FOR most, the sight of fire-ravaged Grenfell Tower brought distress, rage and horror – but for an evil few, the blackened ruins were a beacon of opportunity.
Fraudsters spotted their chance to pocket cash meant for victims, with fears the total amount scammed so far could run into MILLIONS, The Sun on Sunday has learned.
Twenty-nine people have been convicted, charged or are under investigation for swindling funds — including one council worker meant to be helping those hit by the tragedy.
Callous Jenny McDonagh, 39, went on a £62,000 spending spree, treating herself to shoes, clothes, a foot-long sex toy and trips to Los Angeles, Dubai, Iceland and Paris.
She had been hired by the local council to help distribute money to survivors of the fire, which ripped through the tower block on June 14 last year killing 72 people.
McDonagh stole prepaid credit cards meant to help surviving residents of the doomed block in North Kensington, West London, with living costs and accommodation.
Antonio Gouveia
The cleaner, 33, lied that he had been the flatmate of a resident who died in the fire.
He went on to enjoy £53,456 worth of food and accommodation during nine months at a ritzy £155-night hotel paid for by the council.
Portuguese national Gouveia was rumbled when two women who had lived in the flat told police that an unknown man had collected a £500 payment earmarked for them by a charity.
This month he was jailed for three years and two months after admitting fraud by false representation.
Derrick Peters
Lived it up in a hotel after lying that he had been a tenant – forking out £5,000 on room service and laundry alone. The total hotel bill was £40,000.
The council even kept paying for the £192-a-night room during two months when he was held on remand in prison for a burglary after the fire.
When that case came to court, he used the Grenfell sob story again to avoid prison.
He was jailed for six years for fraud after the resident he claimed to share a flat with said he had not lived with her.
Mohammad Gamoota
Claimed his father had died in the fire – using the name of a genuine victim he had seen in the news.
The student, 31, said he had only escaped the blaze himself because he was out of the flat praying in a mosque at the time.
He was given a £5,000 emergency payout and put up in a Holiday Inn for eight days, where he racked up £374 in room service. In total, he received £6,784 in aid.
The conman, of Westminster, was jailed for 18 months after admitting two counts of fraud.
She even topped up the cards with council funds when the money ran out — 17 times in the case of one intended for survivor Edward Daffarn.
Edward told the court: “It’s like pouring salt on the wounds of bereaved ex tower residents to know that the deaths and trauma we have had to endure is seen as an opportunity for others to profit and exploit.”
McDonagh, of Abbey Wood, South East London, was jailed for five-and-a-half years on Friday after pleading guilty to fraud, theft and concealing criminal property.
During sentencing at Isleworth Crown Court, Judge Robin Johnson told McDonagh: “As the finance manager to the Grenfell Finance Team, at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, you knew exactly what these funds were for and the importance of them for the intended recipients, namely the victims of the fire.
Abdelkarim Rekaya
The 28-year-old received a total of £88,183 in financial support and hotel accommodation after saying he had lost his flat.
He was later given a new home in Chelsea, where he stayed for free from December last year until July this year.
The Tunisian also tried to take advantage of an amnesty given to illegal migrants who had lived in the tower, which allowed them to stay in the UK.
He admitted fraud by false representation and will be sentenced in November.
Elaine Douglas and Tommy Brooks
Enjoyed £125,522 worth of luxury hotels, food and free travel after claiming they had lived on 19th floor.
During eight months at a four-star hotel, Douglas, 51, complained about the meals so got a pre-paid card to buy other food. She got through £11,000 worth.
Douglas was jailed for three years while Brooks, 52, got three years and three months.
Joyce Msokeri
Posed as the widow of a fire victim to claim accommodation and goods worth £19,000.
The 47-year- old Londoner filled her free room at Kensington’s Hilton hotel with donated items including handbags and dresses.
When officials began to suspect she was lying, she told them she had just found out her husband had in fact survived and had been living in a cave in Margate, Kent, where he was fed by tourists.
In April, she was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
“Bearing that in mind, the scale of your dishonesty in these frauds beggars belief.”
Now, councillor Kim Taylor-Smith, the council’s deputy leader, has said: “This really sticks in the craw.
“That the perpetrator was a council employee paid to help those affected by this tragedy only heightens the appalling nature of this crime.”
McDonagh is one of ten people convicted for frauds relating to Grenfell funds. Another four have been charged.
Yonatan Eyob
The 26-year-old nabbed £87,000 worth of cash and hotel accommodation after claiming he had lodged in a flat where a family of five died.
It is the largest sum scammed by any single Grenfell fraudster.
CCTV footage proved Eyob had never actually been in the block, and when cops raided the Hilton hotel room he had been given, they found a stash of MDMA and cocaine.
It lead to him being convicted of drug offences in addition to fraud. He was jailed for a total of six years and eight months.
Jenny McDonagh
The only Grenfell fraudster not to pose as a victim.
Instead, as a council finance manager handing out cash to survivors, she helped herself to £62,000 of funds.
The 39-year-old’s spree included restaurant meals, clothes, shoes, a handbag and four trips abroad. She also spent £32,000 on gambling.
After her arrest it emerged McDonagh had also stolen £35,000 from the NHS, where she had previously worked.
She was jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years.
Anh Nhu Nguyen
The 53-year-old was the first fraudster caught for falsely claiming he had lived in the tower.
He said he had lost his wife and son in the blaze – giving an elaborate account of his dramatic escape to Sky News.
The con artist, of Beckenham, South East London, was even comforted by Prince Charles at a meeting with victims.
He collected nearly £12,500 from charitable and council funds before being rumbled after giving multiple different flat numbers as his address.
Nguyen was jailed for 21 months after admitting fraud.
In all the cases apart from the council worker’s, the schemers falsely claimed to have been living in the tower, giving them access to money and free hotel stays.
The total amount involved in these scams so far adds up to more than £650,000.
Meanwhile, fraud officers are reportedly investigating a family of 15 who received up to £1million in aid after allegedly falsely telling authorities they shared a three-bed flat in Grenfell.
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On top of the council spending, £26.5million was also raised by charities to aid survivors — but roughly £1 in every £40 of the donations is thought to have been grabbed by fraudsters.
Police inquiries are continuing and it is thought the total swindled could run into millions.
On the right, we look at the ten Grenfell fraudsters to have been convicted.
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Link
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/the-cold-hearted-crooks-who-scammed-millions-that-was-meant-for-grenfell-victims/
News Pictures The cold-hearted crooks who scammed MILLIONS that was meant for Grenfell victims
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