect,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22she was claiming benefit stating that she had two children and a husband.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27And when we arrested her, there was no visible evidence or signs that
0:23:27 > 0:23:30there were any children or a husband living with her.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32How did she provide documentation
0:23:32 > 0:23:35that she would have needed to get the benefits for them?
0:23:35 > 0:23:39What she did tell us was that her children were in Africa,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42so she would have provided valid birth certificates for those
0:23:42 > 0:23:44children, but they weren't actually living here with her.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48It appeared Fanta may have been working in the UK
0:23:48 > 0:23:50to send money back home to Sierra Leone,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54particularly given the other items that were also found at the house.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59We found a number of prescription drugs scattered around the address.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04The prescriptions had, in fact, bean dispensed in patient names
0:24:04 > 0:24:10which we later verified as patients of these London hospitals.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Prescription drugs and multiple identities.
0:24:13 > 0:24:19But Fanta Fofana still thought she could get away with a huge crime.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Tell me, what was it like at the interview stage?
0:24:22 > 0:24:26She just confirmed that her original, and maiden name,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28was Fanta Fofana
0:24:28 > 0:24:33and that she got married and her married name was Fanta Sesay.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35And that's all she would say?
0:24:35 > 0:24:38The rest of the interview, she gave no comment.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42That day, Fanta Fofana was suspended from work, with immediate effect,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46but over the nine years spent in the UK, she'd earned
0:24:46 > 0:24:50over £240,000 in wages from the NHS,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54received over £21,000 in income support,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57almost £39,000 in tax credits
0:24:57 > 0:25:04and £121,000 in housing and council tax benefit from Newham Council.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Totalling just over £421,000.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Over 180K of which were benefits she wasn't entitled to.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16And then, when you got to court, what was her reaction?
0:25:16 > 0:25:20The judge sentenced her to 28 months' imprisonment.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24But he also directed that
0:25:24 > 0:25:28she is to be deported, once she has completed her sentence.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33- So she is going back to Sierra Leone?- Back to Sierra Leone.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- It's an extraordinary case.- Yeah.
0:25:35 > 0:25:41The sums of money involved and the lengths to which she has gone,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- I'm hoping it's not typical. - No. I think we have to say that
0:25:45 > 0:25:49the vast majority of people that claim benefit from the Department
0:25:49 > 0:25:51are genuine and honest and,
0:25:51 > 0:25:56fortunately for us, the people who manipulate the system,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58who commit fraud, are very much in a minority.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01In terms of the money that she has taken,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03is any of it traceable or is it all gone?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05We believe it has all gone.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09With NHS systems now updated,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12they say there's no chance of anyone being able to work for them
0:26:12 > 0:26:15by presenting false ID documents.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Within the NHS,
0:26:17 > 0:26:23there has been a drastic change with the way persons are employed
0:26:23 > 0:26:27and the checks that are undertaken, with regards to individuals'
0:26:27 > 0:26:31identities, to make sure that we do identify these problems
0:26:31 > 0:26:36and we do weed out those that are seeking to exploit the NHS.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Hard work, dedication and a comprehensive data-matching system
0:26:41 > 0:26:45meant that, finally, this chameleon was stopped in her tracks.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Fanta Fofana will only be getting one more thing
0:26:48 > 0:26:51out of the British taxpayer - and that is a flight home
0:26:51 > 0:26:53to Sierra Leone, as soon as she finishes her sentence.