Fraudsters jailed for claiming £70k (From The Argus)
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Hove court jails fraudsters for claiming £70k
2:30pm Wednesday 9th January 2013 in News By Neil Vowles
JAILED: Evelyn Girgis
A fraudster and her husband were caught falsely claiming nearly £70,000 in benefits over ten years after council officials read about her previous crimes in The Argus.
Evelyn Girgis and her husband Dr Maher Habib made 32 false claims for council tax, housing benefit and jobseekers’ allowance between them from 2001, despite having multiple saving accounts and owning two properties.
Brighton and Hove City Council officials only began investigating the couple’s claims after reading about Mrs Girgis’ conviction for fraud against her employers Lloyds TSB in 2010 in The Argus.
Sentencing them yesterday (January 8) in Hove Crown Court, Judge Richard Hayward said the pair had “milked the system” and were motivated purely by greed.
Despite making claims that they didn’t have an income, the court heard how the pair had at one point up to twelve bank accounts between them containing savings of up to £48,000.
Home owners
The couple failed to declare that they owned their own home in Old Shoreham Road, Portslade, that Mrs Girgis jointly owned a property with her sister in St Aubyn’s Road in Fishersgate or that Dr Habib was working as a self-employed interpreter.
The property in Portslade has since suffered extensive damage from a fire and it is thought unlikely that Brighton and Hove City Council can recover any value from the property.
The pair also claimed an additional discretionary housing benefit in November 2003 complaining that the laminate flooring in their home and dust mites were causing problems for their two asthmatic sons.
Debt repayment
The couple were using the false benefit claims to meet mortgage payments on their home and to pay off credit card and loan debts totalling £35,000 that they had run up.
Mrs Girgis was given a 12-month suspended sentence in June 2010 at Lewes Crown Court after paying cheques worth £8,300 into her own account that were meant to go to her employer Lloyds TSB in Hove.
The pair both pleaded guilty to 19 charges of false claims for up to £58,000 while Mrs Girgis had five counts for council and housing benefit worth more than £9,000 and nine counts of falsely claiming job seekers allowance totalling more than £2,400.
The pair pleaded guilty to the charges in November and were sentenced yesterday at Hove Crown Court with Mrs Girgis receiving two years and Dr Habib 20 months.
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Comments(16)
lordenglandofsussex
says...
4:04pm Wed 9 Jan 13
hubby
says...
8:27pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Good old Brightonian names.
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
10:54pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Let's hope the council is now checking the names of landlords on its new landlord licensing scheme register with the names of people claiming benefits.
A trawl of the student rented homes in Moulsecoomb would be a good place to start.
sussexguy
says...
11:14pm Wed 9 Jan 13
WhoAreU
says...
10:13am Thu 10 Jan 13
Joshiman
says...
10:47am Thu 10 Jan 13
Smile2013
says...
11:18am Thu 10 Jan 13
I agree with 'who are u', we should not pass judgement fully, its a shame that her image is uploaded yet a paedophiles image is not always known to the public as their kids ID needs to be protected if they have any. Naming to shame is one thing but uploading an image in such cases can lead to their kids suffering more than anyone! Who's pictures do we need to see? Fraudsters or dangerous people?
WhoAreU
says...
11:49am Thu 10 Jan 13
Smile2013 wrote:Well spoken Smile2013, we are all sinners and we are only forgiven when we repent and confess. The couple have confessed and they have learnt their lesson and they are paying the price.
I do not know these people but people like them are always abusing the system which is intended to assist those that truly need it, there are many more.
I agree with 'who are u', we should not pass judgement fully, its a shame that her image is uploaded yet a paedophiles image is not always known to the public as their kids ID needs to be protected if they have any. Naming to shame is one thing but uploading an image in such cases can lead to their kids suffering more than anyone! Who's pictures do we need to see? Fraudsters or dangerous people?
We wish that we can learn from this lesson. As you said it is totally unnecessary to publish her photo. She is not a WANTED terrorist, murderer or a child molester, she is already serving time, as if that is not enough. We are living in a cruel society
Larry the Lamb
says...
2:53pm Thu 10 Jan 13
martyt
says...
4:23pm Thu 10 Jan 13
WhoAreU wrote:how do you know she is not any of the above ,they made a mistake my arse they fiddled and robbed the system and were only caught by there greed as she was found to be robbing her employer ,and before you start on any more of your bible bashing ,it might be an idea to hit your self around the head with it and try and knock some sense in to your self,do you know these people close family or friends ??????????? 2 years and a year ,the two years drop to a year i think most of us would do 12 months for 58k in ford open house
Smile2013 wrote:Well spoken Smile2013, we are all sinners and we are only forgiven when we repent and confess. The couple have confessed and they have learnt their lesson and they are paying the price.
I do not know these people but people like them are always abusing the system which is intended to assist those that truly need it, there are many more.
I agree with 'who are u', we should not pass judgement fully, its a shame that her image is uploaded yet a paedophiles image is not always known to the public as their kids ID needs to be protected if they have any. Naming to shame is one thing but uploading an image in such cases can lead to their kids suffering more than anyone! Who's pictures do we need to see? Fraudsters or dangerous people?
We wish that we can learn from this lesson. As you said it is totally unnecessary to publish her photo. She is not a WANTED terrorist, murderer or a child molester, she is already serving time, as if that is not enough. We are living in a cruel society
imnotpc
says...
7:33pm Thu 10 Jan 13
hubby wrote:hahahaha exactly what i thought...we are such mugs in this country
Girgis and Habib.
Good old Brightonian names.
imnotpc
says...
7:38pm Thu 10 Jan 13
martyt wrote:very well said and everyone agrees with you
WhoAreU wrote:how do you know she is not any of the above ,they made a mistake my arse they fiddled and robbed the system and were only caught by there greed as she was found to be robbing her employer ,and before you start on any more of your bible bashing ,it might be an idea to hit your self around the head with it and try and knock some sense in to your self,do you know these people close family or friends ??????????? 2 years and a year ,the two years drop to a year i think most of us would do 12 months for 58k in ford open house
Smile2013 wrote:Well spoken Smile2013, we are all sinners and we are only forgiven when we repent and confess. The couple have confessed and they have learnt their lesson and they are paying the price.
I do not know these people but people like them are always abusing the system which is intended to assist those that truly need it, there are many more.
I agree with 'who are u', we should not pass judgement fully, its a shame that her image is uploaded yet a paedophiles image is not always known to the public as their kids ID needs to be protected if they have any. Naming to shame is one thing but uploading an image in such cases can lead to their kids suffering more than anyone! Who's pictures do we need to see? Fraudsters or dangerous people?
We wish that we can learn from this lesson. As you said it is totally unnecessary to publish her photo. She is not a WANTED terrorist, murderer or a child molester, she is already serving time, as if that is not enough. We are living in a cruel society
WhoAreU
says...
7:50pm Thu 10 Jan 13
martyt wrote:Leave the Bible alone do not blaspheme. In your eyes this is an uncharted territory but to many its a life line . Be careful how you address the word of God. I have been bashing my head with the Holy Bible since I was a young man, that's how I got some sense in my head as opposed to you. If you want to be wise read a verse or two every day, it might enlighten your knowledge to enable you to talk sense. Last but not least, why are we called RIP OFF BRITAIN? Go and watch Cowboy Builders who are ripping off vulnerable pensioners, they are let off lightly. See how many companies in the UK and in the Channel Islands are scamming people. Billions of pounds have been wasted by bankers through huge bonuses, that's why we are in deep recession. Most of the British population is living on benefit of some kind and now we are using the above couple as scapegoats in order to justify the dirt under our carpets.
WhoAreU wrote:how do you know she is not any of the above ,they made a mistake my arse they fiddled and robbed the system and were only caught by there greed as she was found to be robbing her employer ,and before you start on any more of your bible bashing ,it might be an idea to hit your self around the head with it and try and knock some sense in to your self,do you know these people close family or friends ??????????? 2 years and a year ,the two years drop to a year i think most of us would do 12 months for 58k in ford open house
Smile2013 wrote:Well spoken Smile2013, we are all sinners and we are only forgiven when we repent and confess. The couple have confessed and they have learnt their lesson and they are paying the price.
I do not know these people but people like them are always abusing the system which is intended to assist those that truly need it, there are many more.
I agree with 'who are u', we should not pass judgement fully, its a shame that her image is uploaded yet a paedophiles image is not always known to the public as their kids ID needs to be protected if they have any. Naming to shame is one thing but uploading an image in such cases can lead to their kids suffering more than anyone! Who's pictures do we need to see? Fraudsters or dangerous people?
We wish that we can learn from this lesson. As you said it is totally unnecessary to publish her photo. She is not a WANTED terrorist, murderer or a child molester, she is already serving time, as if that is not enough. We are living in a cruel society
WhoAreU
says...
8:00pm Thu 10 Jan 13
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
sedwardsESQ
says...
12:15am Fri 11 Jan 13
bug eye says...
2:58pm Wed 9 Jan 13