Housing benefit cheat scammed Rotherham Council out of £27,000

Rotherham Borough Council prosecuted Tair Matloob, of Grange Road, Rotherham following information that he was claiming Housing Benefit on a property that was actually owned by a relative.

Matloob pleaded guilty at Rotherham Magistrates Court to nine offences of making false Housing Benefit claims between November 1998 and March 2012, resulting in him fraudulently claiming £47,821.74.

The case was referred to Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing and he was locked up last Wednesday for 16 months.

Cllr Jahangir Akhtar,the council’s deputy leader, said: “This is a significant sentence and one that again shows that we are serious about pursuing and countering benefits fraud in Rotherham.

“Anybody who dishonestly claims benefit does a disservice to our whole community and we are determined that they will not succeed in cheating honest citizens.”