£700,000 tenancy fraud prevented in Wolverhampton

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Tenancy Fraud:

In all, nine cases
of tenancy fraud, totalling an estimated £695,000, have been stopped
after a crackdown by Wolverhampton Council’s counter-fraud team, in
four months

As reported by
Thomas Parkes in the Wolverhampton Express and Star, illegal
sub-lettings, fraudulent right-to-buy applications and social housing
application frauds were uncovered by the team.

Other frauds and
potential frauds detected involved those where owners tried to pass
the property on to a relative, or failing to hand over keys, were
also detected.

These all came to
light between April and July this year, a report by the counter-fraud
team revealed.

In total around 150
instances of suspected fraud were investigated by the team. A Council
spokesperson said that action would be taken to recover all the
stolen money as part of a “zero-tolerance” policy.

The crackdown is
part of a central Government funded HMRC pilot scheme to tackle crime
in the housing sector.

The report to the
council’s Audit and Risk Committee says:

“The counter-fraud
team is continuing to develop and lead in raising fraud awareness
across the council and in promoting an anti-fraud culture.

“The team carries
out investigations into areas of suspected or reported fraudulent
activity.

“It also organises
a series of council wide pro-active fraud activities, including the
targeted testing of areas open to the potential of fraudulent
activity.

“The council
was selected by the Cabinet Office as one of only 10 local
authorities to take part in a pilot National Fraud Initiative (NFI)
exercise where HMRC data has been matched to the council’s data for
the first time.

“HMRC hold
information about household composition, household earnings and
property ownership.

“A sample of
matches were investigated with the majority relating to tenancy
issues.

“The counter-fraud
team has provided feedback to the Cabinet Office which has been used
to help refine the matches and to ensure the maximum impact is
achieved from the exercise.�

A spokesman for
Wolverhampton Council said: “The city of Wolverhampton Council
operates a zero-tolerance policy on fraud and will not hesitate to
take action as appropriate.

“We are pleased
to be a key partner in this National Fraud Initiative data matching
exercise because, ultimately, fraud against the council is fraud
against the hard-working taxpayers of Wolverhampton.�

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