A woman appears in court accused of Grenfell Tower fraud charges

A woman has appeared in court accused of falsely claiming she lost her home in the Grenfell Tower fire in a series of alleged frauds totaling almost £400,000.

Salma Said, 48, allegedly lied about being a resident of the high-rise on the night of the fire that killed 72 people in June 2017.

Another woman, Rawda Said, 35, of Warwick Road, Kensington and Chelsea, west London, appeared alongside her accused of assisting an offender, giving a statement that backed her story.

The 48-year-old, of Bishop King’s Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London, is also accused of making a fraudulent claim on the Barnet homebuyer scheme in September 2017.

She appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday facing six counts of fraud by false representation between 2014 and 2018 totaling £389,500 and indicated not guilty pleas to all charges.

Along with the two women in the bank were three others who are said to be linked to parts of the alleged crime.

Nura Abdulkader, 40, of Clifden Road, Hackney, is charged with one count of fraud for allegedly lying about living in Grenfell on June 14, 2017 to obtain “housing and financial support”.

Makrem Harzi, 38, of Warwick Road, Kensington and Chelsea, west London, faces two counts of assisting an offender, allegedly providing statements in support of Said, 48, ” with the intention of preventing its apprehension or prosecution”.

William Inglebright, 62, of Bishop King’s Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London, is charged with one count of fraud for allegedly claiming to meet the relevant criteria for the Help to Buy scheme in Barnet in May 2017 to receive equity capital. loan.

Prosecutor Bharti Joshi told the court the case was not suitable for a summary trial given the level of alleged guilt after each defendant entered pleas of not guilty to all offences.

Chair of the magistrates’ bench, Lucinda Lubbock, declined jurisdiction and released all five on bail ahead of a further hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on March 27.