Grenfell fire fraudster Abolaji Onafuye jailed for £33,000 scam

Abolaji Onafuye's stay at the Grosvenor Hotel was paid for by taxpayers

A man who posed as a victim of the Grenfell Tower fire has been jailed for five years for fraudulently claiming £33,000.

Abolaji Onafuye falsely claimed to have lived on the 11th floor of the tower block that was destroyed in 2017.

The 54-year-old, of Gorleston Street, Hammersmith, west London, also claimed he was related to one of the 72 people who died in the blaze.

Isleworth Crown Court heard he claimed for accommodation and financial help.

He received a stay at the Grosvenor Hotel at £190 a night from June to October 2017, and the cost of the temporary accommodation at Gorleston Street - paid for by Kensington and Chelsea Council and the charity Rugby Portobello Trust.

Onafuye denied two counts of fraud by false representation but was found guilty following a trial.

At his sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said Onafuye had shown no remorse for the scam and had even accused genuine victims of lying.

He said Onafuye continued lying after he was arrested, first by accusing residents of lying, then claiming at his trial he had been suffering from temporary insanity caused by not eating during Ramadan.

'Real families'

Ben Holt, prosecuting, said Onafuye had planned the scam by spending time in the area after the fire and getting to know the names of victims Zaynab Deen and her son Jeremiah.

Zainu Deen, Zaynab's father and grandfather to Jeremiah, said he was horrified.

"Surely these people know there are real families who are suffering and whose lives will never be the same again... I am angry, cross, confused and incredibly frustrated," he said.

Onafuye said he had never meant to cause anyone distress.