Nigerian Benefit Fraudster ordered to pay £1.2 million •Or risks 6 years imprisonmentIN a landmark case for Croydon Council, Nigerian Ovo Mayomi 44 was ordered to pay £1,197,743.54 due to immigration offences, theft and benefit fraud. Though Nigerians are not the only ones committing benefit fraud, but they are the highest group with tendency to be fraudulent and dishonest.
Mayomi a mini cab driver, claimed he was earning £700 a month and living in Croydon, south London, while his wife Juliet Ubiribo, 32, claimed to be a single mother so she could claim both council and housing benefit.
The couple's luck ran out, when Ubiribo requested the council rehoused her because she is a victim of domestic violence. The phone number she gave on her form as that of her landlord Ayiomike Neburagho turned out to be her husband's Mayomi who was using false identity. During a police interview, Mayomi admitted that while living in Nigeria he had bought the identity of Ayiomike Matthew Neburagho and had entered the UK as him. Mayomi was also shown a wedding photograph of himself impersonating Neburagho, marrying a Nigerian woman in the UK. He admitted he was the groom but claimed he was just standing in for someone Things got more complicated for the fraudster when a visa application by Mayomi showed they had married a year earlier and that Ubiribo had a job in order to support him.
With the UK's government zero tolerance for benefit fraud, the issue was further investigated by the collaboration of Croydon Council's corporate anti-fraud team and the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA). The couple was traced back to Nigeria where fraud investigators found Mayomi and his wife living a lavish lifestyle of luxury and riches. They discovered, Mayomi owned a large luxurious mansion in Lekki Lagos Nigeria, befitting royals, worth more than £1m endowed with chandeliers and £89,000 worth of sound equipment. He also wore a £25,00 watch and his wife wore a Rolex watch and drove a Mercedes Sport Coupe.
Investigators also discovered two money-transferring businesses and bank accounts as well as a fish farm owned by the couple.
Mayomi was charged with nine counts of theft, one count of fraud, four immigration offences and one count of perjury for entering into a false marriage using a false identity while Ubiribo was charged with ten counts of theft, four counts of fraud and two immigration offences. They both pleaded guilty to all charges.
In 2010, Mayomi was jailed for 30 months and Ubiribo was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and be under curfew for four months from 9pm to 6am. Court orders were signed freezing their assets in the UK and abroad in 2010, and an investigation was launched to find out how much the couple had gained from their criminal activities and the full extent of their assets.
The confiscation order was made at Croydon Crown Court after Mayomi disputed the investigators' findings.
Judge Nicholas Ainley ruled that Mayomi must pay £1,197,743,54 by 14th March 2013 and failure to do so will land him in jail for six years during which time interest will accumulate on his debt, which will remain due following his release. Speaking on the outcome of the case, Councillor Dudley Mead, deputy leader of the council, said: "This is a landmark case for Croydon as it is the first time the council's in-house financial investigator has pursued a major confiscation order of this nature. "This case should serve as a clear warning that crime does not pay." The councillor's warning might fall on deaf ears because in Nigeria, importance is placed more on the wealth rather than the method used in acquiring it. The mentality is "get rich whichever way or die trying".
http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/sunday-ze ... prisonment
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