Two men have been arrested on suspicion of fraudulently claiming disability benefits, as part of a major anti-fraud government crackdown. The men are alleged to have created 15 identities between 2019 and 2023 to defraud £800,000 from the public purse.
An investigation by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in collaboration with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Metropolitan Police found eight applications for power of attorney were faked and used to apply for benefits on behalf of disabled applicants. The men from London allegedly also pretended to represent severely disabled applicants unable to manage their own affairs by supplying false medical reports to support claims for up to thousands of pounds of public money.
Benefit payments used to support disabled people including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), are alleged to have been among those hijacked by the fraudsters.
