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Two Bromley Borough residents plead guilty to fraud
Two women residing in Beckenham and Bromley pleaded guilty to benefit fraud against Bromley Council.
The first woman, Zohreh Shamali, 36, of Rowan Court, The Avenue, Beckenham, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on 1st July 2008 where she was ordered to pay £250 costs and repay £32,690 to Bromley Council.
Her fraud of housing and council tax benefits covered a period from January 2005 to July 2007 during which Shamali failed to declare that she was in employment and that she had income in an undeclared bank account.
The second woman, Kim Weeks, 42, of Homefield Road, Bromley, appeared at Bromley Magistrates Court on 8th July 2008, where she was ordered to pay £100 costs.
This case was a joint prosecution with the Government’s Department of Work and Pensions and covered a period from January to July 2007. During this time Weeks attempted to defraud Bromley Council of benefits totalling £2,762 and also defrauded the DWP of about £2,300. Weeks had failed to notify a change in circumstances after her partner had moved in.
Councillor Michael Tickner, Chairman of Bromley’s Audit Sub Committee, said: “These two cases emphasise our intention to pursue all claimants who try it on. We do not tolerate theft of public money and will work with other agencies, as in one of these cases, to prosecute fraudsters and recover our tax payers’ money. The stress and ordeal of court appearances and a getting criminal record acts as a deterrent for most people.”
These two cases bring the total of successful prosecutions to 154 since Bromley and Greenwich Councils started working in partnership to track, trace and prosecute benefit cheats.
Both were ordered to pay costs and received conditional discharges.
Anyone with information about a suspected benefit fraud should contact (in strict confidence) the Fraud Hotline on 0800 169 6975 or audit@bromley.gov.uk.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Since the local elections in 2002, the council has been led by a Conservative administration. Full council is made up of 60 elected councillors – 49 Conservative, 7 Liberal Democrat and 4 Labour – representing 22 wards across the borough.
For media enquiries, please contact Luis Remedios, Audit Manager, on 020 8313 4886 or email luis.remedios@bromley.gov.uk
For party political comment please contact:
Conservative - michael.tickner@zip-mail.co.uk
Labour – john.getgood@bromley.gov.uk
Liberal Democrat – david.mcbride@bromley.gov.uk