Man who made fake ID using Border Agency letter and claimed £349k jailed

A man who used a letter from the UK Border Agency to create a false identity and claim £349,000 in benefits has been jailed for fraud.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Hossein Ali Najafi received a letter to Hussein Ali Nagrafi in 2010.

It said the 57-year-old Iranian, who was living in Manchester, "saw an opportunity" and used it to create an identity and make two sets of claims.

He was jailed for two years and five months at Manchester Crown Court.

Prosecutors said on 1 June 2010, Najafi received a letter addressed to Hussein Ali Nagrafi from the UK Border Agency, informing the addressee that he had been granted him indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

They said a year later, in August 2011, Najafi applied for a passport in his given name, which stated his birthplace as Tehran in Iran.

Najafi "saw an opportunity" and used the letter from the agency to create another identity to claim further benefits, they said.

He obtained a Home Office identity card, a second national insurance number and a provisional driving licence.

He went on to claim benefits from two addresses, one in Manchester and the other in London, under the two names.

Prosecutors said his claims for employment support allowance, disability living allowance, personal independence payment and housing and council tax benefits included stating that he had extensive physical disabilities, "which surveillance disproved".

They said he also failed to disclose an income he had in addition to his benefits and, on some occasions, gave the same telephone numbers for both sets of claims.

His ground floor flat in London and his home in Artillery Court, Manchester, were searched and officers found identification in the name of Hussein Ali Nagrafi.

He was also found to have 26 bank accounts in his two identities.

Prosecutors said photographs on the documents he submitted "further proved" he was the same person.

In court, Najafi admitted 21 offences, including fraud, furnishing documents to facilitate fraud and possession of false identity documents.

Speaking after sentencing, senior crown prosecutor Maqsood Khan said Najafi had abused the system "which exists to support people who are in genuine need".

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