If This Happened To A Non-Immigrant English Person..

Jae Swift · 15-03-2008, 08:08

Merseyside asylum seeker’s £25,000 benefits fraud
Mar 11 2008 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

AN IRANIAN asylum seeker who falsely claimed £25,000 of benefits has been ordered to pay back £1.

Dishonest Massoud Montazery, 29, claimed money from the state even though he had £500,000 in a separate bank account.

Yesterday, a Proceeds of Crime application took place at Liverpool crown court for him to pay back his ill-gotten gains.

But as Montazery had no recoverable assets, the confiscation order of £24,973.67 could not proceed.

Instead, he was told the pay back a nominal fee of just £1.

The bizarre ruling is expected to infuriate taxpayers who are now bearing the brunt of the Iranian’s benefit pinching.

Montazery, from St Mary’s Road, Walton, was given thousands of pounds which paid for his Liverpool home, gas, electricity, water and council tax.

He was caught in November 2005 after investigators saw a BMW and an X-type Jaguar outside his house.

His comfortable lifestyle was exposed which revealed designer clothes, a fur coat for his wife and a luxury new carpet.

He made repeated denials to immigration officials about having a bank account, but his considerable finances and job at a baby equipment firm in Liverpool was soon revealed.

He admitted two counts of making false statements to obtain benefits at court and received a suspended nine-month jail term, 100 hours’ unpaid work and a two-year supervision order.

The question of Montazery’s likely deportation back to Iran appeared to move a step closer yesterday.

It is thought he has exhausted all avenues of appeal and the process to press for deportation continues.

A date has yet to be fixed but Montazery could be ordered to leave within two months.

He had claimed that he was being pursued by the Iranian authorities.

lancsdave · 15-03-2008, 08:13

Don't worry about it, I'll pay extra tax next year to help make up for the losses incurred by the greedy bastard and our inept government departments

beechy · 15-03-2008, 08:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Don't worry about it, I'll pay extra tax next year to help make up for the losses incurred by the greedy bastard and our inept government departments

good on you LD if there was more citizens like
yourself we could maintain the status quo and support these
worthy immigrates

or lets just ship them back ASAP

lancsdave · 15-03-2008, 08:33

In some ways you can't blame people for cheating the system when they know they will get away with it. Lets face it the lack of morals grows on a daily basis, not be long before the education secretary puts it on the school cirriculum. I get more annoyed at how easy we make it for anyone, and that includes our own.

jaysay · 15-03-2008, 08:59

I think like Jae says in the original post that if that had have been joe blogs who's lived in say Ossy all his life, he would have had to pay all the money back and done serious jail time in the bargin. Why is it we let these people, who as it says are seeking asylum in our country, get away with it. we're supposedly saving these people from persecution and all they do is continually kick us in the b******s, I for one am sick to the back teeth of it.

MargaretR · 15-03-2008, 09:00

If more people reported fraud when they see it, it would improve the detection rate.
I understand that some people fear that the fraudster will harass them for telling, but now the fraud can be reported anonymously via the web, by using this online form
https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/benefitfraud/

blazey · 15-03-2008, 09:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

If more people reported fraud when they see it, it would improve the detection rate.
I understand that some people fear that the fraudster will harass them for telling, but now the fraud can be reported anonymously via the web, by using this online form
https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/benefitfraud/

They get alerted when they're going to be inspected though and hide the evidence.

Obviously this guy is either a bit slow on the uptake or HE wasn't alerted at all, which would make me want to think that someone somewhere wasn't quite playing by the rulebook either.

MargaretR · 15-03-2008, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazey

They get alerted when they're going to be inspected though and hide the evidence.

Obviously this guy is either a bit slow on the uptake or HE wasn't alerted at all, which would make me want to think that someone somewhere wasn't quite playing by the rulebook either.

They don't get alerted !!
Who on Earth told you that rubbish?

The facts about how they operate are not even revealed to their fellow civil servants. Since they became a separate Government Agency of their own Fraud Agency officers have developed professionalism.

Loz · 15-03-2008, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazey

They get alerted when they're going to be inspected though and hide the evidence.

Obviously this guy is either a bit slow on the uptake or HE wasn't alerted at all, which would make me want to think that someone somewhere wasn't quite playing by the rulebook either.

Why do students think they know it all?
What would the point be of having an anonymous benefits fraud line if the person you were reporting was alerted to the fact that they were going to be investigated?
I don't dislike you but please think through what you are going to type before you post.
You always seem to get shot down in flames.

garinda · 15-03-2008, 11:34

No recoverable assets?

What about the Jag and the BMW?

Plus, I'd rip his new carpets up, and have the fur coat of his wife's back, before booting his arse back to Iran.

Neil · 15-03-2008, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

If more people reported fraud when they see it, it would improve the detection rate.

Why bother reporting it when they do nothing to the fraudsters when they catch them?

Jae Swift · 15-03-2008, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

No recoverable assets?

What about the Jag and the BMW?

Plus, I'd rip his new carpets up, and have the fur coat of his wife's back, before booting his arse back to Iran.

jaysay · 15-03-2008, 12:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loz

Why do students think they know it all?
What would the point be of having an anonymous benefits fraud line if the person you were reporting was alerted to the fact that they were going to be investigated?
I don't dislike you but please think through what you are going to type before you post.
You always seem to get shot down in flames.

Thats why they're students loz, well some of them. and we don't shoot her down in flames, its just in a blaze

MargaretR · 15-03-2008, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Why bother reporting it when they do nothing to the fraudsters when they catch them?

Courts can't always hand out penalties we think are deserved.
Sometimes the Fraud Agency decide on no prosecution but get the money back.

If fraud was reported earlier there would be less money handed to fraudsters - less to recover

and there would be more money for those who are entitled to it

When you don't report it you are in effect robbing yourself whether you pay the taxes that fund it, or get the benefits.

cashman · 15-03-2008, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

They don't get alerted !!
Who on Earth told you that rubbish?

The facts about how they operate are not even revealed to their fellow civil servants. Since they became a separate Government Agency of their own Fraud Agency officers have developed professionalism.

what do you know Margaret? ya only worked fer em all yer natural,Blazey is at uni.