A husband and wife from Tooting have been forced to pay back more than £16,000 after they were caught fiddling their housing benefit - despite having £40,000 savings stashed in a joint bank account.

Benefit cheats Huseyin and Askin Cavusular fraudulently claimed the money to pay the rent on their home in Edencourt Road, telling the authorities they had no savings to make them eligible for financial help.

In total they falsely claimed £16,158 between September 2007 and September 2008.

Their scam was uncovered when investigators carried out routine checks on the couple’s financial circumstances and discovered their hefty bank balance.

They both pleaded guilty to one count of fraud when they appeared at South Western Magistrates' Court on April 17.

Before appearing in court, the couple paid all the money back.

Magistrates sentenced them to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered them to pay £458 costs.

Wandsworth's executive member for housing Councillor Martin D Johnson said: "Checks are carried out long after a claim is first made.

"We get lots of calls from friends, neighbours and even relatives who have absolutely no sympathy for benefit scroungers.

"We also share lots of information with other public bodies, like hospitals, schools and the police, so even though you may have covered your tracks in one area, another organisation will have the information that catches you out."

Call the council's fraud hotline on 0800 328 6340 or the town hall's benefit investigation service on 020 8871 7067.

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