Woman ordered to repay £87k to council after lying about finances of her mother

The court heard how Ms Bina Gandhi applied for council funded residential care for her mother. She claimed her mother only had £7,000 of savings and that her Southend home was occupied by a live in carer - her brother.

In reality, the property owned by her mother was empty. Her brother moved away, only visiting the property occasionally for post.

It was therefore found that for 16 months since 2023, Ms Gandhi wrongfully took £1,493.05 a week of taxpayer funded social care funds.

The case was brought following a routine review of residential care placement funding by the London Borough of Harrow’s Corporate Anti-Fraud team.

The council said: “What began as standard check to ensure people receiving funds were in genuine need of support, quickly turned into an investigation. Credit checks, utility records, work with Southend Council and neighbours painted a damning picture of deception."

Following a hearing at Harrow Crown Court, Ms Gandhi was handed an 11-month prison sentence (suspended for 12 months), community service and ordered to pay £8,296 in costs in addition to being ordered to pay back the money.

Cllr David Ashton, Harrow's Cabinet Member for Finance and Highways, said: “It’s the job of our anti-fraud team to protect taxpayers’ money and ensure it’s used the right way — to support those who genuinely need it.”

"Ms Gandhi thought she could beat the system, but thanks to our officers, we uncovered her lies. As a result of her fraudulent actions, she’s been forced repay £87,000 to the council and received a tough sentence from the judge.” 

“This sends a clear message to anyone thinking they can get away with fraud. The law will catch up with you. We will continue to put pressure on fraudsters who are defrauding the system and ensure the public purse is protected and they are forced to repay.”

Lottie Winson