(original title: acting against the sky! British actress' pretending to be ill 'for 25 years swindled the government of 6.45 million yuan in relief)
On July 19 local time, the biggest personal welfare fraud in British history was tried in Chester criminal court. During the trial, the prosecutor elaborated on the 68 year old amateur actor Ethel & middot; How did Ethel McGill give full play to his acting skills, pretend to be dementia and hide his father's death, so as to apply for disability allowance and falsely claim his father's pension.
It is reported that the amount is as high as 750000 pounds (about 6.45 million yuan), which makes McGill the strongest relief fraud in British history.
According to the British Metro news on July 20, McGill has been cheating on benefits since 1992. She lied that she was suffering from asthma, arthritis and back pain, and used her acting skills to successfully deceive the doctor to sign for disability allowance and other benefits.
In 2004, her father, a war hero Robert & middot; Denison died. In order to falsely claim his father's post-war pension, McGill chose to hide his father's death.
According to the prosecutor, after Dennison's death, when the welfare evaluators visited in 2012, McGill found a man sitting in bed pretending to be his father in order to cover up the lie, leaving only the back of an old man for the staff to see, and warned them not to talk to him, because he might be out of control and 'aggressive' at any time. In 2014, when housing association officials visited, she lied that her father was taken to Scotland by a nurse and was not at home, but she refused to disclose the specific location.
Investigators began to observe McGill in 2016 and found that she had no physical injuries. According to the mirror
The caregiver is actually Hannah & middot, the ex girlfriend of McGill's son Anthony; Bardsley, on the caregiver application form, she used a person named Naomi & middot; Leishman's national insurance number. A subsequent survey found that Lichtman had lived in Australia for a long time and had never heard of McGill.
Prosecutor Robert & middot; Dudley said that McGill had been falsely claiming his father's various pensions from his father's death in April 2004 to March 2016. After Denison's death, her son and girlfriend have been living in the old man's house. McGill also applied for repair allowance, housing allowance and municipal tax allowance in the name of Denison. Moreover, according to the British mirror, she also tried to apply for a bigger house so that the family could live together and 'facilitate the 24-hour care of her father'.
Since 2015, McGill has been acting again, pretending that he has dementia, and then applied to Holton City Council for a nursing benefit of £ 20 a week.
In 2016, the government had great doubts about McGill and decided to spy on her. In the surveillance operation, the investigators witnessed her not only walking in a vigorous way, but also easily lifting wooden boxes and shelves, leading a completely normal life. Subsequently, McGill was arrested.
McGill's decision was postponed due to the problem of wheelchair facilities in the court. According to the mirror
According to statistics, McGill cheated about 30000 pounds of welfare subsidies every year for 25 years, a total of 750000 pounds. The Royal prosecutor's office said it was the 'biggest personal welfare fraud' they had seen so far.
At present, McGill has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud and money laundering. However, McGill did not forget to continue to play her acting skills when she appeared at the trial on July 19. She came to Chester Criminal Court in a wheelchair and claimed that she could not enter the dock due to wheelchair facilities, although it was completely different from the picture shown in the surveillance video.
Steven & middot, the judge in charge of the case; Everett questioned whether she was pretending, calling her "cunning". Finally, judge Everett decided to postpone the judgment of the case to July 29 in Liverpool criminal court, because there are better wheelchair facilities there.
Hannah & middot, 25, the ex girlfriend of her son Anthony; Bazli recently admitted that she was suspected of conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to 18 months of community service.
McGill's other son Christopher & middot; McGill has also admitted fraud, claiming that he falsely claimed $27000 in nursing allowance. Eventually, he was sentenced to two years of community service.