A FRAUDSTER from Hornsey who rented luxury cars to gang members while claiming £60,000 in benefits has been jailed.

Tyrone Somerszaul, of Kings Gate Mews, used three different alter egos — Tyrone Simmons, Dean Miller and Sean Kimani Taylor — to collect a fleet of high end cars including a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martin.

He then leased the cars to other criminals with a "no questions asked" policy.

His bogus firm helped him live a lavish lifestyle propped up by a long-running fraudulent claim for incapacity benefit using one of his aliases.

But the four-year scam, between 2004 and 2009, caught the attention of Hackney Police after they arrested several gang members driving in cars rented from Somerszaul under company name Fineline or Taylor Prestige.

They quickly traced the car back to the 36-year-old who went on the run after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Following a nationwide appeal, Somerszaul handed himself in at Stoke Newington Police Station in May 2010. He pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court and was sentenced on Friday, January 21, to two years and nine months imprisonment.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Bruce, of Hackney Police, said: "This investigation has disrupted the activity of suspected gang members in Hackney who used Somerszaul's vehicles to get around the streets of the capital.

"I would like to commend the efforts of DC Matt Foy and PC Carrie Waller who have worked tirelessly on a complicated case, which has ultimately seen a serious criminal imprisoned for nearly three years."

Since Somerszaul's arrest Hackney police claim that gang crime in the borough has significantly reduced.

Officers now plan to lodge confiscation proceedings to help seize the profits and assets he gained through crime.

Detective Constable Matt Foy, of Hackney CID who led the investigation, said: "By bringing Somerszaul to justice and calling time on his bogus vehicle leasing company, police have curtailed not only his freedom but his lavish criminally-funded lifestyle."