By RTL/ANP News··an average:
from right to left
Five people have been convicted in the UK after claiming benefits worth more than €61m (£53m). More than four years later they have come to blows.
According to prosecutors, the three women and two men, all from Bulgaria, formed a gang that applied for huge benefits, so-called universal credit, for more than four years, sometimes using forged documents and stolen identities.
luxury factories
During the investigation, authorities found three “welfare factories”: gang-owned businesses that claimed to help people apply for benefits. The money then disappeared into the criminals’ pockets.
The gang was arrested in 2021. Authorities then seized cash and designer items — such as glasses, watches and clothing.
“The money was for the weak.”
During the trial, the prosecutor accused the suspects of enriching themselves with money meant to help vulnerable people. Describing the scale of the fraud, he spoke of fraud on an “industrial scale”. According to the Ministry of Justice, this is the largest ever case of social care fraud in England and Wales.
The five gang members have pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. They will hear their sentence on May 28.
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