Grenfell Tower fire: Man admits £81,000 fraud

Yonatan Eyob said he lived in Grenfell Tower before a fire destroyed the tower block

A man has pleaded guilty to claiming £81,000 in money and accommodation by falsely saying he lived in Grenfell Tower before the devastating fire.

At Westminster Magistrates' Court, Yonatan Eyob, 26, from Notting Hill, admitted fraud by false representation.

He was charged with dishonestly making a false representation for accommodation and subsistence between June 2017 and June 2018.

The fire ripped through the tower block in June 2017, leaving 72 people dead.

Eyob, of Hurtsway Walk, will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on 24 August.

Prosecutor Marcia Evans told the court he had received £81,000 in money and accommodation and there was also a potential loss of £11,000 linked to a claim for a permanent home.

She said he had claimed to live in a flat in the west London tower block which was home to a family of five who died in the blaze.

Ms Evans said "significant evidence" has been obtained from other family members and neighbours "who say the defendant did not live in the flat".

CCTV does not show him going into the flat and "in fact inquiries revealed that he lived somewhere else", Ms Evans said.