£250,000 Holmes "benefit ring" smashed

POLICE, council and government officials teamed up to smash a suspected criminal ring responsible for illegally claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds in benefits.

“A local tight-knit community” across four neighbouring streets in Holmes were found to be claiming  an “extremely high” number of benefits.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would not reveal how many suspects had been investigated or arrested but police said at least 20 of those identified had led to spin-off investigations for other offences, including several relating to drugs found in their homes.

A total of £250,000 was said to have been recovered by the multi-agency Operation Holmes.

The homes implicated in the alleged scam include “numerous” empty houses for which housing benefits were being claimed and paid out, as well as houses with multiple occupancy and cases of false identity.

A DWP spokeswoman said personal independence payment, carer’s allowance and housing benefits were all found to have been claimed fraudulently.

Details of the operation — which was carried out last October by South Yorkshire Police, the DWP and Rotherham Borough Council officers — have only emerged after the police announced they had won the Partners Award at the Government Fraud Awards 2019, which recognises the work being done to protect public funds in the UK.  

A police spokeswoman said: “A local tight-knit community were sharing knowledge in order to submit successful, but false benefits claims.

“The teams were able to gather and develop intelligence, seize evidence and take joint partnership action.

“Over 20 of the cases identified have also led to investigations with intelligence gathering, border control checks and decision making underway.”

The DWP spokeswoman said: “Benefit fraud is a crime that diverts money from those who really need it and we are determined to catch the small minority who cheat the system. 

“We worked closely with Rotherham Borough Council and South Yorkshire Police to target the fraudulent claims, saving the taxpayer over £250,000.”

She added that investigations were ongoing and could not give any further details on exactly how many people were thought to be involved with the fraud claims and what further action was being taken. 

If you suspect somebody is committing benefit fraud, please visit the Direct Gov website: https://www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud or call the National Benefit Fraud Hotline: 0800 854 440.