Lady Vera-Brigitte Accused Of £18,000 Benefit Fraud

Lady Vera-Brigitte Bilek Von Sternberg appeared in court today charged with an £18,000 benefit fraud against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea while renting out a £1.1m house to a string of tenants.

Vienna-born Lady Vera-Brigitte - known as 'BB' to friends - is accused of keeping a bank account secret and passing off the people who paid her rent as friends or family members.

The freelance arts and performing arts critic, of Thomas Darby Court, Lancaster Road, Notting Hill indicated not guilty pleas when she appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates Court.

She is the daughter of a former Cultural Attaché to the Middle East and moved to Chelsea in 1990 with her daughter Rebecca and became head of department at two educational establishments.

Lady Vera-Brigitte is a member of Chelsea Old Church and has been elected to the boards of a number of charitable trusts as a fund-raising trustee.

She was bailed to appear at Isleworth Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on May 26 after the court declined jurisdiction, based on the seriousness of the case.

All the money has been repaid to the local authority.

She is charged with two counts of fraud by false representation in that on September 17, 2009 and July 13, 2011 she made a false representation in a housing benefit and council tax benefit application relating to Ivy Cottage, Uverdale Road, West Brompton by indicating she had no bank account and failed to give details of a Barclays account.

She is similarly charged that on February 4, 2013 she made a false representation in relation to a benefit claim on the same property by telling the council she "never" had any subtenants, only visitors, guests, friends and members of her family and had no income except Pension Credit and Disability and Living Allowance, but had multiple tenants she charged rent between September 16, 2012 and September 18, 2013.

Lady Vera-Brigitte also faces two counts of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances, namely that she was renting out Ivy Cottage between June 2, 2012 and September 18, 2013 and a flat in Philadelphia Court, Uverdale Road between September 16, 2012 and January 4, 2013.

She is similarly charged that on or about May 4, 2012 she dishonestly failed to notify the council she had a tenancy agreement with Anchor Trust and had moved out of Ivy Cottage, Uverdale Road into her current address.