A SERIAL housing fraudster has dodged jail after claiming £28,000 from the council - despite owning two properties.

When she applied for council housing in 2003, Fadimana Altinsoy failed to mention she jointly owned houses in Forest Gate and London.

Epping Forest District Council granted the 45 year-old tenancy of a property in Copperfield, Chigwell on January 22, 2007.

The day after moving in Altinsoy requested an upgrade, from a flat to a house, despite now having claim to three homes.

On June 18, 2010, she applied for a home ownership grant to help her purchase a private property, receiving one of six grants worth £28,000.

She used the money to buy a home in Basildon the following year.

When the authorities finally caught up with Altinsoy, she pleaded not guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates Court last February to three offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and one of money laundering, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

During the first day of the trial on January 22, 2018 she had a change of heart, submitting guilty pleas and agreeing to pay the £28,000 back plus £12,500 in prosecution costs.

At a hearing on March 9 the Cockrell Close, Basildon resident was sentenced to two years, suspended for two years, and ordered to work unpaid for 200 hours and work with a probation supervisor for 12 months.