"Police say they believe hundreds of council-owned homes were fraudulently allocated to people by corrupt housing officers for personal gain. Council counter fraud and risk manager Kevin Key said the case involved multiple housing blocks. He said fraudlently let homes had been used for anything you can think of that is linked to housing, tenancy fraud. The council says the investigation is solely linked to properties owned by B&D Reside, its wholly-owned private housing company, rather than its own council stock."
"Mr Key told councillors at an audit and risk committee meeting on Wednesday that the council had recovered twelve fraudulently-let B&D Reside homes since April. However, he said the scale of the problem was very large and has affected multiple housing blocks. Mr Key added that some people had used false documents to apply for homes meant for people on low incomes. He said others had used legitimate documents, but with the sole intention of using that property for various things other than living there."
Police investigators believe corrupt housing officers fraudulently allocated hundreds of council-owned homes to individuals for personal gain. The investigation focuses on properties owned by B&D Reside, the council's private housing company created in 2015 to let and sell affordable homes from regeneration projects. The council has recovered twelve fraudulently-let B&D Reside homes since April, but the problem spans multiple housing blocks. Some applications used false documents to secure homes intended for low-income residents. Other tenants used legitimate documents but then used properties for short-term lettings, antisocial behaviour, or purposes other than living there. Councillors warn the pattern may indicate mass-scale organised fraud.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
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