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Hayes man imprisoned for £17,000 fraud
A HAYES man has been handed a 15-month jail term after fraudulently claiming over £17,000 in benefits.
Joao Pedro Lando, 31, of Guiness Close, claimed housing and council tax benefit whilst failing to disclose student support grants and loans he had received. He also collected income support whilst in paid employment.
The total amount of benefits he claimed in a five year period, from 2002 to 2007, totalled £17,942.30.
The fraud was discovered by Hillingdon council and the Department of Work and Pensions in a joint investigation.
The District Judge commented that this was a systematic abuse of the benefit system over a considerable number of years.
He went on to explain that Mr Lando was an intelligent man who had obtained an expensive education and had six years in which to own up but chose not do so.
Garry Coote, Hillingdon's Benefit Fraud Team Manager, said: "We're always pleased when a benefit cheat is caught - after all it's your money they are stealing. I'm always surprised that each and every year we still find people defrauding taxpayers totalling tens of thousands of pounds."
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