Man who claimed £43k in 14-year benefit fraud gets suspended sentence

Mohammed Ali kept the fact he part-owned two houses secret from the Department of Work and Pensions for almost 14 years.

He had made a legitimate claim for benefits, after falling ill in 2003, and started collecting income support, employment support and council tax benefit.

Then the family was hit by tragedy, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

One of his sons was killed in a road accident, which left another son severely disabled and this led to an insurance pay out of more than a million pounds to the badly-injured survivor.

Ali's name was on the deeds of two houses then bought by the family, in the neighbouring Walsall streets of Hunter Crescent and Harden Road in 2009 and 2010.

This put this assets over the £16,000 ceiling for those who can legitimately claim the benefit payments he was receiving.

But Ali did not tell the authorities of the change in his circumstances and continued to trouser the pay outs for a further 14 years, until the racket was uncovered.

Officials, tipped off that he had secret wealth, investigated his finances and discovered his link to the two houses.

Ali, who was of previous good character, insisted that his son had only put his name on the deeds to allow him to collect rent from the tenants.

The defendant from Gower Street, Walsall, was found guilty of five charges of illegally obtaining benefit and one of making a false statement after a trial.

He received a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.