Fraud: Mohammed Razzaq could now be jailed Pic: © STV
A property developer is facing a jail term after fraudulently claiming over £41,000 in income support.
Mohammed Razzaq pocketed the cash over a four-and-a-half year period while he was successfully buying and selling Glasgow properties. The 34-year-old claimed he was unfit for work due to depression but failed to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that he owned property and had £9,000 in the bank.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday, Razzaq, of Dundonald Crescent, Newton Mearns, admitted defrauding £41,070 between April 2003 and December, 2007. Prosecutor Adam Roberts told the court that Razzaq repeatedly made false claims to the Department of Work and Pensions.
Mr Roberts said: "In the various income support applications that he made, he failed to acknowledge that he was, in fact, in possession of capital and that he also had savings. In November 2007, officials at the DWP's Fraud Investigation Service contacted Strathclyde Police in relation to an ongoing investigation into fraudulent benefit claims.
"The investigations established that Razzaq was, and had been, involved in the buying and selling of residential properties. This, of course, meant that he had been duty bound to inform the DWP that he had acquired property and capital. There is no record of him ever attempting to make that information available to the authorities."
Razzaq was arrested on November 29, 2007, and was interviewed by police. He told officers that he knew how the application forms worked but refused to give an explanation for failing to declare his true financial position.
Mr Roberts added that Razzaq had been claiming for income support on the grounds that he unfit for work. The procurator fiscal depute added: "During the period libelled on the indictment, Mr Razzaq was entitled to income support on account of the fact that he was medically unfit for work.
"He had previously been diagnosed with depression severe enough to diminish the likelihood of him gaining employment. Like other forms of state benefit, income support is means tested but Mr Razzaq failed to disclose that he had capital over the agreed thresholds."
Sheriff Martin Jones asked defence lawyer Ali Murray if his client was a property developer and he replied that he was. Sheriff Jones deferred sentence until next month for background reports and Razzaq was released on bail.
