Minister's Outrage
The UK's Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride, has strongly criticized a group of benefit cheats who stole nearly £54 million from taxpayers, labelling their actions as "cold and calculated."
Elaborate Scheme
The gang of five individuals, originally from Bulgaria, carried out their fraudulent activities by submitting over 6,000 false claims for Universal Credit from what authorities described as "benefit fraud factories."
Crackdown on Fraud
Thanks to patterns identified in the claims, police were able to uncover the fraud and conducted raids on the fraudsters' homes, where they seized luxury cars, jewelry, and £750,000 in cash hidden under a bed.
Government Response
Secretary Mel Stride highlighted that the Department for Work and Pensions has invested £900 million to combat fraud, a move expected to prevent £2.4 billion in fake claims. Stride emphasized that benefit fraud is not a victimless crime and undermines the support system for those in genuine need.
Criminal Convictions
The five individuals involved in the scam, Gyunesh Ali, Patritsia Paneva, Stoyan Stoyanov, Tsvetka Todorova, and Galina Nikolova, have pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering and are set to be sentenced in May.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://hellofaread.com/politics/labour-mp-wes-streeting-denies-bizarre-conspiracy-allegation/
