A benefits cheat who served two years in prison for fraudulent claims has been jailed again for another scam that netted him more than £106,000.

Patrick Allen received £22,200 from Haringey Council during the ten-year scam, during which he splashed out on a £250,000 home in Lincoln Road, Enfield, despite claiming housing benefit for properties in Hornsey and Islington.

The 39-year-old also claimed £75,000 in housing benefit from Islington Council between 2002 and 2008 for a flat in Cumming Street where he did not have a genuine tenancy.

He then told housing officers he had moved to Nelson Road, in Hornsey, and began claiming housing benefit for that property.

But within days of that claim, the fraudster had already bought the home in Enfield and began attempting the same scam with Haringey Council.

Housing officers began to investigate Allen and he was arrested on suspicion of fraudulent claims.

At the trial, he told Wood Green Crown Court the savings he had amassed, and the house in Enfield, belonged to his brother.

But he was convicted of four counts of dishonestly making a false statement with a view to obtaining benefit and three counts of dishonestly failing to give notification of a change in circumstances

Allen was sentenced last Tuesday to three-and-a-half years in prison and the authorities will now attempt to reclaim the cash.

Councillor Joe Goldberg, cabinet member for finance, said: “Claiming thousands of pounds in benefits while splashing out on houses elsewhere flies in the face of the principles of fairness that underpin our welfare system.

“Benefits are rightly there for those who need them, and we will always investigate when we suspect people are flouting the rules for personal gain.”