0:00:02 > 0:00:05In this country, the money we pay as taxes goes to provide
0:00:05 > 0:00:08essential services that we rely upon every day and
0:00:08 > 0:00:11it's also there to give us a safety net if things go wrong
0:00:11 > 0:00:14or life takes an unexpected turn.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19This help comes in the shape of vital support that improves lives.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Without the benefits, I'd have had to have taken him out of nursery.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25But then there are some people who see that money as something
0:00:25 > 0:00:26they deserve, even when they don't.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29And those who cheat the system tend to get their comeuppance.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Clearly, she was able to make significant profit.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36This is the world of Saints & Scroungers.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Saints & Scroungers highlights people using
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and abusing our benefits system.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10On one hand, you have the genuine, on the other, fakers and fraudsters.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15While investigators across the UK battle to bring the bogus claimants
0:01:15 > 0:01:19to justice, the Saints try their hardest to get people
0:01:19 > 0:01:20the help that they desperately need.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Coming up on today's show...
0:01:26 > 0:01:29a fraudster operating across two London boroughs
0:01:29 > 0:01:31using different identities.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33He'd defrauded the London borough of Ealing and
0:01:33 > 0:01:39Hammersmith and Fulham of £174,000 in housing benefit claims.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43And we meet a grandmother struggling to bring up her troubled grandchild,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45who finds help she didn't know existed.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49I'm a very proud woman.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53A very proud woman. I don't like asking for help, really.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Hello, I'm Matt Allwright. I'm a TV presenter.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Luckily for you, there's only one of me,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07but imagine if there wasn't - imagine if there were more of me
0:02:07 > 0:02:10with different names, but the same face
0:02:10 > 0:02:12running around all over the country.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It's a scary thought.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16Hello.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Hola!
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Funnily enough, that's exactly what some people do
0:02:20 > 0:02:21to commit benefit fraud.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23They create false identities
0:02:23 > 0:02:28and then use those aliases to claim more benefits than they deserve.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Go on, get lost.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Accept no substitute!
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Meet Rachid Walid, a 41-year-old French national who worked
0:02:41 > 0:02:43part-time as a cleaner in a bakery and
0:02:43 > 0:02:46lived in a rented flat in Acton.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50His wages were so low that Ealing Council paid for his
0:02:50 > 0:02:53housing costs and his council tax.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58In total, he received nearly £26,000 in benefits over a 22-month period.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Everything appeared to be above board,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06until the Fraud Unit at Ealing Council got a tip-off that
0:03:06 > 0:03:09some foreign nationals might be using fake IDs.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Manager Sudhi Pathak was in charge of the case.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Islington provided us
0:03:16 > 0:03:19with some intelligence specifically on fake...
0:03:19 > 0:03:22the use of fake passports to claim benefits.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26There were a batch of passports that had been stolen from France,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29either from a variety of people or an actual batch from
0:03:29 > 0:03:31the French authorities themselves,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34so those were the fake passports that are in circulation.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40With the prospect of loads of dodgy French passports floating around,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Sudhi immediately searched the benefits database in Ealing
0:03:42 > 0:03:45to flush out any suspicious French claimants.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50We had a fraud profile.
0:03:50 > 0:03:56Broadly, they were of Algerian nationality, uh, single males,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and, in the main, working a low number of hours, part-time hours,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05which, in effect, made them eligible to, um, apply for housing benefit.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08That was the fraud profile that we were after.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Yep, the profile fitted our part-time cleaner Rachid.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Well, almost...
0:04:15 > 0:04:16He was a French Algerian,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20but still pinged up on investigators' suspect list.
0:04:21 > 0:04:28Well, Rachid Walid, um, came to our attention and he had provided
0:04:28 > 0:04:31a number of documents to us that had fitted that profile of being
0:04:31 > 0:04:34a single male living in a particular postcode at the time.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36In order to have the claim go through, initially
0:04:36 > 0:04:40he had to submit his identification, which... He submitted his passport.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43He also had to provide proof of employment
0:04:43 > 0:04:48and he'd provided a letter from an employer and also payslips.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Um, and some timesheets to show the hours that he had worked.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Walid had given council officials all of the right paperwork,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59but it needed to be checked.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03C'est incroyable!
0:05:03 > 0:05:05"It's unbelievable," in French.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08A series of hooky French passports being used
0:05:08 > 0:05:11to make fraudulent benefit claims.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Time for Ealing Council to channel their energies into investigating.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Sudhi's Fraud Team now prioritised their investigation into the
0:05:25 > 0:05:31use of fraudulent French passports and they call it Operation Rapport.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34The lead officer on the team, who's asked for his identity
0:05:34 > 0:05:36to remain anonymous due to the nature of his job,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41had responsibility for investigating Mr Walid, amongst others.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43His first job was to confirm
0:05:43 > 0:05:47whether the passport Walid had used in his claim was genuine.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52The French Embassy or the UKBA,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55will normally tell you whether the passport is counterfeit,
0:05:55 > 0:06:01i.e., not on their database at all, or if it's been, um,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04substituted photograph, so it's a real person,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09but the passport's been stolen and the photo replaced...
0:06:09 > 0:06:11with that person's identity.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Now, as EU nationals,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17French people are perfectly entitled to claim benefits
0:06:17 > 0:06:21when they reside in the UK, but if Walid was in fact Algerian,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23he wouldn't be entitled to anything.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27So, had he been using a fake passport to get access to benefits?
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Rachid Walid was confirmed as being a counterfeit passport,
0:06:31 > 0:06:36so they had no record of that individual on their database...
0:06:36 > 0:06:38um, from the French Embassy.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40'He wasn't French.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42'He was a fake!'
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The Fraud Team was now on the trail of a suspected benefit cheat
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and the lead investigator started looking at all of the documents
0:06:49 > 0:06:53that Walid had provided to support his claim.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Checks were conducted with the employer he'd declared initially
0:06:56 > 0:07:00in his claim for benefit, which was the Baker's Oven.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04And it became apparent that the proof provided for the Baker's Oven
0:07:04 > 0:07:06was false, was fake.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08He'd never worked for the Baker's Oven,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12they'd never employed anyone by the name of Rachid Walid.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16He'd made up everything about his employer.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20He never worked for Baker's Oven at all, he'd just forged
0:07:20 > 0:07:25references, timesheets and wage slips to qualify for benefits.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28So, who was this mysterious benefit claimant?
0:07:28 > 0:07:33He was using a fake passport and stolen and false identity
0:07:33 > 0:07:34to claim benefits
0:07:34 > 0:07:38and the employer he claimed to be working for had never heard of him.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42It was time for the Fraud Team to get to the bottom of things.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Rachid was now a prime suspect in Operation Rapport and the Fraud Team
0:07:47 > 0:07:50decided to pay him an early morning visit to find out what
0:07:50 > 0:07:51he had to say for himself.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57'After we'd gathered enough evidence,'
0:07:57 > 0:08:01my investigators and the police raided the property on this road.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03We were intending to break into the property
0:08:03 > 0:08:07if necessary in order to, um, attempt to recover...
0:08:07 > 0:08:11the fake passport, if possible.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15I think it was approximately ten to seven in the morning, um...
0:08:17 > 0:08:18We actually alerted
0:08:18 > 0:08:22the occupant just by knocking, who then opened the door to us.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24It was then, um...
0:08:24 > 0:08:27clear from the person that opened the door...
0:08:27 > 0:08:29that they resembled...
0:08:29 > 0:08:35the person that was on the photo used in the fake passport.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Bingo. The investigating team had got their man or, at least,
0:08:39 > 0:08:43- they thought they had.- We asked if we could speak to Rachid Walid
0:08:43 > 0:08:47and he stated that, no, he didn't know him
0:08:47 > 0:08:51and he gave his name as a Mr Brahim Lounnas.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54'So, he didn't know Walid, but was living in a house
0:08:54 > 0:08:57'registered under that name. That doesn't sound right.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01'The officers had not come across the name Lounnas before,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03'so they decided to make a quick call to find out
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'if the story from Walid was valid.'
0:09:06 > 0:09:10'We phoned the number that was provided...
0:09:10 > 0:09:13'on the claim form for Rachid Walid
0:09:13 > 0:09:15'and the phone started ringing in the house.'
0:09:17 > 0:09:18MOBILE RINGS
0:09:18 > 0:09:20So, let's get this straight...
0:09:20 > 0:09:25'the bloke lived in Walid's house, had Walid's mobile phone, and
0:09:25 > 0:09:29'was a dead ringer for him, but was insisting he'd never met the man.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31'Clearly, he's having a laugh.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35'The investigators now knew that Lounnas or Walid or whatever
0:09:35 > 0:09:38'he was calling himself was not being honest with them,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42'but he still wasn't going to make their job easy.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Mr Lounnas remained silent pretty much throughout the time we were
0:09:47 > 0:09:51in the property. A full search was conducted in which, um...
0:09:51 > 0:09:55various documents were seized, um,
0:09:55 > 0:10:01including a number of passport photos of the individual.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05The same photos that were used by Rachid Walid
0:10:05 > 0:10:07in the photo on his passport.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Um, a number of...
0:10:09 > 0:10:15benefit documents relating to Rachid Walid at Ealing.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20A passport and benefits papers all in the name of Walid.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Evidence just doesn't get much better than that.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26It was looking like an open and shut case until the officers
0:10:26 > 0:10:30turned up even more ID with exactly the same picture on it.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38We found, um, an ID for Brahim Lounnas, an Algerian ID,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41an Algerian identity card with his...
0:10:42 > 0:10:44..photo attached.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49So, who was this guy? Lounnas or Walid?
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Whoever he was, he'd potentially stolen nearly 26 grand from
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Ealing Council and Sudhi's team had now put together
0:10:56 > 0:10:58the evidence to prove it.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Back of the net. The team finally had the man,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05but they were also starting to realise that the scale of this
0:11:05 > 0:11:09man's fraud was much bigger than they'd ever suspected.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14When the property was raided, we found a number of bank statements,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18details of mobile phones, but, more interestingly...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20documents that showed a number of other fake IDs.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27For now, it's farewell to the fraudsters
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and hello to the people we call Saints.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Those in our society that help others in genuine need,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37but who are sometimes too proud or don't even know how to claim
0:11:37 > 0:11:39what's rightfully theirs.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Family life, for most of us, is the thing that brings and binds us
0:11:46 > 0:11:49together and, in many cases, makes us who we are,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52but, when tragedy strikes at the heart of the family,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56it can change your life in a way you never thought possible.
0:11:58 > 0:12:0241-year-old Jackie Somerford was a young grandmother who enjoyed
0:12:02 > 0:12:04an active social life.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08But her carefree lifestyle came to an abrupt end in 1999
0:12:08 > 0:12:10when Bonnie, her teenage daughter,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13found out she was having Jackie's second grandchild.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Bonnie had a drugs problem and was in an unstable relationship.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22She didn't think she could cope with having a baby
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and neither did social services.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28So, when Bonnie asked her mother for help with her unborn child,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Jackie really didn't feel she had any choice.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I thought...
0:12:34 > 0:12:38well, I'd have to bring this child up cos I couldn't see him going in care.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44And I knew she wasn't in a position, with the partner that she was with,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46to bring this child up.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51In July 2001, Roger was born.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Jackie was hopeful that Bonnie's chaotic lifestyle would change
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and she would grow into the mother she knew her daughter could be,
0:12:57 > 0:13:02but it was soon clear that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06- Hello.- Hello.- How are you doing, Jackie? Good to see you.- Come in.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07Thank you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10How did things change for you, practically, when Roger comes along?
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I had to give up work.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17How does that work out financially for you?
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Well, it didn't at the time cos I had to go on the state benefit.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- Not something that you would have chosen to do.- No. Not at all.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Cos I was happy working.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Jackie wanted to provide Roger with a secure and stable upbringing,
0:13:33 > 0:13:38so she applied for and was given custody of him by the Family Court.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41She was determined to give her grandson the same positive
0:13:41 > 0:13:44start in life that her own three children had.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46When Roger became a toddler,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Jackie realised this was going to be difficult.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53At the age of three, I noticed the behaviour with him.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Um, I'd go up to the nursery to pick him up and he'd have
0:13:58 > 0:14:02an outburst out there where he would trash the whole playgroup.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09He went to year one and he started to really be bad.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14Um, he wouldn't, um, do any work,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17he would disrupt the class.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- Still, clearly things are wrong. - Yeah.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25'After Roger's disruptions at school, he was assessed by a doctor
0:14:25 > 0:14:29'and diagnosed with having emotional-social behaviour.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32'He was taken out of mainstream school
0:14:32 > 0:14:34'and placed in a special needs school.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'Jackie was struggling to cope with Roger's violent outbursts and
0:14:38 > 0:14:40'just when she thought things couldn't get any worse,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42'Bonnie disappeared.'
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I got a phone call from a friend of hers
0:14:46 > 0:14:48to say that she'd been missing a week.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55So, I told that friend to phone the police and report her missing.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Bonnie was placed on the Missing Persons List
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and when Jackie eventually heard from the police, nothing
0:15:01 > 0:15:05could have prepared her for the news that she got about her daughter.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11I received a phone call from the police asking to come over...
0:15:13 > 0:15:19..and, um, they came over and they introduced their self to me
0:15:19 > 0:15:21as homicide.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24I told them she was dead.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28And they asked me, "How did I know?"
0:15:28 > 0:15:31I said, "Because the week that she was missing,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33"I just had a gut feeling something was wrong."
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Tragically, her gut feeling was spot-on
0:15:38 > 0:15:42and the police confirmed that Bonnie had been killed.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45It was a nightmare for Jackie, but even as she was grieving for Bonnie,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48she had to stay strong for her grandson,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51who was just six years old at the time.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Well, there was still Roger I had to think of...
0:15:55 > 0:15:56..and I had to try and shield him.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01But, when he found out about his mum...
0:16:01 > 0:16:05that did have a big impact on his behaviour again.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Jackie wanted to help Roger as much as possible,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13but it was tough for her, as a single gran on benefits,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16to get even basic things like clothes.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18- Have you read that one?- Mm-hm.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21She was at a loss about how to provide more for him until
0:16:21 > 0:16:25she heard about an organisation which might be able to help.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30I heard about the Family Fund through another parent at school.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The Fund distributes money on behalf of the government to children
0:16:34 > 0:16:37with disabilities for things that would improve their lives
0:16:37 > 0:16:38but which they can't afford.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43'Jackie applied to the Fund earlier this year
0:16:43 > 0:16:45'and she needed some help with'
0:16:45 > 0:16:48some basic items like clothing
0:16:48 > 0:16:52and was looking for help with her computer.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55'So, we looked at her application form and felt that'
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Jackie really needed to have a visit
0:16:57 > 0:17:01'by one of our advisors who would go into her home,
0:17:01 > 0:17:02'talk about her application.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:08'I went to visit Jackie in South London to find out what's happened.'
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Two weeks after I got me visit,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I got a phone call from them to say that I've been accepted.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18And that Roger had got his computer.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Do you think it's something that's going to make a big difference?
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Yeah, a very big difference to him.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Would it have been totally outside your budget otherwise?
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Yeah, yeah, definitely. I wouldn't have been able to afford it.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31How does it make you feel though?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34I mean, you've been through such an incredible story, I mean...
0:17:34 > 0:17:35I'm a very proud woman.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40A very proud woman. I don't like asking for help, really.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The small grant provided by the charity has been
0:17:44 > 0:17:47instrumental in helping Roger move on with his life.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52And, for fund manager Clare Kassa, it's been a successful case of
0:17:52 > 0:17:57helping a particular type of family unit that all too often misses out.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02Jackie seemed not to know, really, about Family Fund.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05She didn't really feel that she was due anything from you.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Is that something that you encounter quite a lot?
0:18:08 > 0:18:10We do encounter it quite a lot with grandparents.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Um, lots of grandparents don't know that the Family Fund exists
0:18:14 > 0:18:17because they're not linked into the same support networks that
0:18:17 > 0:18:18other parents are.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21'Jackie's been through some dark times with Roger,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24'but this government-funded organisation has helped to
0:18:24 > 0:18:26'make the future look a lot brighter.'
0:18:26 > 0:18:30They've helped my family, so, if they can help my family, they can
0:18:30 > 0:18:35help other families as well, and make life better for a lot of people.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Jackie's having to steer her family through a series of experiences,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43which, for most of us, are unimaginable AND she's
0:18:43 > 0:18:48helping her grandson to heal the most painful of scars.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50The help she's receiving may seem small,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54but, when you're trying to be strong, sometimes knowing
0:18:54 > 0:18:58that there's someone looking out for you can make a huge difference.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06OK, everyone, sit up straight. It's Scrounger time.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12The Fraud Team at Ealing Council have been taking part in a
0:19:12 > 0:19:16London-wide investigation into fake French passports being used
0:19:16 > 0:19:17to claim benefits.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The team discover that a claimant called Rachid Walid had been
0:19:22 > 0:19:25using a false passport to get housing benefit, but,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27when they raided his address,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29despite looking like Walid,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31he claimed he was someone else.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Brahim Lounnas, um,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38his name came to our attention, um,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40when we visited the property initially...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43looking for Rachid,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46the door was opened by a gentleman who introduced himself
0:19:46 > 0:19:51as Brahim Lounnas and who looked very similar,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54or identical to, the photograph of Rachid Walid.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Brahim Lounnas was a new name...
0:19:57 > 0:19:58uh, to me.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03It wasn't someone...a name that we were investigating or that we
0:20:03 > 0:20:04were connected with,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06so, um...
0:20:06 > 0:20:09..it was new to us, but the decision was taken, because
0:20:09 > 0:20:13of the look and the resemblance,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16that we wanted to go inside and look.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19And it was a good job that the team did decide to search his house,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23because not only did they find fake documents relating to Walid,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26they found other incriminating evidence.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30As the search continued,
0:20:30 > 0:20:36and the different IDs were being found, bank cards,
0:20:36 > 0:20:43cheque books, bank statements in the names of Abdeslem Farahi,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and Kerrime Messikh.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49And benefit documents for Hammersmith and Fulham
0:20:49 > 0:20:51relating to a Nouredine Messikh.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57So, this wasn't just a case of one man and his alter ego, this man
0:20:57 > 0:21:01seemed to have a different identity for every day of the working week.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The team had uncovered a treasure trove of other fake IDs,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10but they still had to find out who was behind the operation.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14The three other fake IDs in the names of Abdeslem Farahi
0:21:14 > 0:21:18and Kerrime Messikh and Nouredine Messikh were being used to make
0:21:18 > 0:21:22benefit claims from neighbouring Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Benefit claims that matched identically the type of claims
0:21:27 > 0:21:31that suspect Lounnas had been making in the name Rachid Walid.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35And the team in Ealing immediately contacted their colleagues
0:21:35 > 0:21:38in Hammersmith and Fulham about what they'd found.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45The investigation became a joint investigation between ourselves
0:21:45 > 0:21:49and Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50They had, um...
0:21:51 > 0:21:56..three different claims in three different IDs.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59They mentioned Abdeslem Farahi, Nouredine Messikh and
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Kerrime Messikh at different addresses
0:22:02 > 0:22:05going back over various timeframes.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Um, quite a large overpayment of benefit had been made
0:22:09 > 0:22:12from Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14During the search of the house, the investigators found
0:22:14 > 0:22:18different folders with the names of the three bogus claimants -
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Abdeslem Farahi, Kerrime Messikh and Nouredine Messikh,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and fake documents relating to their claims
0:22:25 > 0:22:27from Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30They started looking into the other three claims -
0:22:30 > 0:22:31all of them worked short,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34part-time hours in order to qualify for benefits.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37All were doing the same kind of job
0:22:37 > 0:22:41and all of their IDs had been stolen according to the French Embassy.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Some people have skeletons in their closet.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48This guy had whole identities in his cupboard - passports,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50bank cards and statements,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53correspondence and all in different names.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59When the Fraud Team analysed the employment documents relating to the
0:22:59 > 0:23:04benefit claims, they discovered the names of employers had been made up.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07The whole thing was a pack of lies.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11We passed on all our findings to Hammersmith and Fulham and gave them
0:23:11 > 0:23:15that information and, unfortunately, they had been defrauded as well.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17He'd defrauded the London borough of Ealing,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and Hammersmith and Fulham, of...
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Whoa! 174,000 quid - serious money.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31£26,000 had been stolen from Ealing Council.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And £148,000 from Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37The team knew that the fraudster had rented
0:23:37 > 0:23:39three properties in Fulham, and one in Ealing
0:23:39 > 0:23:43in order to commit the fraud, but what was he doing with all of them?
0:23:43 > 0:23:47The rents were being paid in the property in Acton on Cotton Avenue,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51but we don't know if he was residing in the Acton property at that stage
0:23:51 > 0:23:57or in any of the Hammersmith and Fulham properties.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01It seems likely that there may have been, in order to obtain
0:24:01 > 0:24:07financial gain, there may have been subletting taking place in...
0:24:08 > 0:24:11..some or all of the Hammersmith and Fulham properties.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17So, he was getting the properties paid for by the taxpayer
0:24:17 > 0:24:19and then renting them out again.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24For over five years, the fraudster had been a landlord at our expense!
0:24:24 > 0:24:26The estate agents that managed the properties where
0:24:26 > 0:24:30the bogus claimants were registered had to be contacted
0:24:30 > 0:24:32and they turned out to be very helpful.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38I went along to Churchill's Letting Agents and showed them
0:24:38 > 0:24:40a photo of Brahim Lounnas,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45the person who we had identified at the address who had given that
0:24:45 > 0:24:51name and they confirmed that the photo of Brahim Lounnas was
0:24:51 > 0:24:57the same as that for Rachid Walid who had taken out a tenancy
0:24:57 > 0:25:00at that address in Cotton Avenue.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Result! An independent eyewitness that could confirm Lounnas has been
0:25:06 > 0:25:09posing as Walid and when the team interviewed the other
0:25:09 > 0:25:11letting agencies about the aliases...
0:25:14 > 0:25:18they all confirmed they'd been dealing with Lounnas as well.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Once we'd carried out the raid and carried out further checks,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25we came to the conclusion, we found out that the true identity
0:25:25 > 0:25:31of this person was Lounnas and all of the other IDs were false IDs.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Sudhi had to piece the complicated case together
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and his prime suspect wasn't being very helpful.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41After Brahim Lounnas was arrested, he was brought in for questioning
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and interviewed under caution.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45He did identify himself as Brahim Lounnas
0:25:45 > 0:25:50but he refused to comment and didn't answer any of our questions.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52He might have been tight-lipped in the interview room,
0:25:52 > 0:25:57but when he was faced with the judge, somehow he found his voice.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02In January 2012, uh, Lounnas appeared before Isleworth Crown Court,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06and pleaded guilty to 13 charges.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09He was sentenced to serve three years in prison.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It was a good result for Ealing Fraud Team
0:26:18 > 0:26:22and it's a case that the council has certainly learned some lessons from.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25In the aftermath of the Lounnas case,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27we decided to take some proactive action
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and what we've introduced is a document ID checker
0:26:30 > 0:26:34and that allows us to scan passports and to scan driving licences,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38so, as soon as something fake is discovered, we know what's happening
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and we can contact UKBA and do an investigation ourselves, so,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43hopefully, nothing like this will happen again.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49So, fraudsters beware, you may be good at coming up with new names,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52different haircuts and different faces,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56but, when you end up in jail, the identity you'll be using...
0:26:56 > 0:26:57will be the real one.