Court: Scam artist jailed over con to register 26 fictitious babies.

Failed businessman claimed tens of thousands of pounds from the the state

A businessman who travelled Scotland to register the births of 26 non-existent babies using phony birth certificates for fictitious home births as part of a massive, organised benefit fraud scam has been jailed.

Rory McWhirter, director of property firm Capital Residential Ltd, concocted the complicated scheme while living with his paediatric doctor girlfriend in Dundee, who had charges against her dropped.

Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court the registrations of fictitious births were then used to make fraudulent claims for child benefit, working tax credits and Sure Start maternity grant payments.

McWhirter presented letters to registrars at various offices throughout Scotland purporting to be from doctors confirming the births of children at home as well as marriage certificates in the names of 10 separate people who he claimed were the parents.

Miss Bell said: “Four of the names used as claimants were traced and they advised they didn’t make the claims.

“They had all, however, applied for the same job for front-of-house staff at a four-star hotel in Glasgow advertised on Gumtree on March 2015.

“The ad required a CV and a national insurance number.

“It transpired their details had been used to fraudulently claim tax credits.

“It was then discovered that 14 claims for tax credits had been made by persons residing in Perth Road, Dundee, and in Campbeltown at flats related to the accused’s company.

“In total the accused registered 22 false births for 26 children.

“When he attended at Edinburgh registrars in June 2015 to register a birth he was seen using a silver or grey BMW car with a private plate.

“The motor car referred to led police to an address in Perth Road, Dundee, where the former co-accused opened the door.

“He provided full admissions stating he was in severe financial difficulty and needed money.

“During the search a large quantity of bank cards, computer equipment and approximately 50 birth certificates from the Republic of Ireland and documentation relating to claiming benefits were seized.”

McWhirter, 29, of Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh, pled guilty to fraud committed between June 1 2014 and October 22 2015 at addresses across Scotland.

In total he claimed £14,222.48, in tax credits, child benefits of £19,658.70 and a Sure Start maternity grant of £500.

His paediatric doctor girlfriend Kiyo Adya originally appeared in court alongside McWhirter last year but had the charges against her dropped.

McWhirter’s solicitor John McLeod said: “The money was going straight into his property business venture.

“He has had two failed businesses – first a bar that was swiftly run into the ground and the property company.

“He felt he couldn’t go back to his family, who are successful, for a second bail-out so came up with this scheme.”

McWhirter was jailed for 28 months.

That scam artist Rory McWhirter was so easily able to falsely claim benefits for made-up children is an indictment of a clearly flawed system. The fraudster only needed to obtain details of other people to pretend he had had multiple home-birth babies. Registration documents and welfare payments were handed over without interrogation. It was not an overly sophisticated scheme but exposed a gap which he may still have been exploiting were some staff not so vigilant.

Rory McWhirter arrives at Dundee Sheriff Court.