Couple claimed benefits for dead children

A husband and wife conned taxpayers out of almost ?26,000 by claiming nearly five years' worth of benefits for their two dead children, a court heard today.

Abul Hussain and Amirun Begum started pocketing the cash more than six years after their four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter died within weeks of each other in Bangladesh in 1992.

But even if the youngsters, Habibor and Shurobi, had lived, their parents would not have been entitled to the cash because of the value of their assets, which included their family home and two other properties.

The pair, of St Benedicts Road, Small Heath in Birmingham, were sentenced at the city's crown court today after pleading guilty to fraud charges at an earlier hearing.

Hussain, 50, was ordered to repay the total sum of ?25,997 within three months and was fined ?8,000 for seven counts of false accounting and one of fraudulently obtaining payment of tax credit.

Begum, 46, was made subject to a two-year community rehabilitation order following her guilty plea to four counts of false accounting.

Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins told them: "These offences were dishonest from the start because the forms signed by both of you omitted important and relevant detail. I accept that Mr Hussain was the principal party and that Mrs Begum played a lesser role."

Nicholas Cole, prosecuting for the Inland Revenue, told the court the couple's actions had been "plainly fraudulent" and carried out in a "clear and deliberate manner".

As well as signing for his two deceased children, Hussain failed to declare two properties he owned in Evesham, Worcestershire, from which he received rent.

He had an ?80,000 mortgage on one, in Burford Road, which was valued two years ago at ?117,000. He also had a ?12,500 share in another in Port Road in the town.

The capital in these two houses and the family home in Birmingham would have made them ineligible for the full amount of working families' tax credit, said Mr Cole.

Of the ?25,997 obtained, Begum was responsible for claiming ?13,790 but she said she had only signed under pressure "bordering on duress" from her husband.

Mr Cole added: "In interview in October last year, Mrs Begum admitted having included the details of the deceased children. She accepts it was wrong to do so and indicated it had been done to get more money.

"Mr Hussain admitted, too, that the children had been included in the forms. He said initially that he didn't realise this was wrong.

"He admitted the two properties had not been included but claimed he did not profit because the rental income was not more than the mortgage."

Ken Rogers, defending both, told the court Hussain had already raised ?10,000 toward the repayment of the money stolen which could be paid immediately.

Some ?5,000 of this was raised on one of his surviving son's credit cards, with the rest from friends and family.

Speaking after the case, Andy Turner, team leader at the Inland Revenue's special compliance unit in Solihull, said it was the "right result".

He added: "Tax credits are available for those who qualify. However, it should be borne in mind that they are funded from the public purse. Mrs Begum and Mr Hussain have made a deliberate attack on that system for claiming for two children who died in 1992.

"While the revenue has some sympathy for the loss of their children, this doesn't detract from the fact that they have deliberately stolen tax credits in excess of ?25,000.

"I hope today's result will show the revenue will continue to prosecute those who abuse the tax credit system to the detriment of legitimate claimants."