Fraudster rents out council home for £50k and lives in the shed!
A FRAUDSTER claimed almost £100,000 in benefits as he illegally let his £1million council house while living in a souped-up shed.
John Gallagher, 64, earned up to £50,000 a year from renting out the four-bedroom home in Ful- ham, West London, as he stayed in the outhouse which he fitted with an en- suite bathroom and built-in wardrobe.
At the same time, he was claiming income support, pension credits, housing benefit and council tax ben- efit. Gallagher was jailed for ten months after admitting five counts of fraud, totalling more than £95,000 over eight years, against Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
But yesterday it emerged that he remains the legal tenant of the house and may return to live there after he is freed from jail. Neighbours in the cul- de- sac, home to business and media executives, said Gallagher’s friends were living in his house while he serves his sentence.
The council charged the divorced father of three £139 a week for the property, where he has lived for about 20 years.
But he advertised on website Gumtree, charging ‘tenants’ up to £700 a month per room with an added £100 towards bills. It is illegal to sublet social housing.
When fraud inspectors visited the house after a tip- off, Gallagher refused them entry to the garden and shed – and claimed he could not find the key to a locked second-floor bedroom.
He said a male friend found in one of the rooms was visiting
‘Outrageous that he could return’
from east London, but could not provide officers with the man’s surname or date of birth.
Inspectors found Gallagher’s Gumtree adverts using the mobile phone number he had provided in his application for a parking permit.
The property, where he was the sole council tenant, was raided in the early hours of October 20, 2014, uncovering the full scale of the fraud.
A source on the street described Gallagher as the ‘neighbour from hell’.
The resident added: ‘He swore, was abusive and kept everyone awake until the early hours.
‘It is outrageous to think that even after what he has done he could return to live here. Surely the council must evict him. There are still friends of his living there even while he’s inside. It’s incredible.’
There was no answer at the house yesterday, but a top-floor window was open and two bikes were locked in the front garden.
Gallagher’s name, on printed paper, remained on a label by the doorbell.
A BMW and Chrysler were parked on the road outside, where houses sell for more than £1million.
Councillor Lisa Homan said: ‘This is a great result for our excellent fraud team who have removed another cheat from the system.
‘The council’s scarce resources need to be used supporting those with a genuine need and not on scammers like this who waste taxpayers’ money.’
A council spokesman said it was reviewing the options as to Gallagher’s tenancy but that he is currently still the legal tenant.
Sentencing Gallagher at Isleworth Crown Court last week, Recorder Harenda Da Silva QC said the deception had been ‘sophisticated’ and was ‘too serious’ for a suspended sentence.