Two pensioners have been found guilty of illegally claiming £1 million in benefits. Emmanuel Bay, 68, and Nancy Bay, 67, received disability payments for nearly 20 years, between 1999 and 2018.
The elderly couple claimed the money under Mr Bay’s name, even though he had recovered from a previous illness and was no longer entitled to support. The pair went on to buy five properties between them while making the fraudulent claims.
The couple’s crimes came to light after council staff became suspicious while carrying out a review of Mr Bay’s claim and passed on the case to the local authority's counter fraud team. Mr Bay was found to have wrongly received numerous disability support payments from the council in the form of Direct Payments, which allow people with disabilities or ill health to sort out their own care, MyLondon reports.
He also illegally claimed for Independent Living Fund payments from the council and received money fraudulently from the Department for Work and Pensions. Mr and Mrs Bay, from Brixton in London, were found guilty of 21 offences under the Theft Act, Fraud Act and Forgery and Counterfeiting Act at Inner London Crown Court on March 6, following a four-week trial.
A third defendant, Bruno Matudi, 68, was convicted of two offences under the Fraud Act. They will be sentenced later in March. Lambeth Council investigators will now begin to recover the stolen money from the couple.
