Grenfell Tower fraud: 47-year-old woman jailed for four-and-a-half years after posing as fire survivor

'Your greed in taking advantage of the situation was insatiable,' Joyce Msokeri told

Joyce Msokeri posed as a survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire to get free handouts (Metropolitan Police)

A conwoman who posed as a Grenfell Tower survivor has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for her 'callous and contemptible' fraud.

Joyce Msokeri, 47, said her husband died in the fire so she could claim food, clothing, and hotel accommodation worth £19,000.

The divorcee, who was in fact single and living miles away, could have got her hands on more than £200,000 if she had not been caught, London's Old Bailey heard.

Msokeri showed no emotion as judge Michael Grieve described how she seized on "one of the most horrific disasters to befall London in recent times."

The judge told her: "These are callous and contemptible, indeed disgusting, offences for which only a custodial sentence can be justified, and one of some length. Your greed in taking advantage of the situation you had created was insatiable."

The court heard she went to the Westway Centre set up to help survivors on 15 June last year, the day after the fire.

She claimed she had escaped the blaze after her husband gave her a wet towel to shield her face and directed her to safety.

Msokeri said she never saw him again after he went to help his sister on another floor.

She would go on to fill a room at a Hilton hotel with donations from well-wishers including money, electronic devices, handbags and dresses.

"What the evidence demonstrates is that she committed these crimes through greed and she got away with it for a certain amount of time through her skill at manipulation," said prosecutor David Jeremy QC.

Her story was called into question when she was unable to give the number of her flat in the tower, despite claiming to have lived there for five months.

Msokeri then roped in a vulnerable man to play her husband, telling investigators she had found him living in a cave in Margate, Kent.

Police traced Msokeri's real address to Sutton and established she was not married at the time of the fire. She was charged with fraud in September.

Msokeri, Sutton, south London, was found guilty of three counts of fraud against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), the Hilton and charities plus a further charge of possessing a false document.

Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Bonner, said: "It is terrible that this individual should try to profit from the pain of others.

"Not only did Msokeri take money, housing and clothing intended for genuine victims, she diverted police resources away from those who most needed it.

"We will continue to use all our powers to investigate anyone who we think is fraudulently profiting from the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower."

The Press Association contributed to this report.