Sydenham and Catford fraudsters who lived life of luxury must pay back £1m (From News Shopper)

Sydenham and Catford fraudsters who lived life of luxury must pay back £1m

12:43pm Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News By Robert Fisk

FRAUDSTERS who lived a life of luxury in Nigeria while cheating benefits in the UK must cough up more than £1m or face prison.

Husband and wife Ovo Mayomi and Juliet Ubiribo, of Canbury Mews, Sydenham, were sentenced in 2010 for an identity and immigration scam in which they swindled £43,000 in taxpayers’ money from the authorities.

Their assets were frozen and an investigation was launched to find out how much the Nigerian-born couple had gained from their criminal lifestyle.

It was found 44-year-old Mayomi, of Penderry Rise, Catford, owned a luxurious house in Nigeria worth more than £1m.

Investigators also discovered Mayomi owned a fish farm in the country.

Yet according to records he supplied to the tax office, Mayomi was a minicab driver earning a mere £700 a month.

Mayomi disputed the results of the assets investigation, and a subsequent four-day confiscation hearing took place at Croydon Crown Court.

At the court on September 14 Judge Nicholas Ainley ruled that Mayomi must pay £1,197,743.54 in a confiscation order, by March 14 next year.

If he does not do so he will be jailed 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 October 19 or face five months in prison.

Investigators discovered the 32-year-old was the owner of a Rolex watch and a Mercedes Sport Coupé.

The couple’s scam took place when they lived in Croydon where she stated she was a single parent to claim housing and council tax benefits to help her pay £900 in rent each month.

Ubiribo and Mayomi both pleaded guilty to a string of theft, fraud and immigration offences back in 2010.

He was jailed for 30 months while she was given a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, and made to carry out 200 hours community service.