Making it rain with £20 notes, trips to see stately homes and Aston Villa: How ... trends now
A gang of shameless Bulgarian grifters who plundered £54million from UK taxpayers in the biggest benefits con in British history used their ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle.
During a four-and-a-half-year spree, the gang of five crooks used a combination of fake identities and real customers to make roughly 6,000 fraudulent Universal Credit claims, operating out of three 'benefits factories' in north London.
They splashed out their cash on designer clothes, watches and even a high-end Audi sports car. On social media they shamelessly flaunted expensive spa breaks and posted snaps of them holidaying abroad.
In one post, two of the fraudsters - Galina Nikolova, 38 and her 27-year-old lover Stoyan Stoyanov - boasted about a luxurious trip to Turkey, where they visited Istanbul's famed Grand Bazaar, posing together in designer DKNY shirts.
The pair of con artists also shared a snap canoodling on a trip to a luxury spa in Manchester. And Nikolova posted a picture of bunches of roses, gifted by her 'love'.
While in a different post, a pouting Nikolova filmed a trip to Birmingham where she visited the Aston Hall stately home before watching a match at Villa Park, the home ground of Aston Villa's football club.
Another clip recorded by the gang, showed one of them shamelessly showering their flat with hundreds of £20 notes, while a woman scrambles on her hands and knees to pick them up.
Two of the criminals - Galina Nikolova, 38, and Stoyan Stoyanov, 27 - pictured together in 2020 while on holiday in Turkey
Nikolova and Stoyanov pose at an attraction during a lavish trip to Istanbul (left) in September 2020, before later sharing a photo together on a jaunt to Manchester (right) in October 2020
On Gyunesh Ali's mobile phone that was seized, officers found a video showing the fraudsters showering their flat with hundreds of £20 notes
Nikolova, Stoyanov, 27, Tsvetka Todorova, 52, Gyunesh Ali, 33, and Patritsia Paneva, 26, all entered guilty pleas at Wood Green Crown Court which were yesterday accepted by the CPS
Their criminal convictions mark what is the largest benefit fraud prosecution and investigation ever brought to the courts in England and Wales - with the gang now facing years behind bars.
Prosecutors said they operated from three 'benefits factories' in north London.
One of the hubs was behind a functioning corner shop selling groceries. The group appeared to be hiding in plain sight - with Nikolova posting photos on social media smiling and posing behind the counter of Antonia's Foods supermarket in Wood Green.
The store, in High Road, specialised in Bulgaria, Turkish, Romanian and Polish foods.
The enormous haul of money gained from their 'complex financial web' of claims was laundered through a number of accounts, then withdrawn in cash – with £750,000 in bank notes found stuffed in suitcases at one of their homes.
Nikolova is also seen standing behind the counter of Antonia's Foods in Wood Green, pouting at the camera alongside an unknown man
Nikolova filmed a trip to Birmingham where Villa Park, the home ground of Aston Villa's football club.
She also captured a trip to the Aston Hall stately, posing and pouting outside the historic building in a video on TikTok
And in a clip shared on social media, crooked Nikolova shares a peck on he lips with Stoyanov after she receives a gift
Nikolova and Stoyanov in pictures during their various trips while operating as part of a criminal gang of Bulgarian fraudsters
Investigators who arrested the gang and searched their properties also discovered hundreds of 'claim packs' containing forged and false documents, and more than 900 digital devices.
Prosecutors said the gang used the benefits system 'like a cash machine' and on one of the seized mobile phones was a video showing the fraudsters showering their flat with hundreds of £20 notes.
The businesses the criminals operated claimed to assist people with obtaining a national insurance number and benefits to which they were entitled.
But between October 2016 and May 2021, the organised criminal group made about 6,000 fraudulent claims.
They were supported by forged documents including fictitious tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips and forged letters from landlords, employers and GPs.
If any claims were rejected, the fraudsters would persevere until they were approved.
Prosecutors said the gang used the benefits system 'like a cash machine'. Pictured: Huge stacks of cash found during the investigation
Nikolova and Stoyanov, 27, are two of the five criminals involved in Britain's biggest ever benefits fraud raking in almost £54million after using thousands of fake ID claims to fuel their luxurious lifestyles
The crooked couple cuddle up together in an earlier snap taken in Palmers Green, north London, with Nikolova boasting: 'The air that I breathe' in the online post from September 2020
All five were arrested on May 5, 2021, as part of the Met's Operation Volcanic but Ali fled to Bulgaria following his release under investigation.
He was extradited back to Britain in February last year and eventually admitted conspiracy to make false representations, possession of articles for use in a fraud and possessing criminal property.
As investigators searched through their homes they found hundreds of 'claim packs' containing forged and false documents were found and seized, as well as bundles of cash stuffed in shopping bags and suitcases, a luxury car and designer goods including watches, jackets, and glasses.
When faced with the large amount of incriminating evidence which included encrypted messages, CCTV footage, forged documents, seized digital devices and bank statements, the defendants eventually all pleaded guilty.
All five will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on May 28.
As they conducted their mastermind fraud, Nikolova would post on social media living a seemingly normal lifestyle, often cuddled up next to one of her partners in crime Stoyanov.
Patritsia Paneva, 26, (left) and Tsvetka Todorova, 52, (right) pleaded guilty alongside the four other criminals at Wood Green Crown Court yesterday
Gyunesh Ali, 33, pleaded guilty alongside the four other criminals at Wood Green Crown Court yesterday
The enormous haul of money gained from the claims was laundered through a number of accounts, then withdrawn in cash – with £750,000 in bank notes found stuffed in suitcases at one of their homes
