Published: Friday, 3rd March 2017

The 54 year old woman from Broadstairs was found guilty of multiple fraudulent acts.

The acts amounted to over £150,000 in fraudulent claims.

Lisa White had been in receipt of Direct Payments amounting to £315 per week, from the Royal Borough of Greenwich since February 2000 and in 2014, as part of routine communications with the Direct Payment recipient, Mrs White stated that her carer was a Mr Andrew White, whose address was given as Broadstairs, Kent.

Mrs White provided copies of her bank statements to evidence the Direct Payments being paid in to her account via the Royal Borough and the wages/salary leaving the account being paid to her carer. Concerns were raised by the council's Health and Adults team when they spotted an irregularity with the value of the Direct Payments being paid into Mrs White's bank account, being lower than the wages being paid out to the carer.

Another red flag was that the address for the carer was in Broadstairs - Mrs White was purportedly living in Eltham with her mother in a property provided by the Royal Borough of Greenwich - it seemed unfeasible that a personal carer would travel from Broadstairs to Eltham every day to provide personal care.

The team's concerns were raised formally with the council's Internal Audit and Anti-Fraud team who began to conduct further enquiries.

Mrs White had previously provided the Royal Borough with details of a number of health issues in order to claim a range of benefits, where she stated that she required care and assistance on a daily basis; that she could not dress herself without assistance; was unable to lift kitchen items such as pots and pans; required the assistance of oxygen tanks to regulate her breathing and had to use a walking stick indoors and a wheelchair outdoors in order to assist her mobility.

She was in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Higher Rate Disability Living Allowance. The Higher Rate Disability Living Allowance also allowed Mrs White to have access to the Motability scheme and obtain a Motability vehicle. She also had a Blue Badge that entitled her to free parking.

Fraud investigators carried out detailed checks on Mrs White, and determined that she was in fact paying her carers payments to her husband - according to records it showed that she was living in council housing with her mother in Eltham in the Royal Borough, stating that it was her only home and did not own a property anywhere else, however records showed that her name was linked to two properties in Broadstairs as well as a café and a bandstand kiosk.

The use of surveillance was approved by a Magistrates Court and fraud investigators began to follow Mrs White.

Most damning of all was footage taken of Mr and Mrs White coming to the Woolwich Centre to drop off papers relating to a re-housing application that she had made, where she appeared to have great difficulty walking - two days later she was filmed in Broadstairs where she walked unaided with no use of a walking stick (which she claimed to need to walk) and no sign of the oxygen tank that she also claimed to need.

She was also filmed running her business including serving customers with plates of food, lifting and carrying heavy supplies from a local cash and carry, carrying purchases on a shopping trip to a large shopping centre and dancing.

Mr and Mrs White attended Inner London Crown Court on 5 December 2016 where they both pleaded guilty to the charges laid before the Court:

  • Mrs White pleaded guilty to thirteen charges; nine charges relating to offences under the Fraud Act 2006, three charges under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and one offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
  • Mr White pleaded guilty to two charges; one charge of aiding and abetting under the Fraud Act 2006 and one charge under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
  • The total amount of money fraudulently claimed amounts to £151,933.26.

On Thursday 2 March, Mr and Mrs White were sentenced at the Inner London Crown Court. Mrs White was sent to prison for 18 months and Mr White received a nine month suspended sentence.

Proceeds of Crime will now commence to recover the criminal monies they fraudulently gained.

'A deliberate and sustained fraud'

Councillor Maureen O'Mara, Cabinet Member for Customer Services at Royal Greenwich, said: "Mrs White presented herself as a severely disabled woman, needing daily care with everyday tasks, and was making full use of all the benefits available to her. She was not genuinely in need.

"Indeed, she carried out a deliberate and sustained fraud, stealing a staggering amount of money - money meant for people who are genuinely in need. She fully deserves this sentence, and the criminal record that will now follow her.

"I would like to thank the Divisional Support Unit (East) of the Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police, who provided invaluable assistance and without whom this prosecution would not have been possible."