AN IRAQI woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for illegally obtaining more than £700,000 in benefits, mortgages and loans over almost 10 years.

Mahira Rustam Al-Azawi, of Manor Way, Petts Wood, had falsely claimed income support and housing and council tax benefits using her own and an assumed identity while owning two properties.

An investigation discovered the 49-year-old had also falsely obtained a student loan and grant via Bromley Council to fund a course at Greenwich University.

Under the false name of Sara Sami, Al-Azawi also obtained two mortgages from HBOS and using her true identity an unsecured loan from the Abbey PLC by claiming she was a self-employed businesswoman.

During a fortnight-long trial at Croydon Crown Court, the jury heard Al-Azawi had been a student in the UK and had returned to Iraq when she graduated.

She later returned and claimed asylum in the early 90s before travelling to the Republic of Ireland and claiming asylum in a different name, for which she was given Irish nationality for herself and her son.

The jury also heard her son, now aged 18, was educated at a private school.

Unemployed Al-Azawi pleaded guilty to three benefit fraud offences, obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception and obtaining property by deception.

She was found guilty of a further five counts of benefit fraud, obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception, using a false instrument with intent it be accepted as genuine and fraud by false representation.

Bromley police's financial investigator Ian Smith said: "Bromley Council, the DWP and Bromley police worked together in this case to enable the prosecution of what I would consider to be the most greedy and organised fraudster that I have ever dealt with. Mahira Rustam, or Sara Sami as she chose to call herself during her fraudulent activities, has abused the benefit system to the detriment of others.

"This was more than the work of just a simple benefit cheat and mortgage fraudster, this was a business for her.

"We will work together in such cases in an effort to prevent wholesale theft of public money such as this and prosecute those that we find abusing the benefit systems."