Jailed... conman who lied his father died at Grenfell
A FRAUDSTER who claimed his father died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy to get a free hotel stay and cash was yesterday jailed.
Mohammad Gamoota, 31, told council officials he had been living with his father on the 24th floor when the blaze ripped through the building last June.
Gamoota tried to net almost £7,000, but only received £500 in cash, £910 worth of hotel bills and £374 in room service.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud at London’s Isleworth Crown Court and was jailed for 18 months.
Judge Robin Johnson told him: “Looking at your case I am satisfied that any right-minded person would look on your behaviour with utter revulsion.
“In the wake of a national disaster you decided to enrich yourself while you masqueraded as a true victim.”
Gamoota used the name of a man who died in the fire and had been named in the press as the backdrop for his fraud.
He claimed that genuine fire victim Abdel Salam was his father but Gamoota had no connection with Mr Salam.
Prosecutor Benjamin Holt pointed out that the pain caused by the fraud hit the wider community, including Mr Salam’s grieving son who had to answer police questions for a witness statement as they investigated the fraud.
Grenfell Tower residents also condemned the fraud as “disgusting and distasteful”.