Businessman faces jail for registering births of non-existent babies

A businessman who travelled Scotland to register the births of 26 non-existent babies using bogus birth certificates for fictitious home births as part of a major organised benefit fraud scam is facing jail.

Rory Mcwhirter, director of property firm Capital Residential Ltd, concocted the scheme while living with his girlfriend, a paediatric doctor, in Dundee. Charges against her were dropped.

He duped people into applying for fake jobs at a Glasgow hotel through an ad on the website Gumtree, then used their identity details to get their marriage certificates before using them to register the fake births. Mcwhirter then used the birth certificates for non-existent children to claim for tax credits, child benefit and maternity grants.

He was only caught after returning to the scene of one of his early false birth registrations at Aberdeen registry office, where he was recognised by staff.

Around the same time, an “organised attack” on HMRC’S computer systems – which showed around 350 requests had been received for tax credits application forms from an address in Dundee and others in Campbeltown linked to Mcwhirter – triggered other alarms.

In the end it was Mcwhirter’s flash BMW Z4 convertible car that he used to travel to the registrar offices across Scotland that led police to his door.

Fiscal depute Vicki Bell told Dundee Sheriff Court that the registration 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 ten separate people who he claimed were the parents.

During the meetings he acted as if he was the male named on the marriage certificate while registering the birth.

During one conversation with the Dundee Registrar on 19 May 2015, he even spoke about having problems setting up the “home birthing pool” in his living room, Ms Bell said.

Mcwhirter, 29, of Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of fraud committed between 1 June, 2014 and 22 October, 2015 at addresses across Scotland.

He claimed tax credits of £14,222.48, child benefits of £19,658.70 and a Sure Start maternity grant of £500 – a total of £34,381.18.

Sentence was deferred.