A SCHEMING couple fleeced £720,000 in benefits to splurge on their lavish lifestyle.
Wojciech Kowalski and girlfriend Wiktoria Packowska, both 28, spent the cash on designer clothing, a spa day and a Rolex.
The shameless pair created fake bank accounts, identity documents and utility bills to make more than 80 false benefits claims.
They ended up raking in £723,232 from British taxpayers – although the true figure could be much higher.
Kowalski and Packowska have now been jailed for a total of eight years after admitting conspiracy to commit fraud and possessing articles for use in fraud.
The couple also pleaded guilty to possessing criminal property in relation to £62,290 cash found when they were arrested.
Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Stevenson told them “every person in this country who works hard and pays their taxes” was a victim of their crimes.
Canterbury Crown Court heard the Polish nationals operated a “commercial scale” benefit fraud.
The couple rinsed both Universal Credit and housing benefits in a three year period between May 2019 and August 2021.
Their scheme was finally unravelled when Kowalski and Packowska in June 2020 when they were stopped trying to leave the UK via the Channel Tunnel.
They claimed they were taking £1,000 each to Europe but Border Force officers found around £62,000 cash – including £50,000 stuffed into Packowska’s leggings.
A further £12,000 was found in her handbag – causing police to search their homes in East London to find a “treasure trove” of tools they used in the scam.
These included fake Polish identity cards, numerous mobile phones, sandwich bags filled with SIM cards, multiple bank cards, benefit claim documents, utility bills, passports and birth certificates.
There were also notebooks containing hundreds of names, addresses, dates of birth, bank account and national insurance numbers, answers to security questions and landlord details.
Despite being caught out, the couple continued scamming the government until they were arrested again in August 2021.
Brazen Packowska even strapped a £12,500 Rolex to her wrist as she was being detained by police.
Both claimed they had been coerced by others to carry out the scheme but this was rejected by the court.
Confiscation proceedings to determine how much the pair must pay back will take place at a later hearing.
Detective Constable Stuart Tracey, of Kent Police, said: “Wojciech Kowalski and Wiktoria Packowska abused the benefits system and cheated their way towards vast sums of money intended for people who needed it more than they did.
“They created multiple false identities to commit their crimes and even lied about where they lived when they were first arrested at the Channel Tunnel.
“However, they could not escape the truth for long and are both now behind bars as a result.”
