Laura Hollingbery prosecutes benefit fraudster who stole identity of Grenfell resident to make fraudulent claims for compensation from the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund
Operation Dhaka was launched when officers from the Counter-Fraud Unit of the Department for Work and Pensions were contacted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea when suspicions were raised about the identity of a ‘Munir Altaib’, a resident that had made a claim for compensation from the Grenfell Tower Fund.
Munir Altaib was the rightful tenant of a property situated in the immediate vicinity of the Grenfell Tower. He had abandoned his flat following the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017 and left the UK.
The investigation revealed that Adam Mejri had taken control of Mr Altaib’s flat and then assumed his identity in order to claim Universal Credit in his name and compensation from the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund created specifically to support genuine victims of the disaster.
He was eventually caught red-handed in September 2019 when he was observed by officers answering to the name ‘Munir Altaib’ at the Job Centre and attending an appointment to arrange payment of Universal Credit.
When officers investigated Adam Mejri further, it came to light that he had been claiming both Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in his own name for some 5 years, claiming to be unemployed and unfit to work but in fact, failing to declare any of the income he was receiving from the subletting of various properties.
Adam Mejri pleaded guilty to multiple counts of Fraud and Dishonestly Failing to Notify of a Change in Circumstances and was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj1n0e5w14o
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39712697/benefits-cheat-stole-identity-grenfell-tower-fund/
