A 44-year-old fraudster has been jailed for eight months for illegally claiming more than £45,000 in benefits over a period of nearly five years.
Charles Lwanga, of Southbridge Road, Croydon, told the council he was a single parent, despite his son no longer living in the country.
The deception enabled him to claim £45,175.46 in housing and council tax benefit from December 2008 to July 2013.
His fraud was uncovered following a data matching exercise which triggered an investigation by the council’s anti-fraud team.
Lwanga was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court yesterday (12 Aug) having previously pleaded guilty to four charges of dishonesty under the Fraud Act.
“Lwanga’s custodial sentence should serve as a deterrent to others who are thinking of stealing from the public purse.
“That tiny minority of benefit claimants who deliberately lie when claiming benefits should realise that fraud is a serious offence, and that they will be punished in the courts.”
Councillor Simon Hall, cabinet member for finance and treasury
