Isaac Meggoe appeared before the court last week charged with 1 count of dishonesty, contrary to Section 1(2)(a) of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.
During earlier hearings at the same court, Meggoe had maintained his innocence, however when the sub-tenant attended to give evidence, he changed his plea to guilty.
Meggoe had been a tenant of a property in Castlecroft for 6 years. When he sublet his home, he posed as a private landlord, provided a tenancy agreement and charged £575 per month rent.
When the subletting came to the attention of Wolverhampton Homes, an investigation by the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Counter Fraud Team commenced and Meggoe illegally evicted his tenant on 21 December, 2023, leaving them homeless and unable to access their belongings.
Counter fraud investigators found that Meggoe staged the property to appear as though he lived there when home visits from Wolverhampton Homes were arranged. He had also applied through the Right to Buy scheme to purchase his home and was due to benefit from a 64% discount.
Sentencing, District Judge Michael Wheeler told Mr Meggoe: “You took the opportunity to sublet the flat to make a profit and it was clearly premeditated.
“You clearly put on a sham that you were still living at the property when visits were carried out all of which were aggravating features.
“Your case was hopeless, and you should have pleaded guilty earlier to save public money, therefore you will get no credit.”
Meggoe was sentenced to a 12 month community order to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay costs of £2,768 and compensation of £1,540 within 28 days, plus a victim surcharge of £114.
In addition, the council will be appearing before the County Court next month seeking possession of the property.
Councillor Louise Miles, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: "The City of Wolverhampton Council operates a zero tolerance policy on fraud and we will not hesitate to take action as appropriate – because we know that every pound saved from fraud is a pound that can be invested in vital public services."
