A MARRIED couple swindled £630,000 benefits to build a “Monopoly”-style property empire including a Spain holiday home.
Steve Benstock, 62, and Kim Benstock, 69, made fake claims to the Department of Work and while failing to declare massive earnings to the taxman for for two decades.
Steve Benstock and wife Kim stole more than half a million in benefits Credit: Facebook
Kim seen enjoying her birthday on a boat Credit: Facebook
They used the cash to buy an “impressive” lodge with a swimming pool and hot tub and a holiday home in the Spanish island Fuerteventura.
Kim Benstock was entitled to living allowance due to her rheumatoid arthritis.
But the couple also lied about their property portfolio and rental profits, bank balances and Steve Benstock’s wages to claim other .
Steve has now been jailed for five years, while his wife was handed a nine month suspended sentence.
The couple used the money to buy a number of properties Credit: Facebook
Kim – pictured at court today – was entitled to disability allowance Credit: Gary Stone
Prosecutor Alex Davidson said: “Mr and Mrs Benstock committed benefit fraud by claiming benefits they were not entitled to because they had income and assets over the threshold for those benefits.
“They committed tax fraud by failing to make tax returns when Mr Benstock was gainfully employed, giving rise to , and by failing to disclose the sale of multiple properties which gave rise to capital gains tax.”
After marrying in 1996, Steve Benstock adopted a number of aliases, including Steve Twinley – a name he used to sign documents and open bank accounts.
He also used the alias Steve Cash on a driving licence to fool the Department of Work and Pensions.
Steve used a string of aliases to cover his lies Credit: Gary Stone
The couple were both sentenced today Credit: Gary Stone
Under the name Steve Twinley, Benstock had ten accounts with and seven with HSBC, as well as more shared accounts with his wife.
Mr Davidson said the scam allowed the Benstocks to amass “an impressive collection of properties reminiscent of the popular boardgame Monopoly”.
These included a flat in Tower Hamlets, a £223,000 home in Essex and an apartment in Fuerteventura.
The couple also purchased two homes in Romford, Essex, worth £240,000 and £690,000 and two further houses in East London and Ilford.
In 2016, they used cash from buying, selling and renting their homes to purchase a sprawling house with a swimming pool and hot tub.
Despite benefit claimants having to declare savings between £6,000 to £16,000, the Benstocks repeatedly said they had “no money” or were “in the red”.
Steve Benstock also submitted “sham tenancy agreements” to support his lies, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Over the years, the couple jointly held around £400,000 in property, with another £32,000 in a shared bank account.
Steve Benstock was also earning wages working at a pub in West Ham, East London which he sometimes ran.
He cheated a total of £253,713.18 in benefits, while failing to declare £285,977.92 to the taxman – a total fraud of £539,691.10.
Kim Benstock cheated £61,993.08 in benefits, while failing to declare £26,347 – a total fraud of £88,340.08.
The total fraud amounted to £628,031.18, the court was told.
The couple were first interviewed by in 2019 at the start of a seven year investigation that ended with a trial earlier this year.
Steve Benstock denied but was convicted of 12 offences, including fraud by false representation, tax evasion offences, failing to disclose information, failing to notify and change in circumstances and obtaining a money transfer by deception.
Kim Benstock was convicted of seven counts, including cheating the public revenue, but cleared on two counts of evading income tax and national contributions.
Work and Pensions Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western said: “This is a stark example of the kind of brazen fraud that this Government is determined to root out.
“While the Benstocks were acting like Monopoly tycoons – collecting rental income from the comfort of lavish properties with outdoor pools – they were helping themselves to benefits they had absolutely no right to.
“The game is now up and this case should be a warning to others that the DWP is ramping up it’s efforts, working closely with partner agencies like HMRC, to identify and prosecute fraudsters.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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