Benefits cheat used dead child's name to con cash (From Thurrock Gazette)
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Benefits cheat used dead child's name to con cash
7:30am Friday 8th March 2013 in News
A BENEFIT cheat was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting a £90,000 fraud – including using the name of a dead child to con the council out of cash.
Elizabeth Anyele Tetteh appeared at Basildon Crown Court where it was heard Thurrock Council fraud staff uncovered offences going back more than a decade.
Tetteh fraudulently claimed income support and job seeker’s allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions and housing and council tax benefit for Rosedale Road, Grays, from Thurrock Council.
The fraud involved lying about the property, which she claimed to be renting, as well as using false documents, false identities and lying about her income – including using the identity of a deceased child.
During the investigations, the defendant was seen several times, from March 2009, signing-on at Grays Job Centre then going to work at a salon in Walthamstow.
The owner of the salon confirmed he had let the premises to an Elizabeth Burridge in 2006 on a nine-year lease. Signs at the shop gave two telephone numbers, one of which was a number she had provided to the Department for Work and Pensions in Burridge’s bid for income support.
Another alias was in the name of Nicola Copeland. Inquiries revealed a National Insurance number had never been issued to her, suggesting she may have died as a child.
In January 2008, using the name of Nicola Burridge, Tetteh completed an application for job seeker’s allowance giving her home address as Rosedale Road and saying she was unemployed. She stated she had a private landlord, a Miss Tetteh.
Later that year and using her own name, Tetteh claimed income support using an address in London.
In April 2009, police officers attended a number of addresses linked to the defendant, including Rosedale Road, which was empty and sub-divided into three properties.
At one London address, tenants said their landlady was called Elizabeth and at another London address Tetteh herself was present. Overall it was calculated she was overpaid £90,549.96 in benefits.
Tetteh, now of Forest Road, Walth-amstow, admitted 17 counts of fraud.
Comments(16)
ebagumtrebor
says...
10:43am Fri 8 Mar 13
Bernard 87
says...
11:21am Fri 8 Mar 13
We can dream.
A.N.Other
says...
2:00pm Fri 8 Mar 13
...can't put my finger on it though!
OckendonPaul
says...
2:10pm Fri 8 Mar 13
ebagumtrebor
says...
3:40pm Fri 8 Mar 13
Thurrock Trojan
says...
5:49pm Fri 8 Mar 13
grays_mum
says...
2:42pm Sat 9 Mar 13
aberline 88
says...
12:56pm Sun 10 Mar 13
Bodoftheglen
says...
6:32pm Sun 10 Mar 13
Marcus P
says...
10:00pm Sun 10 Mar 13
On the train to L/pool Street yesterday I was appalled to hear Eastern European migrant women telling her mate.
“We no worry about the rent- the benefits pay it”
She went on to say
“ Mum come over soon. She get house paid for by the benefits”
No wonder this country is nigh on bankrupt and we are the laughing stock of the world.
Thurrockbob
says...
8:19pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Bodoftheglen
says...
8:36pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Thurrockbob wrote:Here here !
Elizabeth Anyele Tetteh ...... Ah a good old fashioned English name. Or should that read .................. More African scum!
vulcanmikey
says...
9:16pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Marcus P
says...
11:10pm Mon 11 Mar 13
The pro migrant lobby always tell us that these people have a unique skill set and add value to the economy. Yet almost every month in this paper, some African is exposed as a long term welfare fraudster. However the real scandal is why they were ever allowed to settle here permanently, if they earn so little they are eligible for welfare.
What other country in the world imports welfare claimants? This just does not happen in Canada or Australia.
Labour’s demographic electoral gerrymandering is the prime cause of this. Let anyone all in as long as they vote labour. Barrack Obama is doing the same thing in the USA with Hispanics.
The economic and social cost the UK is horrendous.
littlelisa@thurrock
says...
2:11pm Wed 13 Mar 13
And claiming on a child that had died. That is just sick.....
Why was the not deported, when they are here illegally anyway.
If you was white & british you would not get away with it.
coddy says...
8:31am Fri 8 Mar 13