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Civil servant invented 1,400 children in £1.2m tax credits fraud

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 18 September 2009

Civil servant John Brian Agdomar and an accomplice, Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan, are today behind bars after being caught out by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) investigators. Between them the pair fabricated more than 1,400 fictitious children, hijacked hundreds of identities and illegally claimed more than £1.2m in tax credits.

Jailed for four and a half years, 42-year old Agdomar from Hackney in East London and his accomplice, Ogunmekan, from Bethnal Green, London, were arrested by HMRC on 5 August 2008 on suspicion of a number of charges including conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to tax credits and acquiring criminal property under the proceeds of crime act 2002.

The pair had developed a scheme which saw Agdomar using his job as a civil servant at the Department for Work and Pensions as a cover to illegally access genuine customer records to obtain personal information. This allowed the pair to hijack existing claims for tax credits, diverting the payments into a complex network of bank accounts.

An HMRC spokesperson said:

"This was a deplorable abuse of a position of trust and today's verdict shows that those who believe they can cheat the system should think again.

"This was no victimless crime, but a calculated fraud involving a significant amount of money. HMRC will not hesitate to seek prosecution where we find instances of tax credit fraud."

Agdomar was also charged with abusing his position of trust within the civil service where he had accessed benefit systems to obtain information such as dates of birth and national insurance numbers to get information on genuine customer records. He is thought to have illegally accessed more than 2,500 customer accounts.

Both men appeared before Southwark Crown Court on 5 November 2008 where 35 year-old Ogunmekan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. He was later sentenced to 52 months in prison for the offences. In addition, Ogunmekan is also serving a default sentence of 30 months as he failed to repay £162,652.71 by 15 September 2009, as ordered by the court.

Agdomar pleaded not guilty at this hearing but changed his plea to guilty at a later hearing on 2 September 2009. He was sentenced today at Southwark Crown Court and jailed for four and a half years.

Notes to Editors:

1. Defendant details

John Brian Agdomar
2 Wilton Estate
Greenwood Road
Hackney
London
E8 1BD

Formerly of Flat 23 Mellington Court, Bethnal Road, Stoke Newington N16 7ST

DOB: 17 April 1967
Gender: Male
Occupation: Civil Servant

Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan
Flat 20 James Campbell House
Old Ford Road
Bethnal Green
London
E2 9QE

DOB: 9 September 1974
Gender: Male
Occupation: Cleaner

Electronic copies of passport photographs of the individuals concerned are available on request by contacting HMRC press office.

2. Charges

Count 1

* Conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to Tax Credits, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977

Charged: John Brian Agdomar and Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan conspired together and with others to submit false information to Tax Credits with a view to obtaining payments thereof

Count 3

* Misconduct in a Public Office, contrary to Common law

Charged: John Brian Agdomar wilfully misconducted himself in a public office in that he accessed information stored on the Tax Credit system without authorisation, so as to facilitate the commission of criminal offences by himself or others.

Count 5

* Fraud, contrary to Section 35 Tax Credits Act, 2002

Charged: Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan was knowingly concerned in fraudulent activity, namely the making of fraudulent tax credit claims in the name of Quincy Henrietta, with a view to obtaining payments thereof.

3. Information

- Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan was subject to a confiscation hearing on 24 July 2009 where he was ordered to repay £162,652.71.

- Olanekan Omatayo Ogunmekan is a Nigerian national and under instruction of the courts he is to be automatically deported back to Nigeria on his release and is banned for life from returning to the UK.

- John Brian Agdomar will be subject to confiscation proceedings under the proceeds of crime act 2002; the next hearing in this case will be in February 2010.

For images related to this release, please go to the following link:


http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=406807&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=257

Press enquiries about this news release please contact:

Jonathan Hall
Tel: 020 7147 0052
E-mail: Jonathan.hall@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Sara Gaines
Tel: 020 7147 0394
E-mail: Sara.gaines@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Out of hours: 07860 359544

Website www.hmrc.gov.uk

Ref:NAT 62/09

Contacts:

Jonathan Hall
Phone: 020 7147 0052
jonathan.hall@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk