Gypsy rights campaigner jailed for £2.9m benefits scam

[dipsydoodle]

A woman who helped more than 170 Romanians illegally claim £2.9m in benefits has been jailed for two years and three months.

Lavinia Olmazu, 31, a campaigner for the rights of Romany Gypsies, helped mastermind the scam involving 172 members of the Romanian community.

Olmazu, of north-east London, gained access to them through her work with Haringey and Waltham Forest councils.

>

As well as working as an outreach worker with the councils, the university graduate was involved with the Big Issue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11347134

[Nihil]

1. That'll help her cause ...

> A woman who helped more than 170 Romanians illegally claim £2.9m in benefits
> Lavinia Olmazu, 31, a campaigner for the rights of Romany Gypsies, helped
> mastermind the scam involving 172 members of the Romanian community.

:eyes:

(Waiting for the inevitable defenders to brush this under the carpet as some
kind of unfair discrimination ... how dare they *prosecute* a gypsy for fraud?)

[dipsydoodle]

2. I wish she'd got more time.

I've nothing whatsoever against Romany Gypsies : I have against those who defile their name in this way.

[Nihil]

3. Her and the other 172.

> I have against those who defile their name in this way.

Especially if they are supposedly activists in "protecting" and "defending" them.

ETA:
> Det Con Melanie Groves, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "This is a clear case
> of Roma families who wished to improve their lives but were prevented from doing
> so by being exploited by their own people."

Great activism there.