Bristol siblings in court over mother's 'mortgage con'
Nicholas Rowland-Fry and Samantha Newport told the bank that their 64-year-old mother Glenis Chard was a full-time employee at their estate agent business.
But Mrs Chard, who has severe arthritis, was in fact in receipt of housing and incapacity benefit.
Bristol Magistrates Court heard yesterday that the siblings told the mortgage company their mother had a job at Chew Valley Estates, to enable her to get a mortgage to buy two properties located in Rossiter Grange, Bishopsworth, in 2005 and 2006.
This was after the pair were unable to fork out the money to buy the three-bedroomed new-build properties through their company, the court heard.
Rowland-Fry, of Orchard Close, Felton, and Newport, of Yanley Lane, Long Ashton, each face two charges of aiding and abetting their mother to commit housing benefit fraud in 2005-06.
Earlier this year, the court heard, Chard pleaded guilty to dishonestly claiming £9,874 of housing benefit from the city council as the sole owner of two properties in Rossiter Grange.
She admitted the mortgage was paid by Rowland-Fry, 43, and Newport, 44, but was in her name, yet she continued to claim £430 per month in benefits.
Alan Fuller, for the city council, said to Ms Newport: "You saw other people investing in property and making money and you wanted some of the action. But you couldn't raise the funds, so you set into action a course of dishonesty. You used Mrs Chard to raise the funds and make dishonest tenancy claims which were false."
The siblings claimed that the intention was for the deeds of the house to be transferred to their company as soon as possible.
The agreement was that their mother would pay them her housing benefit as rent, but the court heard that there were no legal documents setting out the agreement.
Newport admitted in court that her mother had never worked for the company.
The court heard how in April 2006, Chard made a housing benefit claim after buying the first property in Rossiter Grange, saying that she rented it rather than owning it.
She said her landlord was Chew Valley Estates but failed to disclose that this company was owned by her son and daughter.
In September 2006 Chard filled out a change of address form when she moved to another property in Rossiter Grange. Again she failed to disclose that she in fact owned this property.
In November 2007, Bristol City Council started an investigation into benefit fraud. They discovered that the directors of Chew Valley Estates were Chard's children.
In court yesterday, Newport, who has no previous convictions, said she made no personal gain from the housing benefit because it went towards the mortgage.
Explaining why the property had been put in her mother's name, she said: "The mortgage adviser said that this would be the easiest and cheapest way. We were advised to say she worked for us.
"It has always been the case that we owned the property. The £3,000 costs came from the business; we pay the monthly mortgage payments. Mum's details were on the application form. We had no financial gain from this. We consider ourselves to be the landlord. She could have claimed mortgage relief for the full amount."
Mr Fuller said: "I'm going to suggest to you that you know considerably more about mortgages than your butcher, than the man on the street. You saw an opportunity to invest in property and you hid behind your mother.
"You know the difference between a lie and the truth. You told a lie. If your mortgage adviser told you to steal sweets from a shop, would you?"
Mr Rowland-Fry was due to be questioned under oath today.
