He Used a Fake Identity to Steal More Than £160,000 in Benefits, Then Pretended to Be Someone Else Until One Unusual Mistake Exposed Him

Adam Mejri, 47, has been jailed after carrying out a long-running fraud that saw him use a fake identity to claim benefits, housing support and other public funds. The court heard that he even tried to take advantage of the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy by pretending to be someone who was entitled to financial help. As he stood in the dock at Southwark Crown Court, Mejri broke down in tears and begged the judge for “mercy”, but he was sentenced to 42 months in prison.

The Department for Work and Pensions said Mejri fraudulently received more than £160,000 in benefits and council support. The money included over £52,000 in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), around £107,000 in Housing Benefit and about £4,000 in council tax support. Investigators said he repeatedly lied about his identity and personal circumstances in order to keep receiving money that he was never entitled to.

The court heard that in March 2018, Mejri went to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council offices pretending to be the tenant of a flat close to Grenfell Tower. The real tenant had already left the UK. Earlier that year, police had visited the property and arrested two people who were living there illegally. After that, the flat had been secured so that only council officials could enter it.

Prosecutors said Mejri arrived with identification documents in the genuine tenant’s name, convincing council staff to remove the metal security door that had been installed to protect the property. He then claimed he had been affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and repeatedly tried to obtain a £5,000 support payment that had been set aside for eligible residents following the disaster.

Officials eventually became suspicious about his identity and refused to release the money. Although he failed to get the compensation payment, prosecutors said he continued exploiting the false identity in other ways. He redirected the real tenant’s post to different addresses and illegally sublet the flat to other people, charging around £1,200 a month in rent.

The fraud did not stop there. In July 2019, Mejri allegedly used the same fake identity to apply for Universal Credit. He repeatedly failed to attend Jobcentre appointments, telling officials he was suffering from serious physical and mental health problems that prevented him from working.

However, investigators later checked his Facebook account and discovered that many of the dates he claimed he was too ill to attend appointments matched times when he was travelling in Saudi Arabia. The evidence raised serious doubts about the truthfulness of his claims and became an important part of the prosecution’s case.

The prosecution also told the court that Mejri was receiving Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit while earning money by subletting two additional properties in Westminster. He failed to tell Westminster Council about this income, allowing him to continue claiming benefits he should not have received.

Mejri admitted two counts of fraud as well as two counts of dishonestly failing to report changes in his financial circumstances. During sentencing, His Honour Judge Baumgartner described him as a “thoroughly dishonest person” who had taken advantage of innocent people and exploited the misfortune of others for his own financial gain.

Andrew Western, the Minister for Transformation, described the case as a shocking and carefully planned fraud. He said Mejri had stolen another person’s identity, abused public support systems and even attempted to profit from one of the country’s worst modern tragedies by trying to access money meant for Grenfell victims.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Richard Powell also condemned Mejri’s actions, saying his greed deprived genuinely vulnerable people of money and support that was intended to help those in real need. He said the case showed how seriously authorities treat benefit fraud and the exploitation of public funds, particularly when it involves taking advantage of victims of a national tragedy.