Five members of an organized gang, including Gyunesh Ali, Galina Nikolova, Stoyan Stoyanov, Tsvetka Todorova, and Patritsia Paneva, have been convicted of the largest case of benefit fraud in England and Wales.
They each admitted to stealing more than £50m at London’s Wood Green Crown Court. All five pleaded guilty to fraud. They also admitted money laundering offence.
The gang, consisting of three Bulgarian women and two men, made thousands of fraudulent claims for Universal Credit over a four and a half year period.
The gang used forged documents, including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips, and forged letters from landlords, employers, and GPs, to make false claims for Universal Credit.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reported that the gang had stolen £53.9m by using a combination of legitimate identity documents and fake documentation to make it appear they were eligible for benefits when they were not.
