Episode 14 Saints and Scroungers

Here in the UK, we're lucky to have things like transport networks, legal aid and free health care.

I'm grateful that the NHS exists. I have personally benefited from it.

The fact that the benefits are there when things go wrong is vital.

These services are mostly paid for by us, the taxpayer,

and on the whole, we don't mind.

But what happens when someone tries to steal from the system?

I think it's shocking that people lie to get benefits.

-It sickens me and saddens me.

-They're depriving people who need it.

With the economy as tough as it is, it's more important than ever

that those who nick from the system don't get away with it

and those who need help get it.

This is the world of Saints And Scroungers.

Coming up on today's show, the scroungers out to cheat the system -

a pensioner on benefits leading a double life,

ripping off the state for tens of thousands of pounds.

The total overpayment was...

£108,835.31.

And we meet someone urgently in need of a helping hand.

A woman who has brought up her family in the same council house

for 30 years faces having to move

after the introduction of the bedroom tax.

Now I'm unemployed, where am I going to get 25% extra to pay my landlord?

The potential was there that I would lose my home.

Council housing started in the late 19th century

and it was designed to give accommodation

to people on low incomes.

It's a huge success, judging by the fact that in the UK right now,

1.8 million people would love to be in a council house.

With such desperate need for accommodation,

no-one would take that kind of thing for granted, would they?

Would they?

Well, meet 68-year-old Susan Cohen,

a pensioner living in a council house in Barnet

who is getting help from the welfare system.

She seemed like a deserving case for support from the state,

but when fraud investigators in Barnet got some information from the Department for Work and Pensions,

they saw her in a whole new light.

Barnet has the second largest population in London

and it's due to grow by 4.4% over the next five years.

I've come to the borough to find out more about her case.

Clair Green is the Assurance Assistance Director at the council.

-How many council properties do you have in Barnet?

-We've got about 11,500 across the borough.

A pretty high demand for them too.

-So, as soon as one of those becomes available, there will be someone who needs it?

-Yeah, absolutely.

When did you first hear about the name Susan Cohen?

We work very closely with the counter-fraud service at the Department of Work and Pensions,

so we received a referral from them.

What was it about Susan Cohen in particular that brought up a red flag for them?

They had suspicions through looking into verifying a separate claim

that they thought maybe she owned a property that we weren't aware of.

So, to own a property and also be in receipt of benefit for another property,

that doesn't feel right?

No, that's pretty unusual, someone who owns a property who's in receipt of benefit.

The information from the DWP prompted Clair straight into action

and her first job was to dig out Miss Cohen's current claims.

On paper, Miss Cohen presented herself as a pensioner

who was in receipt of income support and pension credits, no other income.

She had a council tenancy.

She had been resident at the address since 1983

and she stated on the form that she had no other interest in any other property.

She didn't own any other properties or she didn't have any other income coming in.

Susan Cohen was receiving nearly £130

in housing and council tax benefit

and £125 in pensioners' credits every week.

After looking at what she had said on claim forms,

the Barnet team delved further into what the DWP had uncovered.

They had alerted Clair's team about Susan Cohen after investigating a tenant at a separate address.

This tenant was claiming incapacity and housing benefit

from a house in Booth Road in Barnet.

During that investigation, fraud officers found two names linked to the ownership of that address -

Cohen and Dwek.

DWP records had a Susan Cohen claiming pension credits

living at the council property in Woodburn Close

and she hadn't declared that she owned any property,

something that would have substantially affected her claim.

Could this be the same person?

The investigators in Barnet got straight on the case,

checking the name Susan Cohen and Susan Dwek on their systems.

And by trawling through years of paperwork dating back to 1983,

the team got a break with some crucial information.

Tony Nash was a lead investigator in the case.

You've got the name Dwek. Where does that name come from?

That is Mrs Cohen's maiden name.

Where did you find that information that linked those two names?

We found that on an application form that had been received in March 2006.

'So, from old benefit applications, the investigators now had evidence

'that the two people - Susan Dwek and Susan Cohen - were in fact the same person.'

So you've got Cohen equals Dwek.

Where do you take it next?

We did some checks using our authorised officer powers

to show bank account details

and there was a tenant that she was being paid benefit to.

It came back in the name of Susan Dwek.

OK, let's get this straight.

Susan's council house was in Woodburn Close

and the private property

they believed she was receiving a rental income from

in the name of Susan Dwek, was in Booth Road.

However, the fraud team noticed that she was also using a third address

in Heriot Road, in Hendon, when writing to her tenant as Susan Dwek.

The team did Land Registry checks on the two private addresses

and the results they got back were surprising.

She owned two properties, both of which she purchased without the need for a mortgage.

So she's bought two houses for cash, it appears,

-and she's also claiming benefit for the council house she's got in her other name, Cohen?

-That's correct.

Does owning a property count you out from getting benefit?

It does make a difference, yes,

and the fact that she didn't have a mortgage on either property

would negate any benefit entitlement.

Two houses and no mortgages.

This woman was hardly a hard-up OAP.

The investigators decided to pay Susan a visit at her council house

in Woodburn Close, in Barnet, to get some answers.

Susan Cohen had actually moved into the council property in 1983

and had been claiming housing and council tax benefit since 1989.

The council property was visited on several occasions and at no time was Mrs Cohen present there.

The property looked empty and was unkempt.

It didn't look as if it had been lived in for some time

and also statements were taken to confirm that Mrs Cohen very rarely came to the property.

Hang on. Susan only VISITED the property?

But she was meant to have been living there for 20-odd years!

When investigators asked the neighbours,

they said nobody lived in the house

and people just came round to collect post.

With thousands of people on the list for a council place in Barnet, here was one that was sat empty.

The information matched what the DWP had told the Barnet team,

so it was time to take stock of what they knew about this OAP.

There were three properties.

The first property was the council property which was left empty.

The second property we believe Susan Cohen was living in herself

and the third property we believe she was renting out.

The investigators suspected that Susan Cohen was living

at the house she owned in Heriot Road, in Hendon,

and it was her property at Booth Road in Barnet where she was getting a rental income.

When we checked our system, the investigation revealed that there was benefit being paid

to the landlord of the tenant, Miss Cohen, under the alias name of Dwek.

The investigators worked out

that Susan had been getting taxpayers' money

from her tenant in Booth Road for nearly a decade!

She could have potentially pocketed as much as £54,000

as a landlord,

while claiming £13,000 in benefits at the same time.

It was time to interview her about her claim and her properties,

but as we'll find out later, Susan thought she had done nothing wrong.

Mrs Cohen gave a pre-prepared statement prior to the interview.

"I deny being dishonest or gaining any financial benefit

"from the properties I purchased in my own name."

For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters that are trying to cheat the system and let's say hello

to those who we call our saints,

who do everything to make sure that people who genuinely require help,

but are too proud or don't know how to help themselves, get what they deserve.

When you're bringing up a family, that tends to be your complete focus

and if you're doing it right, eventually, they'll want to fly the nest and leave you on your own,

but when you've got no-one but yourself to rely on, small things can have a big effect

and, potentially, that small change can leave you jobless and without a home.

Meet 54-year-old Jennifer Carty who brought up her four children

in a three-bedroomed council house in south-east London.

She had always worked and was happy with her job in a nursing home.

But after a reshuffle in management, she found herself where no hard-working person wants to be -

unemployed and on the dole.

Having to sign on caused me a lot of embarrassment.

It wasn't something that I envisaged for my life.

It wasn't a place where I wanted to be.

What I feared most of all was that I wouldn't get a job.

Jennifer had to claim Jobseeker's Allowance to keep her head above water,

but was finding it hard to survive on the £57 a week she was getting.

Then a change in welfare law meant she had to face another massive problem -

having to pay more for her home in rent.

When I first heard about the bedroom tax,

it did cause me concern.

They were telling me that I would have to pay 25%.

Now, I'm unemployed. Where am I going to get 25% extra to pay my landlord?

The so-called bedroom tax affects tenants in social housing

who have large properties and are not occupying all of the bedrooms.

Under the new regulations, their housing benefit is lowered,

so they are charged for having spare rooms.

Jennifer had two spare bedrooms and it meant she'd have to move,

potentially away from south-east London.

I was born in the borough

and it's always been home to me.

The last of Jennifer's children moved out of the family home in 2011,

but they all decided to settle close by, near to where Jennifer's mum also lived.

The house where Jennifer raised her daughters was a very caring place.

She gave them her all. She looked after them the best she could.

And they were happy.

Jennifer had been enjoying her independence after the children had flown the nest,

but keeping the house was now looking almost impossible.

It was just me in this big house

and there I was struggling to pay for the heating and the lighting, the gas and everything.

It soon became apparent that I would need to do something because I just couldn't maintain it.

With the prospect of losing her home and moving out of the area that she loved,

Jennifer's need to find a job became even more urgent.

I would be on the internet. I'd go for interviews.

I'd send out letters.

Half the time you... In fact, the majority of the time, you just wouldn't get a response.

And it would leave me feeling...

It just accelerated that downward spiral.

I'd think, "Well, what is it? What's wrong with me?

"I'm not stupid. I do have qualifications. Why is it I'm not getting a job?"

Imagine how frustrating that must be for Jennifer.

She's looking for a new job. She's got the skills and the experience to get one,

but no matter how hard she tries, nothing is forthcoming.

Instead, she's on benefits and getting more and more depressed.

There were days when I really didn't want to get out of bed, to be honest.

I would cry because I would think to myself, you know, "I haven't got any money,

"I can't actually even feed myself and clothe myself.

"I don't want to be relying on anyone.

"I don't want to be relying on the state."

But there were many times when I'd have to go to my mum to eat because, you know, I just didn't have it.

It was fast turning into an unmanageable situation.

Jennifer needed help and she eventually got some, but from an unlikely source -

her landlords, a non-profit housing association, Family Mosaic.

In April 2013, the Government introduced bedroom tax.

And this resulted in deductions

for people under-occupying their property.

Part of my role was to actually contact the tenants who are actually affected by bedroom tax.

Carol immediately got on the case

and her team were on hand to discuss Jennifer's situation with her.

How many people are there in your household at the moment?

-There's just myself.

-How many bedrooms do you have?

-Well, it's a three/four-bedroom...

-Oh, right.

Obviously, when I initially got it, it was a family house and I had four children,

so now that they've all grown up, it's just left me now.

Jennifer was getting some much-needed advice from the housing association,

but she was also looking for a way to increase her income and get off Jobseeker's Allowance.

Once again, help was at hand.

I had struggled for a long time on my own just trying to get work,

but it wasn't happening,

so one of the people that I turned to was Patricia Evans.

She really was a great source of support for me.

Patricia was part of the housing association team's employment section

that Jennifer was referred to.

When I first met Jennifer, her main issue was that she was affected

by the welfare reform.

Her housing benefit had been reduced by 25%

and she was out of work and needed to get back into work in the quickest time possible.

Two teams at Family Mosaic were now supporting Jennifer,

but would they be able to help her keep her home, or at least find her a new one in the same area?

Carol Barnes Alexander from Family Mosaic suggested that the best way forward for Jennifer would be

to join a home-swapping scheme.

I told Jennifer that mutual exchange was a very good option.

It's the quickest route to be rehoused.

Mutual exchange does make it easier to stay within an area.

You have that choice of areas.

Carol's team was on hand to help Jennifer start the process.

Let me explain about the bedroom tax and how it would affect you.

Obviously, at the moment, with two or more spare rooms, and you've got more than two,

you'll be looking at a 25% cut in your housing benefit.

-Right.

-You've looked on the HomeSwapper website.

-Yeah.

There's lots of places on there. You can specify. What you need to do is find somewhere ideal for you.

Once you do that, we can then help you arrange a mutual exchange with that partner.

Taking part in a mutual exchange meant that not only could she afford to stay in the area

that she knew and loved, but she'd also be freeing up a property for a family that really needed it.

'I decided to go on the internet and see, you know, what was available.'

Jennifer actually registered herself.

She was quite pro-active in that way.

She then came in to Family Mosaic offices,

where we helped to upload photographs on to the HomeSwapper website.

I'd made the decision to move and that side was coming nicely.

But I still needed to sort out the employment side.

Jennifer suspected it was her age preventing her from getting a job.

The Employment Officer at the housing association knows that it's a common problem.

It is normal for people in their 50s to perceive that it is harder

to find work because of their age.

In my own opinion, I think the fact that they are that age

is what they bring to the workplace.

When I initially met with Patricia and spoke with her

and she went through all my skills and what have you,

she began to encourage me.

And from where I was coming from, the depression

and all the anxiety that I felt with being unemployed, she really did lift me.

Patricia was determined to get Jennifer back into the workplace

and thought that Deena Saleh - a specialist employment broker -

could kick-start her prospects.

She's a very bright lady. I was helping her,

contacting her on a weekly basis,

sometimes three or four times a week.

Like a Jack Russell!

Now Jennifer had two people at the association on the case, helping her to find work.

They really helped me because I felt they were passionate about getting me a job.

Deena looked at Jennifer's work history and skills and filtered her job search to find roles

where Jennifer could really excel.

She's very organised. I did feel that she would really do well

as a receptionist somewhere, dealing with people,

using her organisational skills.

And just a few months later Deena spotted a vacancy for Jennifer that ticked all the right boxes.

There was one particular job that I'd seen online and I called them

because a job description is fine, but I really needed to know what sort of person.

Give me some details, you know?

And she did. I said to her at the time, "I've got the exact person

"that would be absolutely amazing for this role."

The job was working as a receptionist in a dentist's surgery

and Deena arranged for Jennifer to go in for an interview.

When Jennifer arrived, it was obvious she was a mature lady.

I was extremely grateful - another mature lady in the practice.

She was calm, collected, well-dressed...

and seemed to fit all the bills that Deena said she would do.

The manager looked at me and said, "You've got the job."

And I thought, "Yes!"

Deena and the employment team had got her back into the workplace

and she no longer had to rely on Jobseeker's Allowance, something she never wanted to have to claim.

The next thing Jennifer needed to do was to sort out her housing.

Jennifer had been looking at potential house swaps for months and had viewed many properties.

Finding a good swap wasn't easy, but finally she found a match.

-These are the documents we'll be going through with yourself and the exchange partner.

-OK.

The first two are the assignment of tenancy and the licence, which both of you sign.

These are documents which basically switch over the two tenancies.

One says, "I'll take over your tenancy, you'll take over mine."

The other says you'll take over responsibility for the premises.

So just days after she got her new job, she also found a one-bedroom flat in south-east London

with which she fell in love.

When I actually walked in to this property, I knew it was the one.

I felt quite comfortable with it.

Luckily, the tenants of the one-bedroom flat were in need of a bigger property

and Jennifer's house just fit the bill.

The lady that's now in my property has two children

and they were all in one room.

It just brought it all back to me.

I was really happy to let her have that place.

Thanks to the help of the two teams at the housing association,

Jennifer is in every way in a much more positive place.

Being able to have my independence back,

not being dependent on the state,

I just feel like everything's come together. It's really good.

Time now to return to the self-seeking world of the scrounger.

The fraud team at Barnet Council

are investigating the case of pensioner Susan Cohen

who's been claiming benefits from her council property since 1989,

despite the fact that she owned private properties in her maiden name, Susan Dwek.

So she's receiving Housing Benefit for her own property and Council Tax benefit.

She's also receiving a rental income in the form of Housing Benefit from another tenant.

At this stage, are you giving her the benefit of the doubt? How does an investigation work?

We carried on the investigation

and asked Mrs Cohen to come in for an interview,

which she failed to do so.

So we organised to arrest her.

She came to the property.

It was a pre-arranged meet with the council officer.

And she turned up.

She was arrested and taken back to Colindale Police Station

and interviewed under caution.

The investigators wanted answers to a number of questions,

but Susan Cohen would only give them one...

Mrs Cohen gave a pre-prepared statement prior to the interview

in which she states at the start,

"I, Susan Cohen, have been informed of the allegations and wish to make a short written statement.

"I deny being dishonest or gaining any financial benefit

"from the properties I have purchased in my own name." She goes on to say

that the properties were held in trust for her daughter.

However, Land Registry checks show that it was clearly in her name

with no other names included on the Land Registry documents.

Susan wasn't being straight with investigators

and the fraud team wasted no time in taking action.

After the interview under caution, the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claim was reassessed,

resulting in an overpayment of £56,000.

In addition, the DWP reassessed their figures

and there was an overpayment of £36,000.

Susan had swindled over 92,000 quid,

a staggering amount of taxpayers' cash.

The team was also now dealing with a potentially massive fraud case

in relation to her council property which had sat empty for ten years with thousands on the waiting list.

If that wasn't bad enough, officers uncovered another possible fraud when they investigated

her rental property in Booth Road.

The property where it was believed Susan Cohen had a tenant

was also visited on several occasions and this showed that the property was empty as well.

Hold on a minute. The house that she was renting out was empty,

but where was Susan's tenant who she was getting taxpayers' money to house?

At this point,

we believed she'd been receiving benefit

in respect of her tenant since 1999,

but in 2008 the tenant had moved out and Miss Cohen, under the name Dwek, had continued to receive benefit.

So Susan had been pocketing her tenant's Housing Benefit money after they moved out.

How long had this been going on?

For the period of time that the property was empty, Miss Cohen had received about £16,500 in benefit

as the landlady under the name Dwek to which she wasn't entitled.

So she had potentially stolen thousands of pounds in addition

and the final cost to the state was huge.

The total overpayment was £108,835.31

So the victims in this case weren't just taxpayers losing cash.

They were families losing out on a council home in Barnet when one was being used to commit fraud.

After a lengthy investigation,

Susan Cohen was finally put on trial on the 13th November, 2012.

At the Crown Court, she was charged with seven counts of benefit fraud.

Susan Cohen attended Wood Green Crown Court and she pleaded guilty.

Despite her early denials, Susan decided to come clean

and she was sentenced to eight months in prison.

Barnet Council took back the council property

that she was supposedly living in while claiming benefits.

Her conviction and custodial sentence

was a great result for the fraud team.

But Barnet Council has made someone very happy

and eventually the fraud team hopes to recover all the taxpayers' money.

So now Cohen's council house has been given to someone that both needs and deserves it.

And for her crimes she's been given a different kind of property.

This one comes with an eight-month lease.