0:00:02 > 0:00:07We pay our taxes for all sorts of things - roads, education, health,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11but they also go to help those less fortunate few in genuine need of financial support.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14We just could not afford it.
0:00:14 > 0:00:20We also expose the frauds who cheat us, the British taxpayer, out of our hard-earned cash.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23This is just pure greed and nothing else.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Thankfully, the benefit blaggers are being watched.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31If what you've been doing is criminal, you could end up in prison.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34This is Saints...And Scroungers.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Saints And Scroungers looks at how taxpayers' money is both used and abused.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08On one side, you have those in legitimate need, on the other, those just driven by greed.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14Every day in the UK, anti-fraud teams are on a mission to ensure cheats get their comeuppance
0:01:14 > 0:01:20and the saints strive to help those that deserve support to claim what's rightfully theirs.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Coming up on today's show...
0:01:22 > 0:01:26A housing benefit fraudster prepared to go to the ends of the Earth.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30There was a concern that he actually had absconded abroad.
0:01:30 > 0:01:37And I meet a young family in need of support as they work tirelessly to care for their sick daughter.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40It took the stress away from me.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47"There's no place like home." That's what Dorothy said to Toto.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52But imagine if all those comforts you take for granted at home just weren't there
0:01:52 > 0:01:54because you didn't have a home,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59things like sitting on the sofa watching the telly or having a hot bath.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03That's something that Ahmed Mohamedy should know all about.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08About 20 years ago, he got himself into a bit of a rut, poor bloke,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10and was unable to get a job.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14It's a familiar story and can happen to the best of us.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Ahmed turned to the good old British benefit system
0:02:17 > 0:02:20to help him get through those tough times,
0:02:20 > 0:02:25to put a roof over his family's head and give him a few quid a week for the basics.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Ravinder Singh at Ealing Council had no reason to believe
0:02:29 > 0:02:33there was anything out of the ordinary about his claim.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Ahmed Mohamedy declared no income
0:02:35 > 0:02:40and his housing benefit claim was based on the fact he was in receipt of income support.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45Initially, based on the type of accommodation that Ahmed was residing in,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49his housing benefit was approximately £120 per week
0:02:49 > 0:02:54and his income support roughly about £150 a week.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59By 2002, Ahmed Mohamedy had been claiming income support
0:02:59 > 0:03:03or housing and council tax benefits for around ten years
0:03:03 > 0:03:05and here's the interesting bit.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10He then contacted Ealing Council and said he wanted to stop his payments.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16What an honest chap! He took from the kitty when he needed help, but then told them as soon as he didn't.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21People come in and cease their claim for benefit for a variety of reasons.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24They might have come into some money, found a job,
0:03:24 > 0:03:30found a property they didn't have to pay any rent on or go back to live with relatives, etcetera.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35So, one less claimant. That's a good thing, right?
0:03:35 > 0:03:39It means that there's more money for those who really need it.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Hold on then. If this guy's no longer getting benefits,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45why are we still interested in Ahmed?
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Something Ealing Council perhaps need to investigate.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57The London Borough of Ealing received information from an anonymous source,
0:03:57 > 0:04:03stating that this gentleman had in fact a couple of properties in his own name
0:04:03 > 0:04:08and was also the director of a business and had an income.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13You what? Houses and a business? If there was any truth to the tip-off
0:04:13 > 0:04:18and he did have his own house and profitable business whilst he was claiming benefits,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21then he could be in a lot of trouble,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24but it could just be a simple misunderstanding.
0:04:24 > 0:04:30It was up to the fraud investigator, who wishes to remain anonymous, to see if the allegation was true
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and he started by having a closer look at the property.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39You check the veracity of the evidence that's given to you or the allegation
0:04:39 > 0:04:43and the obvious thing to do is to check the Land Registry records
0:04:43 > 0:04:46to see who is the registered owner of the property
0:04:46 > 0:04:50and in this case Mr Mohamedy was the owner of the property.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53OK, but he could have just bought the house.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58He's already been in contact with the council to tell them that he no longer needs his benefits.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03Maybe he recently got left something by a long-lost uncle or got lucky on the pools.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08We did a historic Land Registry check on the property.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13It showed that prior to him owning it in his own name, he jointly owned it with his father.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17And on the basis that he had 50% ownership of the property,
0:05:17 > 0:05:22then the likelihood would be that he wouldn't be entitled to benefit
0:05:22 > 0:05:25from the very first date he claimed.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29In fact, he had part-owned it since 1987,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32five years before he claimed he had no home,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35so it wasn't looking too good for old Ahmed,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38but there could be an honest reason behind all of this
0:05:38 > 0:05:43like someone else owns the house who also just happens to be called Ahmed Mohamedy.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49Stranger things have happened. Once again, the fraud investigator went in search of answers.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53First on the list, contact the mortgage lender for some more details.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58It was the same gentleman, the same Ahmed Mohamedy who was claiming housing benefit
0:05:58 > 0:06:03and once that was established, they provided a copy of the application form
0:06:03 > 0:06:09and that led to other discrepancies that hadn't been declared to the Housing Benefit Department.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15The mortgage application showed that he was a self-employed trader
0:06:15 > 0:06:19and was operating a company called Caspian Services
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and had declared an income of 50 grand a year.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Confident they were now hot on the trail of a benefit cheat,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30the team now had to track down these alleged earnings
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and they didn't have to look very far.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38The mortgage application showed that he had undeclared bank accounts
0:06:38 > 0:06:43and I applied to the National Anti-Fraud Network
0:06:43 > 0:06:47to obtain copies of these bank statements.
0:06:47 > 0:06:54Once these were provided, it showed that he had a considerable income going in and out of the account,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58not in keeping with a man of his declared means.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01"Considerable" - that's a bit of an understatement.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05One account showed a balance of £104,000,
0:07:05 > 0:07:11so clearly he doesn't need to claim a few hundred a week extra from benefits, does he?
0:07:11 > 0:07:15The evidence continued to mount up as the fraud investigator discovered
0:07:15 > 0:07:21that Ahmed Mohamedy is also the registered owner of a flat in the Ealing area, as well as a house,
0:07:21 > 0:07:26but he was adamant that he was living in a rented house at the taxpayer's expense.
0:07:26 > 0:07:32The investigator suspected if Ahmed wasn't living in the properties he owned, he could be renting them out.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Yet more undisclosed income.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
0:07:38 > 0:07:43If the answer is yes, you're thinking it's time they brought him in for questioning.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47The last claim, he was claiming in Lynmouth Gardens. This was a house.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53I dropped off an appointment letter at his address
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and he contacted me to say he couldn't come in on that occasion.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Maybe he was just genuinely busy.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04He sent a fax in response to the "interview under caution" letter
0:08:04 > 0:08:08and said he no longer lived at Lynmouth Gardens
0:08:08 > 0:08:13and that he hadn't done anything wrong and we should go after the real fraudsters.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17But that didn't wash with the fraud investigator.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22He was convinced he was knocking on the door of a real council con man,
0:08:22 > 0:08:28so he wasn't going to give up at the first hurdle and decided to have one more stab at making contact.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32I took another letter round to Mr Mohamedy's old address
0:08:32 > 0:08:37or the address he said he no longer lived at, because even if he wasn't living there,
0:08:37 > 0:08:43there's a chance he would still get hold of the letter as people usually return to collect their mail
0:08:43 > 0:08:47or have it forwarded, but he still didn't come in for the interview.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49So first, it's a load of excuses,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52then he seems to disappear off the radar.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Now convinced that Ahmed was giving them the slip,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59the team checked with the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01They provided them with another address
0:09:01 > 0:09:03where he was also registered as living.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Would they have more luck this time?
0:09:06 > 0:09:09The investigator went to the address in Lee Road
0:09:09 > 0:09:12to deliver the "interview under caution" letter.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16There was no answer, so the letter was posted through the letter box,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19but Mr Mohamedy failed to attend the interview.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23No matter how many letters they sent to Ahmed, to how many different addresses,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28he still hadn't come in to explain himself. There was always some excuse or another.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33The fraud investigators started to suspect he had something to hide.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Further information came in through the anonymous tip,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41indicating that Ahmed was in fact married to his landlady.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Ah, but will it help them get any closer to their man?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48There was a concern that he had absconded abroad.
0:09:51 > 0:09:57For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters and hello to the people we call our saints,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01those in society that help others in genuine need,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05but who are too proud or don't know how to claim what's rightfully theirs.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12We're lucky here in the UK to live in a country
0:10:12 > 0:10:16that is largely free from conflict and political unrest,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21but imagine if you had to flee your own country and move to the other side of the world,
0:10:21 > 0:10:26and then once you arrived, discovered that your child had a sickness so severe
0:10:26 > 0:10:32that it threatened your home, your work and the very foundations of your family.
0:10:32 > 0:10:39'That's the situation that parents-of-two Mythili and Nagul Naguleswaran found themselves in.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43'13 years ago, they were forced to flee their home country of Sri Lanka
0:10:43 > 0:10:45'and were granted asylum in the UK
0:10:45 > 0:10:50'where they've worked hard earning a living and rebuilding a life for themselves,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52'but things took a dramatic turn for the worse
0:10:52 > 0:10:57'when their daughter Kashavi was told she had a serious problem with her spine.'
0:10:57 > 0:11:01The physio looked at it and said she'd got scoliosis.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06We had a hard time from two years onwards,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09on and off hospitals, check-ups.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13'It pushed the family and inevitably their income to the limit
0:11:13 > 0:11:16'and this has left them with financial difficulties.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21'They were in dire need of some help, but didn't know what was out there or where to go.'
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Last four, five years it's been quite a hard life.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28'Unfortunately, Kashavi's just had to have another operation,
0:11:28 > 0:11:34'so I'm heading to the orthopaedic hospital in Stanmore to see how her and her mum are doing.'
0:11:36 > 0:11:38LAUGHTER
0:11:38 > 0:11:41That's a lovely picture.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46So tell me about the first diagnosis you had for Kashavi after she was born.
0:11:46 > 0:11:52The physio said slightly was bending, the spine.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56What effect does it have on her, on the way she moves?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What does it mean for her future?
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Walking ability... is very difficult.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04She's getting worse...
0:12:04 > 0:12:08because the back is bending.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13'This condition means Kashavi needs more help than most kids just getting around
0:12:13 > 0:12:17'and she's also been diagnosed with a genetic disorder
0:12:17 > 0:12:21'which means she has learning difficulties as well.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:25- It's lovely.- I'm going to send it to your dad, so he can have it.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29'13 years ago, things were very different for Mythili and Nagul.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34'They had just moved to the UK and were happily finding their feet.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37'Nagul was working hard running a petrol station
0:12:37 > 0:12:40'while Mythili was an accounts assistant at a local hotel.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Financial-wise, we were able to manage.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48We have a nice house. You know, we have a nice life.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52'Once they were settled and bringing in enough to support a family,
0:12:52 > 0:12:58'Mythili and Nagul started trying for a baby, and the following year, Kashavi was born.'
0:12:58 > 0:13:03- I was so happy when we found out it was a girl.- The first three, four months, it's fine.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09'But when their daughter Kashavi was diagnosed, life changed very quickly.'
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- Looking after Kashavi is a full-time job.- Yeah.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Your job has been put to one side?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Put to one side because my husband told me to.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25We haven't got the choice. I've got an 11-month-old daughter as well. I have to look after them properly.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27How are you coping with this?
0:13:27 > 0:13:31I don't understand how you can go from two full-time jobs...
0:13:31 > 0:13:36Yeah, it's very hard because financially, it's very difficult at the moment.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40'The family was at breaking point.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44'Dad was working all hours to try to cover the shortfall since losing Mum's wage
0:13:44 > 0:13:49'and Kashavi's spine got so bad, she was barely able to walk.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52'They needed things to make her life more comfortable
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'like a more suitable bed and help with her schooling.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59'They'd paid into the system for the past 13 years,
0:13:59 > 0:14:05'but didn't know if they would qualify for any financial help or even how to go about claiming it.
0:14:05 > 0:14:11'It was around this time they were put in contact with Sam Raby at the charity Contact A Family.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14'They support parents who deal with children who have disabilities.'
0:14:14 > 0:14:19I met Mythili, Nagul and Kashavi in early December 2011.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Mythili was quite heavily pregnant with her new child.
0:14:24 > 0:14:31They just wanted a little bit of help in terms of support for Kashavi who was really struggling to walk.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34'Mythili and Nagul weren't claiming anything,
0:14:34 > 0:14:39'so Sam helped Mum and Dad fill out the paperwork to apply for some Disability Living Allowance
0:14:39 > 0:14:41'to help out with Kashavi's growing needs.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44'But there was a problem with their application.'
0:14:44 > 0:14:48We waited for the decision letter to come back a few weeks later.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52They got a rejection letter saying, "We've looked at the evidence
0:14:52 > 0:14:57"and we've decided not to award you with DLA."
0:14:57 > 0:15:02And then I talked it through with them and said you've got a right to appeal.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07You can ask them to look at it again and they said they wanted to go ahead with that.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14Sam said, "Don't worry. Get more letters from the doctor.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18"Tell all the details, exactly what the situation is now."
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Then we apply again.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25They were providing additional care for her and it was worth applying for DLA.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30She'd got a condition that was clear and they'd got medical supporting evidence.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34'Finally, the Department for Work and Pensions agreed with Sam
0:15:34 > 0:15:37'that this was a family in desperate need of support.
0:15:37 > 0:15:43'They started Disability Living Allowance payments for Kashavi which took the strain off Mum and Dad.'
0:15:43 > 0:15:47How would you have coped without Sam, do you think?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51What would have happened if Sam wasn't here?
0:15:51 > 0:15:53I don't know how to handle the...
0:15:53 > 0:15:57how to approach any kind of these things
0:15:57 > 0:16:00because he's doing everything for me.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05'Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last for long.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10'Shortly after receiving the new bed and benefits to help with Kashavi's care,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13'her spine condition got considerably worse.'
0:16:13 > 0:16:16After more investigations, the paediatrician did more testing
0:16:16 > 0:16:22and got worried that there were some issues with her spine after the previous operation.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Very, very quickly, she ended up going into hospital to have some of the rods removed from her spine.
0:16:27 > 0:16:34'With Mum now spending all her time at the hospital with Kashavi and Dad working all hours to make ends meet,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38'they had to send their new baby to live with relatives.'
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Our family is split.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43My younger one is in Sri Lanka now.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48My husband is in Wallington. He has to go to work, then he gets off,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50then he can come here to see us.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54We are staying long-term here, nearly two months now.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58You're looking and thinking, "How do I make this..."
0:16:58 > 0:17:01We have to pay the rent and everything for the house
0:17:01 > 0:17:04and here we are staying in a hospital.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10'Splitting the family would be unthinkable for most people and yet there's even more bad news.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15'When Kashavi leaves hospital, she can't go back to live with Mum and Dad
0:17:15 > 0:17:19'as the family's first-floor flat isn't suitable for her needs.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23'I'm off to meet Sam to find out what he's been doing to help.'
0:17:26 > 0:17:30So Kashavi won't be able to handle stairs or any kind of...?
0:17:30 > 0:17:34No. She can't put any weight on her feet, let alone walking,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37so being up a flight of steps
0:17:37 > 0:17:39to a first-floor flat,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43there's no parking outside even if they could get there.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46'Sam is helping the family apply for housing benefit,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50'so they can get a more suitable property for Kashavi.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:53There isn't a family I've met who's more needy.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Then he said, "Don't worry, you will get the place near to your house."
0:17:59 > 0:18:03It took the stress away from me.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Sam did lots of things for us.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10I didn't need to worry about so many things when I was in the hospital.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15'After a few months of phone calls and form-filling, there is some fantastic news.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19'Sam has helped them get a ground-floor flat with better access for Kashavi,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23'so when she's ready, she can leave hospital and return to her family.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26'And the other good news is that because of Kashavi's progress,
0:18:26 > 0:18:32'their other daughter Raghavi will be coming home from Sri Lanka to live with Mum and Dad again,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34'once they've settled in their new place.'
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It feels like time is going very slow.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41I know there's not many days, but still I can't wait.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Happy to see her. Yeah, I've missed her a lot.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Now back to our scroungers
0:18:54 > 0:18:58where Ealing Council's spotlight of suspicion is burning brightly
0:18:58 > 0:19:00on family man Ahmed Mohamedy
0:19:00 > 0:19:05who they suspect falsely claimed a decade of housing and council tax benefit payments
0:19:05 > 0:19:08that could be in excess of £50,000.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11There was an allegation that he owned properties
0:19:11 > 0:19:16which hadn't been declared to the Housing Benefit Department
0:19:16 > 0:19:22and as such, if he did own them, that would have a bearing on his entitlement to housing benefit.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26But the big problem was that he was nowhere to be seen.
0:19:26 > 0:19:33As weeks and months went by, the investigator sent out letters to many addresses Ahmed was linked to,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35but the trail eventually went cold.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39However, there was someone else back on the scene.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Further information came in through the anonymous tip,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46indicating that Ahmed was in fact married to his landlady,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48they had a joint bank account,
0:19:48 > 0:19:54which further warranted our interest in investigating this gentleman.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Not only had the investigators discovered evidence suggesting he owned two properties
0:19:59 > 0:20:03and had a business with a healthy income,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07they believed the suspected con man was in cahoots with his other half.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12More than ever, they needed to question Ahmed to see what he had to say,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16but the investigators were none the wiser as to where he'd gone
0:20:16 > 0:20:19and what they heard on the grapevine wasn't great.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24There was a concern that Ahmed did have a property abroad.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27We picked this up from some intelligence we received
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and he in fact did come off the benefit register
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and one of the addresses we had was in Portugal,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39so because of his failure to reply to any of our letters or contact,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43there was a concern that he actually had absconded abroad.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48You know, in real world investigations, that is sometimes the way it goes.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53It's not like Morse or Sherlock where nine times out of ten they get their man in the end.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59However, this case was far from over and there was one more twist in the tail.
0:20:59 > 0:21:06In 2009, Ahmed contacted the council in respect of he wanted to pay some of the money back.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Right, so why would he want to do that?
0:21:09 > 0:21:13That's a good question, why he got back in contact,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15but he did and, as a result,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18the investigation recommenced.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22So let me get this straight.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27He claims benefits for ten years, but fails to mention the two properties he owns
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and the big stash of cash in the bank.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Then after someone dobs him in, he does a runner for six years.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Now he's back, out of the blue, offering to pay all the money back.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42It's not a bad story after all, is it?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44So it seems he wasn't living abroad.
0:21:44 > 0:21:50Now all the team had to do was get Ahmed to come in for an interview which is simple, right?
0:21:50 > 0:21:55After Mohamedy contacted the council, we established an address for him
0:21:55 > 0:22:00and it was decided to send an investigation officer to the address
0:22:00 > 0:22:03to invite him in for a formal interview under caution
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and the investigator went to the address
0:22:06 > 0:22:10to hand-deliver the "interview under caution" letter.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13When I got there, there were tradesmen in the building
0:22:13 > 0:22:18and I believe there was one flat upstairs where I was told the lady lived
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and the bottom flat was empty.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26It came as like deja vu. Exactly the same had happened some six years earlier.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Yes, it's the same old Ealing comedy once again,
0:22:30 > 0:22:35but this time, the fraud investigator was determined not to let him slip away.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Just when he was getting ready to up the stakes,
0:22:38 > 0:22:44he got a call from Ahmed's solicitor, saying his client was finally willing to come in to talk.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Would he be ready to confess?
0:22:46 > 0:22:50When Mr Mohamedy came in for an interview,
0:22:50 > 0:22:57he made various excuses in respect of failing to declare the properties he owned.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01He said that the properties were in his name only
0:23:01 > 0:23:05and that he didn't have any real benefit from them.
0:23:05 > 0:23:11Not an excuse that was going to wash with the investigators as he legally owned the house, end of.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16What did he have to say about the business he ran with a £50,000-a-year profit?
0:23:16 > 0:23:23He said that he set up Caspian Services with the intention of having a business,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27but it never got off the ground and it was essentially a failed venture,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32so he saw no relevance in declaring it because he wasn't earning any money from it.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Having waited almost six years for this,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39the fraud investigator wasn't going to let him off the hook.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Ahmed may have put on his best poker face,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47but this just made the Ealing investigators more determined to prove their man guilty.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51They decided to haul his wife Lubica Danovska in for questioning.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55After all, the whistle-blower had said she was posing as his landlady
0:23:55 > 0:23:58for the bogus housing benefit claims.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02She said she was not aware that her husband had claimed housing benefit
0:24:02 > 0:24:06or that he was even getting income support.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10OK, but she could just be playing out the "innocent wifey" routine,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13or at least that's what the fraud investigator thought,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17so he revisited the benefit paperwork and something leapt out at him.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21I noticed that some of the writing on the documentation
0:24:21 > 0:24:24that was submitted to Ealing Council
0:24:24 > 0:24:29that was supposedly from the landlord looked the same as her hand-writing
0:24:29 > 0:24:35that she provided when she signed the notice that we give to people who we interview.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39If true and Ahmed Mohamedy's wife had falsified paperwork
0:24:39 > 0:24:43in order for her husband to claim money he wasn't entitled to,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47then this could be the key piece of evidence to get the case to court.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Although the writing looked like it was penned by the same hand,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53first, they had to prove it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Cue forensic examiner Kamaljit Mesuria.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59The basic principle of hand-writing comparisons
0:24:59 > 0:25:03is that no two people write in the same away.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09Firstly, I looked at all of the submitted letters which purported to be from the landlord.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14I compared them all. I looked at all the characters, the character construction,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17the range of variation between the writings.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I then did the same process with Lubica Danovska's reference writing.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26The case had been dragging on for over six years and the stakes were now higher than ever.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30The team waited anxiously for the result.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34My final conclusion on this case was that there was conclusive support
0:25:34 > 0:25:37that Danovska was the author of the letters.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41The investigators were convinced the game was up for the deceitful duo.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44When the case finally wound up in court,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Ahmed Mohamedy had other ideas.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Initially, Ahmed said he would plead guilty to certain counts
0:25:51 > 0:25:55if we dropped the charges against his wife.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01We felt no, we had this evidence against both of them
0:26:01 > 0:26:06and we said we would pursue both of them and we would not take his plea into account.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And that's exactly what they did.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13So, for pocketing around 57 grand in housing and council tax benefits,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18Ahmed Mohamedy pleaded guilty to six counts of giving false information
0:26:18 > 0:26:23and was handed a 12-month suspended sentence and 200 hours' community service.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28His wife Lubica Danovska pleaded guilty to three counts of producing false documents
0:26:28 > 0:26:34and was given a seven-month suspended sentence and 150 hours' community service.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40Mohamedy has already paid back £40,000 and has to pay the rest back this year.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43There was no reason for Ahmed to claim.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48He had enough money, enough property and didn't need the taxpayer to help pay him any rent at all.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Ahmed and his wife may well have avoided a spell of porridge,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58but the long arm of the law was eventually bound to flex its muscles
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and that means they have to change their ways
0:27:01 > 0:27:05and pay back what they owe to the taxpayer, every penny of it.