A WOMAN who claimed she was disabled and a single parent in order to scam £260,000 in benefits was on Friday (11) jailed for two years.
Nasreen Akhtar obtained state welfare payments from the Department for Work and Pensions between 2002 and 2013 on the basis that she was a single parent with poor mobility. She also claimed that she was too ill to work.
But a tip-off exposed her fraud. Covert surveillance also showed her moving out and about with her family and dancing at a wedding.
Akhtar, 50 of Howgill Crescent, Oldham, admitted seven counts of fraud against the local authority and the DWP.
Simon Tunnicliffe, of Mersey Cheshire CPS's fraud unit, said it had taken three years for it and the DWP to bring Akhtar to justice.
He added: "This was an extremely complex benefits fraud case that went way beyond the average case.
"It has taken the CPS and the DWP three years to bring this woman to justice as, shortly after the start of her trial in 2017, she attempted, at further cost to the taxpayer, to have herself found unfit to stand trial.
"Earlier this year we brought even more compelling evidence that Ms Akhtar was trying to hoodwink the court and the judge decided that she was fit and well enough to stand trial.
"On October 7 2019 at the pre-trial preparation hearing, in the face of a well-constructed case and overwhelming evidence, Ms Akhtar pleaded guilty to a total of seven counts of fraud against her local authority and the DWP.
"She has now been sentenced to two years in prison and Proceeds of Crime proceedings will begin to recover taxpayers' money which is badly needed elsewhere."
A DWP spokesman added: "Benefit fraud is a crime that diverts money from those who really need it. In addition to any sentence imposed by the court, people must pay back all the money they falsely obtained.
"We have zero tolerance of anyone fraudulently claiming benefits and will take swift action to investigate, supporting our partners and prosecutors to bring them to justice."
Damian Talbot
Nirmala Sitharaman speaks at the India-UK Investor Roundtable in London last Wednesday (9). On the panel were India’s department of economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth and Kotak Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak
Sitharaman with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves
Sitharaman with Jonathan Reynolds 
Sitharaman with Reynolds, Alastair King, India’s high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami and other delegates