A MAN who tried to defraud a local authority of almost £80,000 has been forced to pay the money back.

Gateshead Council’s in-house Corporate Fraud Team successfully identified Lee Richardson as someone who had made a fraudulent Right to Buy purchase of a council house in Whickham.

He had jointly purchased his grandfather’s home in June 2017 under the government scheme.

Richardson declared that the Rose Avenue property was his sole and main home and therefore received a discount of £77,900 along with his grandfather.

An anonymous tip-off suggested that Richardson did not actually live there and this immediately prompted an investigation by the council’s fraud team, which led to Richardson being interviewed under caution.

During the interview, the team was able to identify that Richardson had failed to declare ownership of four other properties, one of which he was living in.

Faced with prosecution, Richardson eventually admitted making a fraudulent Right to Buy declaration and accepted a formal caution.

He paid back a total of £93,465 in repayment of the Right to Buy discount and associated costs.

Council spokesman Darren Collins said: “The council has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud in all its forms and we will always take firm action wherever we find it.

“Anyone thinking of applying for the Right to Buy their council home should be sure that they are eligible to do so and be mindful that the council will investigate.”