By RTL News / ANP··Edited:
RTL
Five people have been convicted in the UK of receiving more than €61m (£53m) in benefits. For more than four years they came to conflict.
According to prosecutors, three women and two men from Bulgaria formed a gang that applied for massive benefits known as Universal Credit over four years. They did this with forged documents and sometimes stolen identities.
Welfare Factories
During the investigation, authorities discovered three “welfare factories”: gang-owned companies that said they could help people apply for benefits. Later the money disappeared from the pockets of the accused.
The gang was rounded up in 2021. Officers later seized cash and designer items such as glasses, watches and clothing.
‘Money is designed for the vulnerable’
During the investigation, a lawyer alleged that the suspects enriched themselves with money to help the victims. To describe the scale of fraud, he spoke of fraud on an ‘industrial scale’. According to the Department of Justice, this is the biggest welfare fraud case ever in England and Wales.
All five gang members have pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. On May 28 they will be asked what their punishment will be.
