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| NEWS | EXCLUSIVE by RICHARD OSLEY |
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Three to appear in court over massive benefit scam FRAUD squad detectives last night (Wednesday) dramatically charged two men and a woman for conspiring to defraud Camden Council out of a massive £1.7 million. Hieten Patel, 44, and his wife Ruchita, 37, shielded their faces as they left Holborn police station after a meeting with senior officers in which they learned the charges against them. The charge sheet shows that detectives are investigating a fraud amounting to a whopping £1,726,447, thought to have been siphoned out of Town Hall accounts over several years. Wearing a denim jacket and chino trousers, Mr Patel declined to comment on the case as he left police headquarters in Lamb’s Conduit Street, Holborn, after discussions with his lawyer. Silver-haired Bruno Hofferer, 55, was also charged at the same police station late last night (Wednesday) with conspiring to defraud the council, alongside the husband and wife pair. All three suspects, who have appeared before detectives on several occasions over the past three months, were granted bail but ordered to surrender their passports. Under bail conditions, Hieten Patel, formerly employed in Camden’s housing benefits division, and Ruchita Patel were told to stay each night at their home in Evelyn Avenue, Kingsbury, until their first court appearance, a preliminary hearing scheduled at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court for December 8. Mr Hofferer – listed on police records as a bakery manager – was told he must live at his Wembley Park home until the court proceedings begin. Business records show that Mr Patel is listed as a director of Fushi Limited, a supplier of beauty and holistic health products with a flagship store in Sloane Square, west London. Electoral register information lists his profession as a ‘stockbroker’. The case relates to the shock arrest of a Camden employee in July, revealed first by the New Journal. Police were called into council offices after mystery accounting discrepancies were uncovered. The arrest stunned colleagues and caused embarrassment for the Town Hall because the department had previously been showered with praise and handed government laurels. As Town Hall insiders and former employees lined-up to criticise the inner working of the department, council chief executive Moira Gibb appealed to staff to stop whistle-blowing. In a memo, she appealed for calm: “I understand that the public will be concerned about the news that a member of staff from the division was recently arrested after managers identified a potential fraud. In this situation it is easy to want to find somebody to blame.” |
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