Charity Housing Boss Jailed for Ripping Off £100k to Feed Gambling Habit
Fraud Exposed at Charity Housing Block
Gael Ikobonga, 32, from Romford, has been slammed with a 28-month jail sentence for swiping £100,000 from a housing charity. The shady ex-Tenancy Services Manager used his position at a housing firm leasing properties for vulnerable people to line his own pockets.
Sublet Scam in Canning Town Flats
Ikobonga marked flats under his watch as ‘returned to landlord’, falsely claiming they were empty. Instead, he secretly sub-let them to tenants, pocketing the rent. The cheeky fraudster even moved into one flat with his girlfriend – rent free for two years!
Using official company letterhead, he signed bogus contracts with unsuspecting tenants but gave them his personal bank details for their payments.
£100k Gone to Gambling Spree
Bank records revealed rent payments from four properties between January 2016 and November 2018 slid straight into Ikobonga’s account. The majority of the stolen cash vanished on his gambling addiction.
Police Crack Down on Employee Fraud
Detectives from the Central Specialist Crime Command arrested Ikobonga in October 2018. He pleaded guilty in February 2020 at Southwark Crown Court.
“Ikobonga stole money from a charity that helps those in need to fuel his gambling addiction; with not a thought of the impact his actions would have,” said Acting Detective Inspector Martin Enever.
“Employee fraud is a serious offence which the Met is committed to investigating. Employers can help by always remaining vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity to Action Fraud.”
