Benefits fraudster told DWP she worked as a cleaner at firm which never heard of her

A benefit fraudster claimed to be working at a Harehills business that had never even heard of her.

Frederika Gazova, 26, defrauded the Department of Work and Pensions out of more than £34,000 in Universal Credit after she claimed to be working 16 hours a week in the cleaning department at Bala Sat in Harehills Road. Leeds Crown Court heard on Friday, November 29 that on the day of her trial, the businesses' owner made an appearance and confirmed he had never heard of her.

Prosecutor John Batchelor told the court she went on to admit benefit fraud. He said: "She knowingly provided false documents and information to support a false claim to the Department of Work and Pensions for Universal Credit. In short, she tried to suggest she was working for a man at a small business.

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"She claimed she was working 16 hours per week which was a lie. She wasn't known at all to the business. The business is genuine, but the assertion that she has had anything to do with it is not...She also provided, in spite of that claim, a fabricated payslip of that appointment, falsely claiming that she worked in a non-existent cleaning department.

"She was paid in benefits £34,879 over a 28-month period between February 2020 and June 2022."

The court heard Gazova, of Scargill Grange in Leeds, lives with her two children and partner, who is legitimately in receipt of Personal Independence Payment [PIP] and Universal Credit. The family currently get more than £2,000 a month.

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A Probation Service worker told the court: "She does acknowledge her wrongdoing. I'm sceptical whether she understands the gravity of her offending, particularly for how long it went on for. She has now paid back £500 of her false claim, displaying remorse for her actions. She's now in a relationship of just over three years and has two children and they live in a rented property with around £700 a month rent.

"She tells me she cares for her husband, who has screws in his leg after a car accident, but is not a registered carer for him. She now has no income and the family relies on her husband's income from Universal Credit and PIP. She has stated she's more than willing to comply with any order the court passes today."

Mitigating, Danielle Graham, said: "She is still a young woman and is of hitherto good character. She is already a mum-of-two and is still young enough, she is capable of change."

His Honour Judge Ray Singh jailed Gazova for nine months.

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