News13.07.23by James RidingA former resident of a property belonging to Westminster City Council has been found guilty of false representation on a Right to Buy application and two other charges of housing fraud.The former resident had dishonestly obtained a council property in Pimlico (picture: Alamy)SharelinesA former resident of a property belonging to Westminster City Council has been found guilty on three charges of housing fraud #UKhousing Jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard how Mr Saeed Yasin Hosseini dishonestly obtained a property in Jessel House, Pimlico.
He sublet the Page Street property for over a year while claiming he lived there with two other people, and then bought the flat under Right to Buy, after maintaining that it was his primary home.
Westminster City Council’s corporate anti-fraud service took Mr Hosseini to court after gathering evidence which indicated that he dishonestly obtained the council property in October 2011.
The resident had originally applied for housing after claiming that he was a single man living in his parents’ temporary accommodation. In fact, he had married in 2009 and was living in Enfield in a house owned by his wife. During the tenancy, he sublet the council property between August 2013 and September 2014 for £650 per month.
Mr Hosseini claimed that the flat in question was his principal residence and bought the flat from the council in 2015, being awarded a discount of more than £100,000. Meanwhile, he and his partner had rented a property in Barnet between September 2014 and May 2017.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the three charges and argued that despite getting married in 2009, he had never lived with his wife, instead only visiting at the weekend.
He insisted that the tenants he sublet to lived with him in the flat, despite the court being shown photos which confirmed that the flat was less than 25 sq m.
The three charges from the prosecution were the following. First, a breach of Section 3 of the Fraud Act 2006, failing to disclose a change in circumstances. A second breach was of Section 3 of the Fraud Act 2006, failing to disclose the subletting of the whole of the property.
The final charge involved a breach of Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, making false representation on a Right to Buy application and claiming the property in Jessel House was the only or main home.
Sentencing will take place on 11 August at Southwark Crown Court. Following this, Westminster’s financial investigator will attempt to recoup some of the criminal gains made by the defendant.
Aicha Less, deputy leader and cabinet member for communities, public protection and licensing at Westminster City Council, said: “Council accommodation is designed to be for those truly in need. However, the actions of this individual were a calculated and clear breach of the process. They knew exactly what they were doing.
“The anti-fraud service’s hard work has been vindicated by the jury’s decision on all three counts. By cracking down on fraudsters like this, we can continue our fairer housing commitment to allocate more social housing to residents who need it the most.”
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