A minicab driver who claimed he was earning just
£700 a month but was living a luxury of life in his
Nigerian mansion, has been ordered to pay
almost £1.2million.
Ovo Mayomi and his wife Juliet Ubiribo were
convicted of fraud in 2010 after using an identity
and immigration scam to falsely claim £43,000 in
benefits.
Mayomi, 44, claimed he was earning £700 a
month and was living in Croydon, south London,
while his wife, 32, claimed benefits after telling
benefit bosses she was a single mother and a
victim of domestic violence.
But fraud investigators found Mayomi and his wife
were actually living in a large luxurious house in
Lekki near the Nigerian capital Lagos worth more
than £1million complete with chandeliers and
£89,000 worth of sound equipment. He also had
a £25,000 watch. His wife wore a Rolex watch
and drove a Mercedes Sport Coupi.
Now a judge has ordered Mayomi to pay
£1,197,743.54 in a confiscation order under the
Proceeds Of Crime Act, or go to prison for six
years.
As well as two money-transferring businesses and
bank accounts, investigators also discovered
Mayomi owned a fish farm in the country.
The couple's benefit scam unravelled when a visa
application by Mayomi showed they had married
a year earlier and that Ubiribo had a job in order
to support him.
Ubiribo also asked the council to rehouse her
because she was the victim of domestic violence.
However, the telephone number she gave
revealed the man she named as her landlord -
Ayiomike Neburagho - was, in fact, her husband
Mayomi using a false identity.
At a police interview, Mayomi admitted that while
living in Nigeria he had bought the identity of
Ayiomike Matthew Neburagho and had entered
the UK as him.
Mayomi was also shown a wedding photograph of
himself, using the Neburagho identity, marrying a
Nigerian woman in the UK.
He admitted he was the groom in the wedding
photo but he said he was 'just standing in for
someone'.
Ubiribo and Mayomi pleaded guilty to all charges.
Mayomi was jailed for 30 months two years ago
and his wife was sentenced to 12 months in
prison, suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of
community service and be under curfew for four
months from 9pm to 6am.
Court orders were signed freezing their assets in
the UK and abroad in 2010, and an investigation
was launched to find out how much the Nigerian-
born couple had gained from their criminal
lifestyle and what the extent of their assets was.
Mayomi, of Ashburton, disputed the results of the
assets investigation, and a subsequent four-day
confiscation hearing took place at Croydon Crown
Court.
On Friday, Judge Nicholas Ainley ruled that
Mayomi must pay £1,197,743.54 by 14 March
next year. It is one of the largest confiscation
orders carried out by a council.
Failure to do so will see him sent to prison for six
years, during which time interest will accumulate
on his debt, which will remain due following his
release.
At a hearing in July, a confiscation order was
made against Ubiribo for £9,357.42 to be paid by
19 October or face five months in prison.
Investigators had discovered she was the owner
of a Rolex watch and a Mercedes Sport Coupi.
Councillor Dudley Mead, deputy leader of the
council, said: 'This is a landmark case for Croydon
as it is the first time the council’s in-house
financial investigator has pursued a major
confiscation order of this nature.
'Usually these cases are dealt with by the police
rather than local authorities. It is rare for councils
to have their own in-house investigator, so it is to
the anti-fraud team’s immense credit that it is
pioneering the way forward in reclaiming the
proceeds of crime.
'As a result of our investigator’s fine work, the
council expects to be able to claw back as much
as £400,000 in taxpayers’ money.
'This case should serve as a clear warning that
crime does not pay. Croydon Council will always
prosecute in fraud cases and seek to recover
money or assets wherever they are.
'This is to protect decent taxpayers from having
to pay more.'
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2205496/Nigerian-minicab-driver-claimed-earned-just-700-month-owned-luxury-1m-mansion-Africa.html

interesting, things people do

Many have not been caught.