With claims for 188 FAKE children, a fraudster defrauded the child benefit and tax credit systems of more than £1.7 million.
Jaspal Gill recruited friends and family from Birmingham and London to help with the con. This required submitting false information under almost 70 distinct names.
Up until the HMRC raised suspicions, they got away with the bold plot. A specific DWP inquiry was started after the tax office discovered that the same two phone numbers were frequently calling the tax credits claims call centre in connection with claims that appeared to be unrelated.
After admitting to 29 fraud offences, the scheme's mastermind Jaspal Gill was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in January. It would have been longer if not for the fact that he was already serving a 16-year term for drug and immigration offences, according to the judge who ruled that the sentences run consecutively.