Fraudster ordered to pay back £5.5k

9:00am Thursday 10th April 2008

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A man was told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay back the £5,500 he illegally claimed in housing benefits.

Gurdarshan Mandan, of Church Road, Heston, failed to tell the council he was not entitled to benefits because his wife was working and receiving income from tax credits. He was caught by a computer system which looks for suspicious financial activity. Government departments and financial institutions compared data on Mandan then referred the case to Hounslow's benefit fraud unit for further investigation.

Mandan claimed £4,700 in housing benefit and £844 in council tax benefit from May 2005 to May 2006.

The 33-year-old, who pleaded guilty to housing benefit fraud, must pay £600 in costs. He must also repay the benefit money he falsely claimed.