London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Man defrauded benefit system out of £1.7million with claims for 188 made-up kids

Man defrauded benefit system out of £1.7million with claims for 188 made-up kids

Ali Bana Mohamed used relatives and others to assist in the scam which involved submitting bogus child benefit claims in about 70 different names

An audacious fraudster cheated the child benefit and tax credit system out of more than £1.7million with claims for 188 non-existent kids.

Ali Bana Mohamed used relatives and others to assist in the scam, which involved submitting bogus claims in about 70 different names. They got away with the brazen scheme until suspicions were aroused by the HMRC.

The tax office spotted that the same two telephone numbers were repeatedly calling the tax credits claims call centre in connection with seemingly unrelated claims and a dedicated DWP investigation was launched.

Today, six of the fraudsters received jail sentences totalling more than 13 years, one of them having his term suspended.

Judge Brian Cummings, QC praised the investigating DWP officers for “their skill and determination in their investigation.”

The mastermind 40-year-old Ali Bana Mohamed, of Epping Street, Hulme, Manchester, was jailed for three and a half years in January after admitting 29 fraud offences.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the defendants' cases


He was already serving 16 years for drugs and immigration offences and the judge, who ordered the sentence to run consecutively, said it would have been longer but for his existing sentence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the defendants lived in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

They are all Somalian but come from a specific area with its own dialect of Bravenese and were assisted by the only Bravenese interpreter in the country.

Kevin Slack, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants were in the dock as part of Operation Paratrooper which involved an investigation by the DWP’s Serious and Organised Crime section.

“The individual conspiracies in which each of these six defendants were involved formed smaller parts of a massive fraud perpetrated by Ali Bana Mohamed.

“His fraud was targeted on the UK’s tax credit and child benefit system. A dedicated investigation led to establishing that Ali Bana Mohamed had advanced child benefit and tax credit claims in approximately 70 different adult names over a nine year period between April 2007 and July 2016.

What is happening where you live? Find out by adding your postcode.

Mr Slack explained that In some cases, adults had their identities hijacked.

Four of the defendants allowed fraudulent claims to be advanced in their names and actively participated in those frauds, obtaining varying amounts.

All the fraudulent claims advanced by Ali Bana Mohamed were made on the basis that the adult had taken care of named children, and was entitled to child benefit and tax credits.

But Mr Slack said these children were all “fictitious”.

“In all, 188 different children, who were entirely fictitious, were claimed for these claims. In total, £1,766,594.87 was paid out in relation to these fraudulent claims, comprising £345,642.80 in child benefit payments and £1,420,952.07 in tax credit payments.”

Mr Slack said, “Ali Bana Mohamed had a relatively simple, yet effective means of storing all the information he needed to run these false claims.

“When his house in Epping Street, Moss Side, Manchester, was searched in April 2016, immigration investigators found several handwritten notebooks hidden under clothing at the back of a wardrobe. “

A handwriting expert concluded that the handwriting in these notebooks was that of Ali Bana Mohamed.

What crimes have been reported in your neighbourhood? Check with In Your Area.

Mr Slack said that the note books “typically listed the identities being used to pursue claims, the names and dates of birth of the fictitious children, the bank account and sort code of the bank into which the payments were being made and details of the telephone passwords used when phoning up in connection with those claims.

“Ali Bana Mohamed had several bank accounts in either his own name or the name of a pseudonym of his into which some of the proceeds of the frauds were paid. He also had payments directed into accounts in the names of other people, including accounts operated in the names of the defendants.”

Two of the defendants, Mohammed Omar and Mohamoud Baana, denied their roles and during their trial the jury heard that the suspicious phone numbers received by HRMC were discovered to belong to Ali Bana Mohamed which led to investigations.

“He had several bank accounts in either his own name or the name of a pseudonym of his into which some of the proceeds of the frauds were paid. He also had payments directed into accounts in the names of other people, including accounts operated in the names of the defendants.

“He was the orchestrator of the frauds. In many cases, he was able to act alone, as when arranging for a claim to be paid into one of his own bank accounts. However, in other cases he needed the help of others and the other defendants agreed to pursue specific frauds with him,” said Mr Slack.

What is happening where you live? Find out by adding your postcode.

Mohamed Maye Omar’s role involved obtaining birth certificates which could be used by Ali Bana Mohamed to carry out fraud.

Mohamoud Baana, 48, of Shotton Walk, Rusholme, Manchester, and Mohamed Omar, 36, a father-of-six, of Caythorpe Street, Moss Side, Manchester were found guilty after their trial. Baana was jailed for two years nine months and Omar received two years.

Omar Abdi, 41, of Brentwood Street, Moss Side, Saleh Mohamed, 38, brother of Ali Bana Mohamed, of Romford Road, Forest Gate, London pleaded guilty as did Ali Bana Mohamed’s nephew, Rashid Ahmed, 31, of Hodgsons Tower, Guildford Drive, Birmingham and Hamza Hashim, 41, of Gantock Walk, Moss Side.

Abdi received 13 months imprisonment suspended for two years; Mohamed two years eight months; Ahmed was jailed for 20 months and Hashim received three years two months.

The court was told that both Hashim and Saleh Mohammed have previous fraud convictions and had suspended sentences hanging over them at the time of the offences.

Rashid Ahmed also has previous convictions for fraud. Mohammed Baana has two convictions, the most recent for perverting the course of justice.

Omar Abdi has no previous convictions and Mohamed Omar has a conviction for importing drugs for which he received a suspended sentence. The fraud began immediately after that sentence was imposed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×