Gipsy campaigner ‘ran £2.6m benefit fraud’
A campaigner for gipsies' rights who worked for two London councils is alleged to have masterminded a fraud allowing Romanians to claim millions of pounds in benefits illegally.
Lavinia Olmazu, 30, was an "inclusivity outreach worker" at Haringey and Waltham Forest councils and has addressed the UN on the subject of Roma rights.
She and boyfriend Alin Enachi, 29, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court accused of being behind the fraud, in which 172 Romanians are said to have claimed £2.6 million.
It is alleged the couple, who moved to Britain in 2007, helped Romanians obtain National Insurance numbers by giving them false documents showing that they had been offered work. Once the migrants had a number they could claim benefits.
Enachi allegedly attended Benefits Agency interviews with Romanians, acting as a translator. Prosecutor Matthew McCabe said that over a 17-month period to last July, he was at 356 interviews, mainly at the Jobcentre Plus office in Tooting.
It is alleged the couple, who live in Woodford Green, used a charity called Roma Concern to help coordinate the fraud.
They appeared in court alongside six gipsies, who all live in council properties in Tottenham. All the defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud and fraud by misrepresentation. They were remanded in custody and will appear at Southwark crown court on 6 May.
