Bulgarian crime gang made £50m from UK’s biggest benefits fraud
MEMBERS of a Bulgarian crime gang co-ordinated Britain’s biggest benefits fraud scam, claiming more than £50million in Universal Credit payouts.
They hijacked identities to make thousands of false claims. These were supported by forged documents, including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips and forged letters from landlords and employers.
Crooked
If the claims were rejected, the fraudsters repeatedly tried again until they were granted. But their operation was uncovered when investigators identified three London “benefit factories” from where repeated false claims originated.
The crooked businesses operated under the cloak of legitimacy by also assisting people with obtaining national insurance numbers and benefits to which they were entitled. However, after applicants made claims for benefits, the money was seized by the gangsters.
The cash was then laundered between dozens of accounts before being withdrawn. Galina Nikolova, 38, Gyunesh Ali, 33, Patritsia Paneva, 26, Stoyan Stoyanov, 27, and Tsvetka Todorova, 52, face lengthy jail terms after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering offences between October 2016 and May 2021 at Wood Green Crown Court yesterday.
Raids in May 2021 led to the five defendants being seized.
Following his release under investigation, one of the five defendants, Ali, fled to Bulgaria.
But due to collaborative work with Bulgarian authorities, Ali was extradited back to the UK in February 2023. Prosecutor Ben Reid said: “This case is the largest benefit fraud prosecution ever brought to the courts in England and Wales.
“For years, these defendants committed industrial-scale fraud, costing the taxpayer more than £50million.”
The CPS will now pursue confiscation proceedings against the defendants to try to recoup some of the lost money for the taxpayer.