A benefits cheat and drug dealer who changed his name by deed poll to fraudulently claim benefits has been ordered to pay £250,000, or face a further three years in jail.

Father-of-seven Abrar Abbasi was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to convert criminal property in October 2013.

Both his sister, who was conspiring with him, and his partner, Teresa Belton-Martin, who was convicted of benefit fraud, received non-custodial sentences.

Ms Belton-Martin and Abrar Abbasi moved into a property in Belle Vue Road, Walthamstow, in December 2005.

But she failed to notify the authorities that she was living with her declared landlord as husband and wife.

Mr Abbasi disguised his identity by changing his name by deed poll, changing the name on the title deeds and mortgage to Abdullah Khan, to whom the housing benefit was paid.

He then transferred the property and the mortgage to his sister, Asia Ahmed, and notified the council that she was the new landlord.

Finally, he took back the mortgage, transferring it into the name Abrar Khan.

The benefits they received totalled more than £120,000.

Council investigators, accompanied by the officers from the Department of Work and Pensions and police, found a huge cannabis factory when they visited the couple’s home in July 2012 to search for evidence of benefit fraud.

Abbasi was sentenced to 34 months for cannabis cultivation and is still serving this sentence.

The financial investigation that followed established Abbasi had deposited £173,298, much of it in cash, into his bank accounts in the six years preceding the offences.

Last month, Snaresbrook Crown Court ordered him to pay back the money, or face three more years in prison.

When deciding on the size of the confiscation order, the court into took into account the rise in the value of the house and Abbasi’s other available assets.

He was also ordered to pay a further £8,228 to the council in legal costs.

He has six months to pay.

Councillor Clare Coghill, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and High Streets, said: “Our Counter Fraud Team works tirelessly in tracking down people who defraud the council and, as this case demonstrates, they will not hesitate to use all the powers at their disposal to hold fraudsters to account.

“Defrauding the council is the equivalent of taking money out of the pockets of every taxpayer in the borough.”