Hanley man Basam Ahmed claimed £6k in benefits from abroad
AN IRAQI who was overpaid more than £6,000 in benefits while he was out of this country has been handed a conditional discharge.
Basam Ahmed, who came to Britain in 2001, continued to claim income support and housing and council tax benefit while absent from the UK, North Staffordshire magistrates heard.
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Prosecutor Paul Kay, representing the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP), said: "It is a condition of receiving benefits that you are resident in the UK.
"His passport showed departure and arrival dates from and to the UK. And his bank statements showed cash withdrawals in several countries during the period he was absent from the UK."
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The court heard that when interviewed, Ahmed was initially reluctant to accept he had been out of the country. But he came clean when shown his passport and bank statements and confirmed the amounts, dates and places of the withdrawals were correct.
Ahmed, aged 35, of Westwood Court, Hordley Street, Hanley, pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to notify a change of circumstances affecting his entitlement to benefits. The offending happened on dates between June 25, 2009 and March 4, 2011.
In total he received £6,620 he was not entitled to.
Angela Trafford, mitigating, said the claims were legitimate from the start.
But Ahmed met his wife in 2009 and he started to return to his homeland to arrange for her to come back to the UK with him.
"He considers the UK his home now and after every visit he has returned to the UK," said Miss Trafford.
"He accepts, however, that during the periods he was not in the UK, he should have notified the department."
Miss Trafford said Ahmed has no cautions or previous convictions and has now lost his good character. He suffers from severe epilepsy and can suffer about 20 seizures a month.
She added that cash is being deducted from his benefits to repay the money.
Magistrates sentenced Ahmed to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £100 costs.
Comments
by WilkesyJ
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 8:14PM
“You've made my day. I don't think I've ever been called an uneducated ''baffoon'' by somebody who can't even spell the insult properly. Classic. What's your point re. JSA? Yes, Brits are swindling it while living abroad. So you've been to Pattaya and Benidorm, congratulations. And you live in Stoke by choice? Jeeze, where are you from? Wales? xxx”
by mykidsfuture
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 8:02PM
“WilkesyJ
"They are proud of the fact that they haven't notified the DWP and they spend their time abroad, taking advantage of cheap booze and sex workers. There's plenty of them, believe me, but as you haven't left Stoke on Trent for so long you wouldn't know that, would you? Incidentally, why haven't you posted on the other story about benefit fraud?"
Actually, I'm not from Stoke! And I do leave Stoke on a regular basis as it happens, I have worked all over the World including Asia and currently still frequent mainland Europe. And as far as commenting on the benefit fraud it you look properly, you will see I have. Oh and the only benefit that isn't payable whilst abroad, is job seekers allowance.
All your comments confirm what my thoughts where about you, you obviously do not, cannot or don't want to see what is in front of your nose. The fact that you obviously live abroad now strengthens my view that you haven't got a clue of what you are talking about and as a non resisident, what happens in the UK, quite frankly has nothing to do with you. You're obviously an uneducated baffoon that doesn't give two monkeys about this once Great Country.”
by The_Locksmith
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 3:48PM
“From what I saw when I was living in Baghdad (on operations with MNC-I), it isn't a great place to be, so it is obvious why he would come back and live for free at the expense of you and I. And now we get the delights of his wife coming over too - oh, happy days!
I am now a civilian and despite having 2 jobs and a military pension, I can't afford foreign holidays yet this loafer jets off so often he doesn't even consider it significant.
Deport him and his scrounging ilk.”
by WilkesyJ
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 9:35AM
“Mykidsfuture........I've actually already left the hovel of Stoke on Trent and enjoy a much sunnier climate abroad. I'm not talking about pensioners, I'm talking about white, British scroungers who claim all manner of benefits that are only payable to UK residents. They are proud of the fact that they haven't notified the DWP and they spend their time abroad, taking advantage of cheap booze and sex workers. There's plenty of them, believe me, but as you haven't left Stoke on Trent for so long you wouldn't know that, would you? Incidentally, why haven't you posted on the other story about benefit fraud? Anything to do with the Anglo-Saxon sounding name? Calm down, wipe the froth from your mouth and take a good look at yourself. Try getting an education, travel, read, meet new people...”
by City_Lad82
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 2:39AM
“Compare this to the case of 'benefit cheat' Craig Jackson, found guilty of overclaiming £1,136 over a two month period after finding work so got slapped with 2 counts of failing to notify...
He confessed that he was in debt and since it was two counts we can assume one count was housing benefit to cover his head with a roof and running water and an additional income benefit (either living or jobseekers) while he got back on his feet and into the working world after being on the pile for two years, was the judge as understanding to Mr Jackson?
Understanding enough to order him to pay the whole sum back as well as £50 costs on top!
What a load of B*****ks!!!”
by semis
Wednesday, June 27 2012, 2:06AM
“"He considers the UK his home now and after every visit he has returned to the UK," Of course he has returned, who wouldn't when we pay you benefits and housing allowance when you go on holiday abroad for weeks on end and when you return get a slap on the wrist for doing it.
Deport the scrounger.”
by mykidsfuture
Tuesday, June 26 2012, 11:12PM
“by WilkesyJ
Tuesday, June 26 2012, 12:06PM
."lagu2,you seem to have some real feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing going on there...
hat8u, I agree entirely. There are countless British ex-pats living abroad while still claiming UK benefits. The scum."
The so called scum you refer to, many are pensioners that fought for this Country you ungrateful git. The cost of living is so high here it is cheaper for them to go to Spain (an EEC Country where they are legally entitled to claim their UK benefits) for the winter.
If you support these immigrants so much WilkesyJ, why don't you go and join them, I'm sure that there would be enough support from this site to buy you a one way ticket! I bet you wouldn't be so opinionated then, would you? This country can well do without people like you.”
by westport
Tuesday, June 26 2012, 9:43PM
“this country is a joke !!!!!!!!”
by DJofTNE
Tuesday, June 26 2012, 8:47PM
“I wonder if the person who dishes out these laughable punishments is ever affected by these type of vermin. Who in their right mind dishes out a fine that is paid by back the dodgy benefits the dodgy person is claiming in the first place. I thought magistrates were people from a good background with some intelligence. This is to the contrary. All magistrates need to feel embarressed by this decison. Its not the first time either, the last asian to get done for the same thing got the same 'punishment' and those toerags from wolstanton got away with beating a child, what is the world coming too. Time to kick these filth out and time to chuck out the dead wood magistrates who obviously have no touch with reality in any way shape or form.”
by bigmouth666
Tuesday, June 26 2012, 8:32PM
“As up to 20 fits a month, surprised jetting round like that he has never had one on a plain, I mean, how dangerus whould that be.”