Croydon launches POCA claim against benefits fraudster

The London Borough of Croydon has initiated proceeds of crime proceedings against Angel Jackson, a benefits fraudster who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in November.

Ms Jackson is believed to have fraudulently claimed benefits worth more than £190,000 over a decade. Two flats in Croydon are among the assets which the Council hopes to have confiscated in order to set them against the amounts they lost through her claims.The hearing began on 3 February.

The hearing could go on for several weeks although prosecutors hope to finish by the summer. Ms Jackson created a complicated chain of claims for housing benefit, income support and compensation from the Department for Work and Pensions Council and other authorities as well as the council.

One of the difficulties faced by the prosecutors is exactly establishing her identity. They believe that she comes from Ghana but are not sure of her true identity. She is thought to be 52 but there is no certainty about her precise birth date. She also married an Irishman, Thomas Duffy, and bought property in his name without his knowledge.