Named and shamed: The £4.5m benefits scams of the Infamous Five

BRITAIN’S five worst benefit fiddlers were named and shamed last night after cheating the taxpayer out of £4.5million.

work and pensions, fake identities, ruth nabaguzzi, forest gate, welfare fraud, human trafficking, ian burns, agoraphobia, cheatsCheat Karen Trant lived half the year in sunny Goa in India[DWP]

In a series of separate scams the five used fake identities, kept secret bank accounts and lied about illnesses to add significantly to the nation’s annual £1.2billion bill for welfare fraud.

Worst of the Infamous Five named by the Department for Work and Pensions is Ruth Nabaguzzi, 49, of Forest Gate, London, who headed a family of con artists who milked £4million by using more than 100 false names.

She used four identities to pocket a host of benefits.

work and pensions, fake identities, ruth nabaguzzi, forest gate, welfare fraud, human trafficking, ian burns, agoraphobia, cheatsRuth was involved in human trafficking [NATIONAL]

She also took part in human trafficking of children, using their identities to top up her claims.

She was jailed for six years after being found guilty on 23 counts.

Ian Burns 72, of Aylesbury, Bucks, pocketed £226,000 during an 11-year scam in which he used the names of three other people – including a dead Irishman – to claim a state pension and other benefits. He was jailed for 18 months.

Karen Trant, 51, of Dartmouth, Devon, claimed her agoraphobia was so severe it left her housebound.

But she was pictured tanning on the beach while spending six months of the year at her flat in Goa, India.

She treated herself to a tummy tuck, liposuction, teeth whitening and surgery to eliminate her “bingo wings” while at her second home. Convicted of falsely claiming more than £134,000, she was sentenced to 27 months jail.

work and pensions, fake identities, ruth nabaguzzi, forest gate, welfare fraud, human trafficking, ian burns, agoraphobia, cheatsAmanda Casserley lived with her lover despite telling DWP she was a single mother [BNPS]

The couple were spared jail only because of ­concerns about the welfare of their four children

Amanda Casserley, 34, of Bournemouth, failed to inform the DWP that she had restarted a relationship with Andrew Hayes, 39, the father of her four children, maintaining she was a single mother. She told investigators Hayes lived with his mother.

Their decade-long scam saw them pocket £106,000 and Hayes also claimed £15,000 in ­incapacity benefit while working for five different employers.

The couple were spared jail only because of ­concerns about the welfare of their four children.

Allan Baldwin, 67, of Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, claimed he could not walk more than five yards and pocketed £28,000 in disability living allowance – while indulging his passion for Morris dancing.

He was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Work and Pensions Minister Mark Harper appealed for the public to report suspected fraud cases. He said: “We know it’s a small minority who try to commit fraud but these criminals need to know we are on their trail.”

The National Benefit Fraud Hotline is on 0800 854 440.

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