A MIGRANT who was jailed for her role in Britain’s biggest benefits fraud is claiming Universal Credit after being released early from jail.
Bulgarian national Tsvetka Todorova helped swindle £54million from the British taxpayer after her gang made more than 6,000 bogus claims.
The 54-year-old – alongside four other crooks – used the cash to fund their lavish lifestyles, which featured designer clothes, watches and luxury cars.
She, alongside Galina Nikolova, 40, Stoyan Stoyanov, 29, Gyunesh Ali, 35, and Patritsia Paneva, 28, took a total of £53,901,959.82 in UC payments.
In May 2024, they were locked up for a total of 25 years after admitting fraud and money laundering.
All of the gang – bar Ali – have since been released from prison and are waiting to be deported.
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And it is understood Todorova has returned to her home in Erith, south-east London, where she is reportedly receiving £1,300 a month in benefits.
The fiend vowed to fight any attempts by the Government to deport her back to Bulgaria, declaring she “loves” being in the UK.
She told the MailOnline: “I do not want to leave Britain. My family is here. I love it here, it is good and has helped me.
“I’ve been back on benefits since December 30. My benefits account was closed, now it is opening again.”
Todorova also reportedly boasted of her “vacation” in prison, where she claims she received manicures and got her hair done.
She served time in HMP Bronzefield, where baby killers Lucy Letby and Constance Marten are currently being held.
But the convicted criminal revealed she is now suffering with depression, shockingly blaming the stress of her trial.
She added: “My husband is depressed. I am depressed as well. I had high blood pressure because of the case.”
Todorova refuses to apologise for her role in the criminal operation and continues to protest her innocence.
At the time, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) described the scheme as the largest case of benefit fraud ever discovered in England and Wales.
The sophisticated scheme involved the group using a library of fake identities used to make fraudulent claims.
Each claim was allocated a different mobile number and came attached with a litany of fake documents.
This often included forged tenancy agreements, counterfeit payslips, letters from GPs, landlords and employees to bolster the claims.
If their claims were denied, the brazen gang just persistently re-applied until they were approved.
Some of the claims were made using details from real people, who would pay the gang to use their identities to make the claims on their behalf.
The Universal Credit was paid into hundreds of different bank accounts and then withdrawn by the criminals at the bank.
They then laundered the money between various accounts through multiple transfers and cash withdrawals.
The four-year fraud finally came to an end in May 2021 when a policeman in Sliven, Bulgaria, tipped off British authorities.
Cops raided several properties in North London and discovered hundreds of ‘claim packs’ filled with counterfeit and false documents.
It was found along with £750,000 cash hidden in suitcases and shopping bags.
A black Audi, two Emporio Armani watches, two Versace watches, Gucci shoes and Chanel trainers were also seized.
But it was recently revealed the Bulgarian crooks were ordered to pay back just one per cent of the £54million.
A confiscation hearing was told prosecutors have been attempting to claw back the money after the fraudsters moved most of it abroad.
And the gang was ordered to pay back just £2million their haul – around one per cent of the total stolen, The Telegraph reports.
Even after the gang had been arrested, Stoyanov kept making fraudulent claims, defrauding the taxpayer of a further £17,000.
His role in the conspiracy was to “act as a conduit for those higher up in the chain”.
Nikolova was jailed for eight years, while her lover Stoyanov received four years imprisonment.
The confiscation hearing was told she had processed fraudulent claims on behalf of at least 2,400 people.
When she was arrested, police found the hidden £750,000 in a mattress and stuffed behind a fridge at her home.
Prosecutors could only prove Nikolova made around £2.8million from the fraud but only has available assets of just £942,183.
Her partner Stoyanov was ordered to pay back £7,654 despite making at least £162,950 from the scheme.
Paneva, who wept as she was sentenced to three years and two months, was told to pay back £99,235 from the £225,919 she made.
Ali – jailed for seven years and three months – and Todorova are still facing a costs hearing.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We take all fraud seriously.
“Last year we saved an estimated £25bn through our prevention and detection activities.
“In this case, action is ongoing to recover further money.”