Ringleader Gyunesh Ali, 34, committed fraud on an “industrial scale” during the scheme, which involved fellow Bulgarians Galina Nikolova, 39, Stoyan Stoyanov, 28, Tsvetka Todorova, 53, and Patritsia Paneva, 27. Bundles of cash stuffed in shopping bags and suitcases, a luxury car and designer goods including watches, jackets and glasses were found during a raid on their properties, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. The defendants had made thousands of false claims for benefits using real people or hijacked identities, with claims supported by an array of forged documents including tenancy agreements, payslips and letters from landlords, employers, schools and GPs.
If claims were rejected, the fraudsters would try time and again until they were granted. Investigators even discovered three “benefit factories” in London, including grocery shop Antonia Foods in Wood Green. They claimed to help people get a National Insurance number using “claim packs” containing forged and false documents.
The gang would also give the claimants tips on how to fool the system, the court heard. But after applicants made their claims, they left them in the hands of the gang, who laundered money through a number of different accounts. The court heard that messages and images were exchanged on a WhatsApp group at the height of the fraud showing the gang making fun of the “naivety" of the DWP.
The DWP would sometimes ask for pictures of people outside properties with the front door.