A team of benefits fraud investigators have disclosed details of some of their recent successes, including bringing to book an offender who was caught when footage was found showing her dancing at a wedding, while another was pictured being dropped into the North Sea from an RAF helicopter.
Maribel Milligan and Sandra Turnbull were both busted for their bogus benefit claims after investigations by the Department for Work and Pensions fraud team, it was reported on ChronicleLive. The team based at Tyneview Park in Newcastle began investigating Milligan after a tip-off from the National Benefit Fraud Helpline.
A trail of evidence revealed she had been living a lavish lifestyle while wrongfully claiming she was heavily disabled and claiming no fewer than seven benefits. Milligan, of High Street, West Cornforth, Ferryhill, County Durham, pocketed more than half a million pounds of taxpayers' cash. She was eventually convicted and jailed for three years.
The team of investigators on the case said: "She wasn't as disabled as she claimed and was working, which she hadn't declared to us. We got photos that came through our investigation. The thing is these are just photos and give you a snapshot of one particular day at one particular time. Is it a person standing up dancing at a party, or is it her being supported? We don't know. It gives us a snapshot and a clue as to what is happening."
But damning video footage showed Milligan dancing to a Michael Jackson song at a wedding, and photographs showed her living a lavish lifestyle with pictures of her in Paris standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. The fraud team also found out that she had launched her own beauty salon business in her home.
The team said: "We then feed that back into the investigation and the team look at what avenues to pursue to further that investigation. The outcome of this case was a three-year custodial sentence and an order to repay the benefits."
In the case of Turnbull, the doctor dishonestly claimed more than £22,000 and was caught out when pictures emerged showing her being winched out of a plane. Turnbull, who had worked at Newcastle General Hospital, was in receipt of disability benefits despite the fact she was volunteering as an army medic and being passed fit for combat duties.
The team said: "We had an allegation come to us about someone claiming Disability Living Allowance and a mobility car. We had a referral come in that things weren't quite right and there were suspicions that they were more physically able than we had been made aware of.
"So following the evidence we did gather a lot of details. The person was a trainee GP and this is when they were on exercise as a reservist and this is on one of their training exercises where they chuck her in the sea and winch her up afterwards that all linked into the case.
"The outcome of this was that she was ordered to repay the £22,000 and resulted in the temporary suspension of her medical licence as well. It is a great result for us." The team is responsible for looking into cases in detail, covering Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, and if they believe it is appropriate, the case can end up being taken to the courts.
They can receive tip-offs from the National Benefit Fraud Hotline, anonymous referrals via telephone or internet, and data matching which are raised when IRIS, or staff referrals by someone who works as a case manager or work coach.
A spokesman for the team said: "These bigger cases could have been a line on a referral that started it off; it could be the small thing that someone has noticed and this person is doing X,Y,Z and they put in a referral and before you know it you have cases where some has wrongfully claimed half a million pounds, has properties and is running a business on the side, claiming to be disabled."
The lead investigator said: "One key thing I can say about our investigatory process is that it is our duty to follow the evidence wherever it leads, whether that is towards or away from an offence. Our criminal investigators are all trained in line with college of policing standards and all work to prove or disprove.
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
"Our teams have to maintain impartiality throughout the investigation. We are here to protect the customer and the public purse. There is a case closed as no case is established, we can offer an administrative penalty that is an alternative to prosecution, and obviously prosecution."
The spokesman added: "A case can take years — there's a lot of background work that goes in. We are going to be taking someone to court. We have to make sure it did happen and have to speak to the individual as well, and have to get a decision and go through the legal process.
"We talk to the public as well and get witness statements. People are interviewed under caution, whatever evidence is put to them, it can lead to more questions and more witness statements.
"We follow the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has to be convinced of the case, everything has to be 100 percent legal. The investigators don't make the decision about what happens, CPS does. It can get to a point where they say actually there is no wrongdoing in this case, close it down, or in other cases there are twists and turns and more avenues to explore."
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
