Five Bulgarian nationals plead guilty to falsely claiming Universal Credit over five years and storing wads of cash in ‘fraud factories’.

Grammaretto

It's interesting that only the right wing telegraph, sky news and the DM, are highlighting this story so far.

Therefore IMO it's a deliberate ploy to whip up xenophobia, and look how well it works!

Oh dear, foreigners involved with massive fraud from the British taxpayer. We mustn't report on it, as it may offend the left. Who don't seem have the same concerns about people stealing from the British taxpayer.

Visgir1

My thoughts to.. How did they do that?

Yes, I was wondering that. It must have been an industrial scale operation with a thorough knowledge of all the loopholes. When they've served their prison sentences, I wonder if HMRC or the NCA would consider employing them to catch other fraudsters.

What I find amazing is how such individuals get away with that amount of fraud and I echo GG's comment "there must be something seriously wrong with our benefit system" It's heartbreaking really when there are those that desperately need more funds to survive and contrasting their lack of money for essentials with how these grifters were living high on the hog courtesy of tax payers money. Having said that, yes I'm totally on board with the disgust that so many of us feel towards Michelle Mone, Dido Harding et al. It isn't either or imo, all these ill gotten gains come out of the public purse which we can ill afford.

Germanshepherdsmum

I find it amazing that a thread about such a serious fraud on the public purse immediately attracts posts saying it’s racist and xenophobic and should be removed. I trust GN have the good sense to see that it’s nothing of the sort.

Absolutely. It seems as though the ones that disagree with this post are defending them.. No matter where they come from, they have defrauded this country, and those who may have needed this help but are unable to access it. Long jail sentences. Then deportation. If that is anti foreigner, well so be it.

Grammaretto

It's interesting that only the right wing telegraph, sky news and the DM, are highlighting this story so far.

Therefore IMO it's a deliberate ploy to whip up xenophobia, and look how well it works!

Let's applaud them for their ingenuity, shall we?

I cannot see how stating someone's nationality can be seen as racist as nationality is not an ethnic group or race.

It's interesting that only the right wing telegraph, sky news and the DM, are highlighting this story so far.

Therefore IMO it's a deliberate ploy to whip up xenophobia, and look how well it works!

Big article on this in today’s Times.
Utterly shocking. Though I honestly can’t say I was altogether surprised.
And TBH it really annoys me that these criminals are now going to cost the U.K. taxpayer a fortune to keep them in prison.
Why on earth don’t we just deport them? Having confiscated all possible proceeds of their crimes, of course.

The fact that they were Bulgarian to me would indicate that the U.K. is too often seen elsewhere as such a ridiculously soft touch, they were confident of getting away with it. And did, to the tune of £54m.

Nothing remotely on the same scale, but I still recall a TV programme where someone was filmed showing a new tenant the council flat he was subletting - while gaily telling said tenant that if he had any problems, he (the ‘landlord’) was only just across the landing, in a similar flat that he’d bought from the council.
I suspect that there’s a lot more ‘getting away with’ all sorts that too often goes undiscovered.

I find it amazing that a thread about such a serious fraud on the public purse immediately attracts posts saying it’s racist and xenophobic and should be removed. I trust GN have the good sense to see that it’s nothing of the sort.

Stating that they are are Bulgarian nationals may be a fact but we don't prefix crime reports with ethnic information.
All we are supposed to see are their ages.

X poet, at least one other person can see this is wrong, outrageous that no-one in DWP noticed!

You are all so keen to attack Urmstongran you are making yourselves look as if you don't care that taxpayers' public money has been fraudulently obtained from the DWP.

Anyway, I'm off to fill in my forms which arrived from DWP - eventually.

Personally I do not give a flying fig what their nationality is.

The bottom line is they falsified 1,000’s of Universal Credit and other claims which enabled them to claim million.

Something seriously wrong in the benefits system me thinks..l

Instead of pointing the finger at the perpetrators, I blame the Government. 14 years of Tory rule and I am hard pressed to find anything that works well and is fit for purpose. The DWP are a case in point. When an application is made, does anyone check the statements made? Clearly not. There have been countless cases over the years where people blatantly lie on the forms but get away with it because it is accepted at face value. Just another example of soft touch Britain. We must be the laughing stock of the world.

No-one thinks it's wrong then?

Just condemning Urmstongran and attacking her?

No-one wonders how the DWP didn't miss £54 million?

I was going to say 'of taxpayers' money' but I knew that would mean exasperation from MaizieD and an explanation of how it is not tax that funds public spending .........

How many nurses would that fund, Urmstongran?

And yes, Baraoness Mone should be in court not the House of Lords, paddyann
That was taxpayers' borrowed money too.

I agree, Callistemon. Mention of the fraudsters’ nationality is neither racist nor xenophobic. It’s disgraceful that fraudsters of any nationality can do this, and on such a phenomenal scale. I couldn’t care less which country they hail from, what they have done is truly shocking and it remains to be seen how much of the money can be recovered - a small proportion I would guess.

Over the last few years all the scam calls I have had are from foreign people so I do not call the post racist.

Or an ID card as in Europe?

Maybe it’s time to bring back the ‘dole’ queue and recipients to appear in person every two weeks (as before) instead of monies going straight into bank accounts?

My thoughts to.. How did they do that?

Blimey MaizieD! It’s headline news today in several papers - broadsheets as well as tabloids yet you think I’m being goady? Sheesh.
This takes the biscuit and I hope the Mods take a different view to you. Maybe just monitor it would be sensible?

zakouma66

All foreigners are baddies. There you go.

And so are black or brown Britons. Every single one.

But just because one thing is wrong doesn't make another right, does it paddyann? 🤔

So you think it's fine then?

I didn't care who they are, stating they are Bulgarian nationals is just stating a fact, not racism.

I'm astonished at the amount and wonder how they managed to do this.

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