A 46-year-old man has pleaded guilty to being one of Bradford’s biggest benefit fraudsters.

Abdul Majid admitted dishonestly obtaining £83,000 in Income Support and Council Tax benefit when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Majid, of Quaker Street, Undercliffe, Bradford, a father of nine, hid his wealth from the Department of Work and Pensions and bought a house.

He pleaded guilty on the day he was to stand trial for failing to notify the department of a change in his financial circumstances between January 2002 and March last year.

Majid also admitted two offences of making a false statement, in July 2004 and November 2005.

The court heard the total overpayment of benefit was £83,000. Of that sum, all but £3,000 was for Income Support.

Majid’s barrister, Shufqat Khan, said his client was a man of hitherto good character.

Mr Khan asked Judge Peter Hunt to adjourn the case for the preparation of a Probation Service report.

He said that Majid, formerly of Kensington Street, Girlington, Bradford, would have been entitled to Income Support had he declared to the department that he was buying a house as a second property to house members of his large family.

If he had been honest and said he needed the property, in Girlington Road, for “a great number of children,” he would not have ended up in court, Mr Khan told the court.

Judge Hunt warned Majid “these are serious matters” and said prison was an option when he is sentenced on November 27.

The judge granted Majid bail with a condition that he lives at the Quaker Street address and co-operates fully with the Probation Service.

After the hearing, Vernon Sanderson, Department for Work and Pensions regional fraud manager, said: “The amount involved, £83,000, makes this one of the largest Bradford benefit theft cases there has ever been.

“It shows other benefit thieves that, contrary to what they might think, we do find out, we do investigate and they can find themselves in court.

“Working together with organisations such as local authorities, we have a strong range of powers to investigate and, with the support of the public, we bring benefit thieves to justice.”