- Adeola Thomas, 38, assisted by his partner, Abimbola Abiola, 34, secured £87,000 from fraudulent claims totalling £3.8million over four years
- Thomas used 1,400 stolen identities to complete 2,495 handwritten tax and benefits claims forms
- HMRC suspicions were raised when he used the same address for all the claims
- Thomas, an illegal immigrant, was jailed for seven years while Abiola, also a Nigerian national with leave to remain in the UK, received two-and-a-half years
Adeola Thomas, 38, assisted by his partner, Abimbola Abiola, 34, managed to pocket £87,000 after submitting almost 2,500 handwritten applications for tax credits and benefits.
The pair spent the money on designer clothing and electrical items including a 50-inch plasma television.
Adeola Thomas, left, was jailed for seven years
while his accomplice Abimbola Abiola, right, was locked up for
two-and-a-half years for charges relating to identity theft, tax and
benefits fraud
Thomas, an illegal immigrant, was jailed for seven years while Abiola, also a Nigerian national with leave to remain in the UK, received two-and-a-half years.
Passing sentence, Judge William Kennedy said: ‘This was no less than a criminal industry, with simple and eye watering criminality designed to maximise the loss to the public.
‘It was a difficult investigation carried out with skill and tenacity.
‘The largest single joint conspiracy [of its kind] for these departments and the actual loss was kept down because of the work of both departments.’
Judge Kennedy also indicated that both Thomas and Abiola should be deported at the end of their prison terms.
The pair, who carried out the scam between January 3, 2007 and October 7, 2011, tried to claim £827,000 from HMRC, securing £43,000.
They also claimed £3 million from the Department of Work and Pensions and received £44,000.
With Abiola’s help, Thomas used stolen personal details to complete 2,495 handwritten application forms, which were sent to the appropriate departments for processing.
When the claims were successful, the pair
withdrew cash from acquaintances' bank accounts or from bogus post
office accounts that Thomas, pictured, had set up
It is believed that others unknown to investigators, also provided postal addresses and assisted with correspondence.
When
the claims were successful, the pair withdrew cash from acquaintances'
bank accounts or from bogus post office accounts that Thomas, who
masterminded the scam, had set up.As well as analysing tax credit records, computer systems, hand written application forms and bank account details and listening to hours of recorded phones calls to the Tax Credit Helpline, HMRC investigators viewed CCTV footage showing activity outside various North London Post Office ATMs and carried out surveillance on Thomas.
He was arrested outside a cash point at Upper Clacton Post Office in Hackney, east London last October 7 where he was found to be in possession of 17 Post Office accounts.
Thomas, pictured, was arrested outside a cash
point at Upper Clacton Post Office in Hackney, east London last October
where he was found to be in possession of 17 Post Office accounts
Abiola, a mother-of-one, was caught on the same day with £4,125 cash in her handbag, which she claimed was child benefit payment.
Thomas, of Hackney, east London, admitted three counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Abiola, of the same address was found guilty of four counts of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of criminal property following a trial at the court in August.
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