A PROPERTY developer with a £500,000 nest-egg has been convicted of falsely claiming benefits.
Geoffrey Berg, of Carnatic Road, in Mossley Hill, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court where he admitted falsely receiving the government hand-outs, totalling £10,799.34, between February, 2003, and March, 2010.
District Judge Ian Lomax ordered Berg to pay back the whole amount, and said at least £5,000 was to be paid within a month.
He was also fined £5,000 and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1,228.
Berg owned two flats on the street where he lives – he resided in one and the other, which he has since sold, he rented out for £1,000 a month.
An investigation by Liverpool City Council’s benefit fraud team found that Berg bought the apartment he lived in with cash.
He then sold his previous home, making a profit of £70,000.
Following this, he was able to make a second cash purchase of another flat for £205,000.
