Bulgarian fraudster carried on despite arrest
Gang member in £50m benefits swindle returned to drawing up fake claims after being caught by police
A BULGARIAN national who helped orchestrate the biggest benefits fraud operation ever uncovered in the UK kept making claims after his arrest, a court heard.
Stoyan Stoyanov, 27, who was part of a group which stole at least £50 million from the Treasury over four years, continued to help process fraudulent claims at the gang’s “benefits factories” after his arrest in May 2021.
False claims for Universal Credit were made using an array of forged documents for real people who were “nearly always Bulgarian” and who “were complicit and also gained financially”, Wood Green Crown Court was told yesterday.
They claimed the people were living and working in the UK and therefore entitled to benefits.
The fraud was only uncovered after a policeman in Sliven, Bulgaria, tipped off British authorities when he noticed his city was suddenly awash with cash and criminals who were “living like barons”.
Thousands of people in Sliven, many of whom had never visited Britain, were receiving up to £2,500 a month in UK
benefits, The Telegraph previously revealed
Stoyanov was the partner of Galina Nikolova, 38, who prosecutors claimed was one of the leaders in the conspiracy.
The couple were arrested at their home in Wood Green, north London, on May 5 but two days later Stoyanov was back processing fraudulent claims. The court heard that his role in the conspiracy was to “act as a conduit for those higher up in the chain”.
He assisted with the final processing of 78 claims, the majority of which took place at Antonia Food supermarket in Wood Green where there was an office owned by Nikolova. It has been described as a “benefits factory”.
Stoyanov defrauded the taxpayer of a further £17,000 after his arrest.
To support the claims the gang would produce forged documents including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips and forged letters from landlords, employers and GPS.
Stoyanov was found in possession of documents belonging to a claimant when he was arrested again on Sept 9 2021.
Alisdair Williamson KC, defending, told the court that Stoyanov accepted he had been “thoroughly dishonest”. He said: “It is an unattractive feature of his case that he continued his behaviour after his arrest.
“He was dealing in his activities with a relatively small number of claims which he had made on behalf of his family and friends.”
Mr Williamson said Stoyanov was now remorseful and his actions “sit heavily upon him”.
Stoyanov arrived in the country in August 2020. After initially getting a job legally in construction, he claimed he was “cheated of his wages” and left penniless. The court previously heard the gang had thousands of “customers” and joked about the inability of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to catch them in messages shared on Whatsapp.
Following the tip-off from Bulgaria, the DWP conducted its own investigation before launching a series of raids.
Detectives found £750,000 in cash as well as a large amount of designer clothing, jewellery and watches at Stoyanov and Nikolova’s property.
The court also heard in mitigation for
Nikolova that while she was a leader in the fraud there were others who had not yet been caught.
Tom Little KC, prosecuting, previously said there were active investigations into several people suspected of involvement.
Patritsia Paneva, 26, who was described as carrying out the “donkey work” for the group, said she often worked until 3am processing fraudulent claims for Nikolova.
She said she worked from a windowless room at the back of the supermarket for £80 a day.
Paneva travelled to the UK with her family in 2016 after her father found a job.
She said: “I deeply regret my actions towards this country simply because it gave me so much.”
The court heard that Gyunesh Ali, 33, who was the original architect of the fraud, had been a model prisoner since he was returned to the UK.
Ali flew to Bulgaria following his initial arrest before being extradited and remanded in custody.
The gang pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges and will be sentenced today.