Mohammed Mustakir Ullah, physician 38, of Rowton Court, High Street, Cheltenham has been jailed for 16 weeks for defrauding both Cheltenham Borough Council and the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions).
The council took the prosecution under the Fraud Act 2006 following a joint investigation. The council submits data as part of the National Fraud Initiative and Ullah’s benefit details matched with those from the Student Loan Company. The investigation showed that Ullah had registered as a student and received thousands of pounds in grants and loans but failed to declare either his student status or the income to the council or the DWP. As a result he received over £3,000 of housing benefit and over £4,000 of income support to which he was not entitled.
Ullah was found guilty of two offences in his absence on 12 January this year and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Ullah was arrested and appeared in court on 17 April for sentencing. The sentencing also took into account a breach of his probation order for unrelated offences.
Paul Aldridge, benefits manager, said: “The council is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to benefits receives them. However, action will be considered against anyone found to have deliberately withheld information relevant to their claim. We want to give out a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated and we will take all the appropriate steps to investigate cases of suspected fraud.’’
The council has already managed to recover all its overpayment.
If you believe that someone is claiming benefits to which they are not entitled, please call 01242 264215. All information received is treated in confidence.