A BENEFITS cheat netted more than £20,000 by claiming tax credits for 18 made-up children - just by phoning an inland revenue helpline. The judge who jailed Caockmari Omoike, 36, for 12 months said he was "concerened" about the simplicity with which she was able to claim for so many non-existant children. Judge Anthony Ensor urged the tax authorities to "be more vigialant" and tighten up procedures to prevent similar con tricks in the future. The court was told that Omoike rented two flats in the Crumpsall area and claimed tax credits for nine-children of her own but between January and April last year from an address in Landsdowne Road. She also claimed credits for nine other children under the false name of Nyima Njai from her second flat in Woodlands Road. Nicolas Clark, prosecuting said Omoike, who was born in Gambia but is a Swedish citizen, received £20,000 in credits and sent "large amounts" to bank accounts in Gambia and Sweden. She also fraudulently netted £3,000 from Salford council in housing benefits. EU citizens are able to claim tax credits to support children living in this country. Vic Wozny defending, said he had been unable to get any explanation from Omoike for her commiting the fraud other than to say she was going through a bad patch.
Judge Ensor told Manchester Crown Court: "It is disturbing that alarm bells did not ring when the seventh or eight child was claimed for within weeks of the previous child appearing on the scene." Omoike pleaded guilty to all charges of tax credit fraud and three charges of housing benefit fraud. She was also made the subject of a deportation order. A customs spokesman said: "Over the last two years we have had in place a considerable number of measures to combat organised attacks against the tax credit system" Investigators found that Omoike had made more than 200 telephone calls to the Tax Credit Helpline amending the size of her families. She was first arrested in June 2006 and investigators who searched her one-room flat found no evidence of children but multiple tax credit award notices in the names of Omoike and Njai multiple identity cards in both names. They also seized evidence of multipule wire transfers of money to the Gambia and an unused return ticket.
BPP MANCHESTER SAYS;
We would strongly advise Caockmari Omoike this Gambian come Swedish scrounger to make use of that unused return ticket !!! And also why
should a Black woman with 18 children set off alarm
bells ??? Sounds pretty normal to us !!!
FOURTEEN WORDS.
