The Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has welcomed the convictions of a Bulgarian gang which carried out the largest benefit fraud in England and Wales by falsely claiming £50 million in Universal Credit.
Galina Nikolova, 38, Stoyan Stoyanov, 27, Tsvetka Todorova, 52, Patrisia Paneva, 26, and Gyunesh Ali, 33, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering at Wood Green Crown Court in north London and will be sentenced next month.
All five are Bulgarian nationals.
An investigation by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) identified three so-called benefit factories in London which were being used by the gang.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said benefit factories have the appearance of legitimate businesses but are created with the sole intention of conducting benefit fraud.
Stride: ‘We Are Clamping Down on Fraud’
He added: “In 2022/23 we stopped £18 billion of taxpayers’ cash going into the wrong hands. We are clamping down on fraud and putting fairness at the heart of our welfare system.”
Ben Reid, a specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This case is the largest benefit fraud prosecution ever brought to the courts in England and Wales.
“For a number of years, these defendants conspired to commit industrial-scale fraud against the Universal Credit system, costing the taxpayer more than £50 million,” he added.
Mr. Reid said they submitted thousands of false claims.
He added, “The CPS proceeds of crime division and DWP will now pursue confiscation proceedings against the defendants, to remove from them any available criminal benefit from this enterprise.”
The gang made thousands of false claims between October 2016 and May 2021, hijacking identities or using the details of real people.
The CPS said, “These claims were supported by an array of forged documents, including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips and forged letters from landlords, employers, and GPs.”
“If the claims were rejected, the fraudsters would try again and again until they were granted,” they added.
The five defendants were first arrested in May 2021, when a number of properties were searched.
Ringleader Fled to Bulgaria While on Bail
After he was released on bail pending further investigations Ali, who is believed to be the ringleader, fled to Bulgaria but was extradited to the UK in February 2023.Ali pleaded guilty in July 2023 to one count of conspiracy to make false representations, one count of possession of articles for use in fraud and one count of possessing criminal property.
Investigators found a video on one of his phones of him throwing a huge pile of bank notes up in the air at his home.
The other four defendants pleaded guilty earlier this year after being faced with a mountain of evidence, which included encrypted messages from seized digital devices.
The first to admit her role was Paneva, who pleaded guilty in March 2023 to one count of possession of articles for use in fraud and entering into a money laundering arrangement. She later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false representations.
Stoyanov pleaded guilty in February this year to one count of conspiracy to make false representations and three counts of possession of articles for use in fraud.
Todorova pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to make false representations and one count of possession of articles for use in fraud.
The last to admit her role in the scam was Nikolova, who pleaded guilty on Friday to two counts of conspiracy to make false representations, one count of possessing criminal property and one count of possession of articles to use in fraud.
