Student Jailed for Wrongly Claiming Nearly £20,000  in Benefit

Three months in prison for 27 year old woman from Perivale

A student has been jailed for three months for fraudulently claiming almost £20,000 in housing benefit, after an Ealing Council investigation.

Nimo Saed, 27, of Empire Road, Perivale, made housing benefit claims for nearly three years between 2006 and 2009 while she studied at Thames Valley University. But she failed to disclose on paperwork that she was a student and did not declare the student finance payments she was receiving or the bank account they were being paid into. As a result she received £19,894 she was not entitled to.

Ms Saed appeared before Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, 14 April where she pleaded guilty to four counts of dishonestly making a false representation under the Social Security Administration Act (1992). She was sentenced to three months in prison and will have to pay back all the wrongly claimed money to the council.

Council Leader, Councillor Julian Bell, said: “It’s quite sad that this young woman has ended up in prison with a criminal record, but I’m afraid she only has herself to blame. I hope when she leaves prison she will be able to turn her life around.

“There have been several cases recently involving students and I hope others will take note of how serious the consequences can be if they make fraudulent benefit claims.”

As part of its drive to provide value for money and protect the public purse, the council is committed to preventing and detecting benefit fraud. Anyone with any suspicions that someone is committing benefit fraud should report it to the council via the confidential fraud hotline 0800 328 6453 or email fraudreferrals@ealing.gov.uk

20 April 2011