The mother of a Bulgarian fraudster who helped rake in £54million in Britain’s biggest ever benefit scam has hit out at the government for jailing her son for seven years.
Gyunesh Ali, 33, was hauled in front of a judge at Wood Green Crown Court and said to be the ringleader who was responsible for at least £25million lost to UK taxpayers.
A gang of five Eastern Europeans hijacked 6,000 identities to make claims for Universal Credit and used the names of children living in Bulgaria as part of the five year scam.
They set up three ‘benefit factories’ across London churning out bogus tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips and forged letters from landlords, employers, and GPs to trick the DWP.
Ali’s mother Magbule, who had worked as a cleaner at hotels, told Bulgarian television: ‘Do you know how good he is?
‘He can build a house from scratch. He was involved in construction… How can a child like that be a gangster? I hope England burns.’
Gyunesh Ali, 33, was jailed for seven years and three months and will be deported back to Bulgaria
Huge stacks of cash were found during the investigation into the gang
The gang raked in £54m from Britain’s biggest ever benefit fraud
A system involving burner phones was used to improve the scam’s efficiency
Magbule raised her two sons alone in Bulgaria, The Times reports, and currently their house is falling down and in pour condition, despite Ali earning the fraudulent moeny.
At the age of 20 it is said that Ali moved to the UK where he was later given indefinite leave to remain.
He is thought to have held several jobs before setting up the benefit fraud scheme in 2016.
Ali was jailed for seven years and three months. He will be automatically deported to Bulgaria once he has served his sentence.
The group of fraudsters appeared to be hiding in plain sight – posting photos on social media smiling and posing behind the counter of Antonia’s Foods supermarket in Wood Green.
A system involving burner phones lowered down to waiting customers via a bucket pulley mechanism was also used to improve the scam’s efficiency.
The enormous haul of money gained from their ‘complex financial web’ of claims was laundered through a number of accounts, then withdrawn in cash – with £750,000 in bank notes found stuffed in suitcases at one of their homes.
Today, the shameless gang were hauled in front of a judge at Wood Green Crown Court who said ringleader Galina Nikolova, 38, was responsible for at least £25million lost to UK taxpayers.
Gyunesh Ali, 33, even took a video of himself throwing wads of cash at unknown woman.
Ali, Galina Nikolova, 38, and her boyfriend Stoyan Stoyanov, 27, along with Tsvetka Todorova, 52, and Patritsia Paneva, 26, were arrested on May 5 2021.
Stoyanov had a tattoo of Nikolava on his right arm and posted a photo of it along with a red rose on social media.
Nikolova, who also ran her own Bulgarian interpreting firm, boasted ‘the air that I breathe’ as they cuddled in another shot while the couple also enjoyed a lavish trip to Istanbul.
DWP investigators searched their homes and found shopping bags crammed with designer goods, Rolex watches, jackets and wads of cash.
One of the hubs was behind a functioning corner shop selling groceries.
Judge David Aaronberg, KC, said that the fraud was carried out on an ‘industrial scale’.
He referred to ‘messages sent to Ms Paneva including those making fun of the DWP’s gullibility in processing fraudulent claims.
‘There were also photoshopped photographs of claimants outside properties in which it was falsely claimed they were renting.
Two of the criminals – Galina Nikolova, 38, and Stoyan Stoyanov, 27 – pictured together in 2020 while on holiday in Turkey. Ringleader Nikolova was jailed for eight years, while Stoyanov was handed a four year prison term
Patritsia Paneva, 26, (left) wept as she was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment. Tsvetka Todorova, 52, (right) was jailed for three years, but was released on licence because she had served 625 days on remand
‘Photographs had been doctored to make it appear the claimant had physical access to properties which in reality they did not have.
‘There were systems in use by which phones could be lowered in a bucket out of the window to be used downstairs by those communicating bogus information to the DWP.’
Judge Aaronberg told Nikolova: ‘You bear personal responsibility for at least £25 million lost to the taxpayer.
‘The sentence I impose therefore on count two is one of eight years imprisonment.’
Nikolova, who will also be deported to Bulgaria, kept her head bowed as she was jailed.
Her lover Stoyanov, referred to the judge as a ‘trusted subordinate’, was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
The judge told Ali: ‘You played a leading role in the conspiracy which was sophisticated in its nature and which involved significant planning.
‘You offended for some four and a half years, involving yourself with, as I’ve described, a vast number of false declarations.
‘I’ve seen evidence of you enjoying a lavish lifestyle as demonstrated by the material found on your mobile phone.
‘You well knew long before you were originally arrested that you were involved with others in making false claims.’
Paneva wept as she was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment.
The judge said Paneva was ‘impressionable and naive’ in her dealings, but ‘showed bravery’ in being the first of the fraudsters to enter a guilty plea.
The judge said that Todorova’s offending was ‘sophisticated’ and ‘involved significant planning’.
She was sentenced to three years imprisonment for her involvement in defrauding the DWP of £263,419.19.
Todorova was released on licence because she had served 625 days on remand – the equivalent of the term she received.
