A man who said he lived with a family who died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy fraudulently claimed more than £100,000 in compensation in the days immediately afterwards.

Sharife Elouahabi had claimed he lived in the 21st-floor flat where the El-Wahabi family died in the atrocity on June 14, 2017.

The 38-year-old – whose surname was listed as El-Wahbe – pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.

Sharife Elouahabi, 38, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud by false representation at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, November 5 (Picture: Met Police)

He had told the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that he was living at flat 182 at the time of the fire and was therefore entitled to housing and financial assistance.

Elouahabi, who received around £103,000 from the council between June 23 and June 25, 2017, will be sentenced on November 20 at the same court.

His defence counsel, Graeme Wilson, said Elouahabi did stay with his ‘close friends’ in flat 182 on a couple of occasions in January and March 2017 when he was ‘sofa surfing’.

Faouzia and Abdulaziz El-Wahabi, 42 and 52, died alongside their children, Yasin, 20, Huda, 16, and Mehdi, eight, in the flat as the fire ripped through the west London tower block leaving 72 people dead.

Elouahabi was due to receive resettlement payments worth a further £14,730 to go towards a flat and free utilities, before the fraud was discovered, the court heard.

An investigation revealed he was actually living at another address in Kensington and had no links to Grenfell Tower.

Elouahabi claimed more than £100,000 in the days immediately after the tragedy that killed 72 people (Picture: PA)
The covered remains of the high-rise tower block on the first anniversary of the fire (Picture: Getty)
Banners were placed outside Grenfell Tower ahead of Notting Hill Carnival (Picture: PA)

DC Ben Rouse, who led the investigation, said: ‘This was a substantial fraud, made all the more deplorable by the fact that it was committed in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, with the money set aside to help those directly affected by the tragedy.

‘Elhouhabi shamelessly took advantage of the efforts to rehouse people whose homes had been destroyed by claiming his link to one of the flats, and he was subsequently put in hotel accommodation. Further investigations revealed that he had not even lived in the tower.

‘This is the latest in what is sadly a long line of Grenfell-related frauds.

‘We will continue to investigate and where appropriate prosecute anyone who is financially profiting from the Grenfell fire, and taking away resources and support for the true victims.’

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