Ipswich Man Caught in Shocking £158K Council Housing Fraud
You won’t believe this one — a man in Ipswich has just been sentenced for what a judge called a “grotesque” case of council housing fraud. It’s one of those stories that really makes you shake your head.
So, the man in question is Mahmut Dagdelan, a 58-year-old grandfather who works as a chef. For six years, he lived in a council house provided by Ipswich Borough Council — nothing unusual there, right? Well, here’s the twist: during all that time, he actually owned two mortgage-free properties worth about £132,000 . And he wasn’t just sitting on them — he was renting them out and making money, all while claiming he needed public housing.
This wasn’t some small technicality or misunderstanding either. The fraud ended up costing taxpayers a whopping £158,000 . That money could’ve gone toward housing for people truly in need — families waiting on long lists, struggling with rising rents and limited options.
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Now, how was he caught? Ironically, it was when he pushed things even further by trying to buy the council house he was living in under the government’s Right to Buy scheme, which gives tenants a big discount. That move flagged the authorities, and everything unraveled from there.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of dishonesty by making false representations. And when he appeared in Ipswich Crown Court , the judge didn’t hold back. Recorder Samantha Presland described the fraud as “utterly grotesque” and pointed out that his false sense of entitlement — living rent-free while collecting rent from his own properties — was what made the case so disturbing.
However, despite the seriousness of the offense, Dagdelan didn’t walk away with an immediate prison sentence. Because he’s now suffering from memory loss and is expected to be diagnosed with dementia , the court handed him a two-year suspended sentence , meaning he avoids jail as long as he meets strict conditions.
In addition to that, he was hit with a curfew from 7pm to 7am for six months, ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work , and must pay £5,480 in prosecution costs , plus a £187 surcharge . There’s also a confiscation hearing scheduled for February next year, where authorities will attempt to recover the proceeds of his fraud.
It’s a frustrating example of how the system can be manipulated — and how, sometimes, it takes a blatant overreach to finally bring it to light.
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