Woman ‘stole £10k from Grenfell fund after claiming husband died in blaze’
A WOMAN allegedly stole £10,000 from the Grenfell Tower fire fund after falsely claiming her husband died in the inferno, a court heard yesterday.
Joyce Msokeri is also accused of pretending that her child was severely injured in the blaze, which killed at least 80 people.
She allegedly said the youngster was in intensive care, the court was told.
Msokeri, 46, is said to have made substantial claims from the victims’ fund on the basis she was a survivor.
Fire swept through the tower block in North Kensingston, west London, on June 14.
There were 255 known survivors.
Police arrested Msokeri, of Sutton, south London, on July 25.
After an investigation into allegations of fraud, she was charged on Monday.
Yesterday she made a brief appearance at Westminster magistrates court.
The charges allege that she made false representations to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for money and accommodation at the Hilton hotel and to charities in order to obtain clothing and food.
She also allegedly made similar false representations to hospitals that she was the wife of a patient, to officials at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and to a GP surgery in the borough. District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe remanded Msokeri in custody until she appears at London’s Southwark Crown Court on October 3.
Sending the case to the crown court, Judge Roscoe said: “It’s a substantial amount of money.”
Identified
Meanwhile, a 63-year-old man yesterday became the latest victim of the fire to be formally identified.
Raymond Bernard, known to friends as Moses, was one of 57 people named so far.
His family said in a statement: “Gone but not forgotten, you are so dearly loved by us all and will be sadly missed by many. May you rest in eternal peace, with love always.”
Inquests into the deaths of Mr Bernard, Biruk Haftom, 12, and Denis Murphy, 56, are due to take place at Westminster Coroner’s Court today.
Victims of the fire include stillborn baby Logan Gomes.
He died after Andreia Gomes, who was seven months pregnant, escaped the burning tower block with her partner and their two daughters.
The probe into the inferno is the biggest non-terrorist investigation mounted by the Metropolitan Police.
Part of the investigation is a determined bid to identify all of the victims of the catastrophe.