wvwvw
08-03-2013, 10:55 PM
Bogus ID gang let 250 Bangladeshi immigrants exploit UK benefits 'gold mine'
Group charged more than £10,000 for bogus paperwork saying they had worked in the UK for five years
One gang member who worked in a bank illegally opened accounts for 'clients'
Seven men were sentenced to between one and four years in jail
By JAMES TOZER
PUBLISHED: 22:30 GMT, 2 August 2013 | UPDATED: 23:20 GMT, 2 August 2013
A gang of fraudsters who helped up to 250 Bangladeshi immigrants con their way towards British citizenship and a ‘gold mine’ of benefits was jailed for nearly 20 years yesterday.
Charging a minimum of £10,000 per person, they provided each with bogus paperwork suggesting they had been working in this country for five years.
One gang member worked at a branch of Barclays Bank from where he was able to fraudulently open accounts for the ‘clients’.
Armed with their fake documents, the immigrants were able to secure UK citizenship and bring their families over from Bangladesh – and win entitlement to claim benefits and free NHS care.
Immigration officials believe as many as 250 ‘clients’ acquired fake paperwork, but so far just ten have been traced and face being deported.
Yesterday a judge jailed the seven-strong gang for almost 20 years, saying ringleader Ataur Rahman Talukdar ‘deliberately set out to undermine the immigration laws for his own profit’.
Sentencing the gang at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Blake described Talukdar as ‘the mastermind and puppeteer of the whole conspiracy’.
Afterwards, Detective Sergeant Jeff Taylor, of the Home Office team which exposed the gang, said the scam had given immigrants access to a lucrative ‘gold mine’ of benefits.
‘The scam was so good as it made you 100 per cent British – and legally entitled to every single benefit,’ he said.
‘Although £10,000 is a lot of money, it is nothing compared to what you can rake in when you are British, which was like gold dust or a gold mine to these people … they were claiming everything they could.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2383868/Bogus-ID-gang-let-250-Bangladeshi-immigrants-exploit-UK-benefits-gold-mine.html#ixzz2awvTVCSk
Group charged more than £10,000 for bogus paperwork saying they had worked in the UK for five years
One gang member who worked in a bank illegally opened accounts for 'clients'
Seven men were sentenced to between one and four years in jail
By JAMES TOZER
PUBLISHED: 22:30 GMT, 2 August 2013 | UPDATED: 23:20 GMT, 2 August 2013
A gang of fraudsters who helped up to 250 Bangladeshi immigrants con their way towards British citizenship and a ‘gold mine’ of benefits was jailed for nearly 20 years yesterday.
Charging a minimum of £10,000 per person, they provided each with bogus paperwork suggesting they had been working in this country for five years.
One gang member worked at a branch of Barclays Bank from where he was able to fraudulently open accounts for the ‘clients’.
Armed with their fake documents, the immigrants were able to secure UK citizenship and bring their families over from Bangladesh – and win entitlement to claim benefits and free NHS care.
Immigration officials believe as many as 250 ‘clients’ acquired fake paperwork, but so far just ten have been traced and face being deported.
Yesterday a judge jailed the seven-strong gang for almost 20 years, saying ringleader Ataur Rahman Talukdar ‘deliberately set out to undermine the immigration laws for his own profit’.
Sentencing the gang at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Blake described Talukdar as ‘the mastermind and puppeteer of the whole conspiracy’.
Afterwards, Detective Sergeant Jeff Taylor, of the Home Office team which exposed the gang, said the scam had given immigrants access to a lucrative ‘gold mine’ of benefits.
‘The scam was so good as it made you 100 per cent British – and legally entitled to every single benefit,’ he said.
‘Although £10,000 is a lot of money, it is nothing compared to what you can rake in when you are British, which was like gold dust or a gold mine to these people … they were claiming everything they could.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2383868/Bogus-ID-gang-let-250-Bangladeshi-immigrants-exploit-UK-benefits-gold-mine.html#ixzz2awvTVCSk