Pictured: Joyce Msokeri after she was arrested charged with four counts of fraud

Fraudster Joyce Msokeri has been jailed for four-and-a-half years at the Old Bailey after posing as a Grenfell Tower survivor in a £19,000 scam.

The 'callous and contemptible' 47-year-old claimed she escaped the west London fire last year and thought her husband had died when in fact she was single and living miles away.

Mohammed Hakim - who lived on the 17th floor in a flat number Msokeri claimed to be hers and lost his entire family - said he was 'sickened', 'traumatise' and 'disgusted' at her lies.

Msokeri filled a room at a Hilton hotel with donations from well-wishers, and concocted an elaborate ploy to claim insurance on her fictitious partner's death.

When her scheme faltered, she preyed on a vulnerable man to play her husband, telling investigators she found he had been living in a cave in Margate, Kent, where he was fed by tourists, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

She went on to claim her sister-in-law had died in the blaze and if her scam had not been foiled, she would have received £200,000 of housing, money and other goods and services.

Mr Hakim was among the victims who expressed their disgust at fraudster Joyce Msokeri for the 'sickening' scam to 'claim from the dead'.

In a community impact statement, volunteer Loubna Aghzafi said: 'The impact of the fire was devastating to the entire community.

Ms Msokeri falsely claimed she was a resident in Grenfell Tower, pictured, and lost her non-existent husband in the tragedy to claim a free hotel room

'What the community has learned from this incident is when the right sources of help are not there, the community will come together. The impact of the fraudulent claims have impacted our roles.

'Some community members describe those individuals that are making the fraudulent claims as the worst of the human race.'

Others said they found it 'disgusting and disappointing' the fraudster made 'false claims and depriving the real survivors of the help they need'.

Corinne Jones lived on the 17th floor for 11 months before the fire with her two sons and partner.

Survivor's 'disgust' at 'sickening' Grenfell lies Mohammed Hakim lived on the 17th floor in a flat number Msokeri claimed to be hers and lost his entire family. He was out at the time of the inferno, but said he spoke to his sister on the phone until 'all I could hear was crackling'. He said in a statement: 'My whole world has fallen apart. I have lost my entire family. 'The police asked me to provide this statement to confirm no-one else lived in the apartment or stayed overnight. 'I have heard that people have been making false claims. I am sickened that anyone would ever make up such stories and lies, just to get money. 'I am traumatised that someone claimed they lived or stayed in our flat. 'I am trying to mourn my family's death. This has just added to the pain. I am disgusted that any human being could stoop so low. 'I would like to know how this person would feel if this happened to them - to lose all their loved ones and then have someone make up such false claims. 'I can tell them that it is a very sad and lonely place to be. It is very sickening that people want to claim from the dead.' Advertisement

She said: 'A fire occurred that changed my family and my life forever. My family and I were fortunate enough to escape from the fire.'

The experience of escaping from the burning tower 'will be forever etched in my memory', she added.

Ms Jones continued: 'To say it has been stressful is an understatement. Every single day after the fire we have had to get up and do something in order to reestablish our lives.

'I have been made aware of two or three people fraudulently claiming to be residents.

'This makes me frustrated. It makes me feel like I had to prove that I lived at that property.

'This is the last thing I feel I want or need to do, considering my life has been turned upside down.

'It has also made me a bit more cautious around residents. It brings in an element of doubt about people's intentions.

'I think the fraudsters have caused harm to the community and to the survivors of Grenfell Tower.

'I find people lying about living in a building where a considerable amount of people have died is disrespectful and distasteful.

'I cannot imagine what type of person would want to lie about being in such a situation.'

Prosecutor David Jeremy QC said: '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.'

The court heard she made claims to volunteers at the Westway Centre set up to help survivors after presenting there the day after the fire on the afternoon of June 15.

Zimbabwean-born Msokeri's 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 before the fire.

Msokeri of Ambleside Gardens, 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.

Judge Michael Grieve QC said: 'In the early hours of the morning of the 14th of June last year a terrible fire broke out in Grenfell Tower.

'Over 70 people perished in the flames, and hundreds of other people's lives were devastated.

'This was one of the most horrific disasters to befall Londoners in recent times.'

Msokeri had fallen into arrears with her rent, and 'concocted a plan' to 'pose as a survivor of the fire in order to gain benefits'.

The judge said: 'While there were oddities and inconsistencies, the relief workers were there to help, and not to question.'

He said she gathered goods 'in breathtaking quantities', with her 'room full to bursting with such items', which she shrink wrapped in suitcases.

Judge Grieve added: 'Your greed in taking advantage of the situation you had created was insatiable.

The fraudster profited from the pain of true victims' by moving into a five-star hotel room that she 'filled to bursting'

'It has caused revulsion among the public at large. The impact on these people as on the close knit community living in Grenfell Tower when they learned of your fraudulent behaviour has been dramatic.

'These were callous and contemptible, indeed disgusting offences. For which only a custodial sentence can be justified, and one of some length.

'You weren't present during most of your trial because you refused to come to court, saying you weren't well enough and in pain.

'During the period of nearly three months, you were fit enough to travel around London and down to the Kent coast.'

One community member had said 'their actions have totally ripped at the heart and faith of the Grenfell community', the judge added.

Bespectacled Msokeric who appeared in court via video link wearing a pink sweater, black hat and sat in a wheelchair, showed no emotion.

Prosecutors argued she was a 'very good actress' which enabled her to carry out the deceit, but her scam unravelled after she became too greedy.

Msokeri phoned Sky to complain about her TV service hours before heading to the Westway Centre, near the tower, where survivors were being helped.

After arriving there on June 15, the day after the inferno which killed 72 people, she said she had lost her husband and sister-in-law.

Earlier in the day she had pretended to be her sister-in-law and reported herself missing to police.

As staff did not have any lists of people in the tower, at first they had to trust people who were arriving for help.

Initially Msokeri said she lived in flat 583, but the numbers only went up to 207. She later claimed she had lived on the 17th floor since February, but could not remember the number.

The fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower in Kensington, west London, in June 2012. Msokeri posed as a victim to collect donations

If staff questioned her story, she would ask them to be removed from her case, which happened three times.

Meghan Hessian, night manager of the Westway Centre, bought her bras and other clothing using her own money.

After Msokeri was given a new iPhone, she 'totally changed' and became 'more chirpy'.

She appeared with a new bag, clothes and hair cut, and Ms Hessian said: 'I thought to myself this doesn't seem right.'

During the trial, Msokeri sat in a wheelchair - despite not medically needing one - and was labelled a 'malingerer' by two psychiatrists.

But the judge said was also 'fully in control' of her faculties when interacting with the agencies before her arrest, he added.

After being remanded in custody after twice breaching her bail she began to complain of ill health, he said.

Kate Mulholland, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Joyce Msokeri has been sentenced today for fraudulently claiming money and accommodation intended for the true victims of the Grenfell Tower fraud.

'Her offences were not just about money but involved the exploitation of extremely vulnerable people, as well as the breach of trust of survivors, donors and relief workers.

'Our prosecution showed she persuaded one vulnerable man to pretend to be her husband as part of her scam.

'She also claimed her supposed husband had not died in the fire as she first thought, but had been living in a cave.

'This was all to satisfy her greed and she will now have to face the consequences of her dishonesty.'

In mitigation Susan Meek, defending, said: 'She was living a law-abiding life. This conviction will follow her.'

There was no previous difficulty in prison, but since the conviction, 'she is being bullied, abused and shouted at' by other inmates, Ms Meeks added.

A Kensington and Chelsea Council spokesman said: 'We are focused on supporting the bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell tragedy.

'We approach every case with the view of doing our very best to support individuals and families wherever and however we can.

'Unfortunately, as in this case, there is a small minority who came forward and tried to take advantage of this, with the sole purpose of gaining something out of a tragedy.

'This case shows they will not get away with it, and we would urge the public to continue reporting cases of fraud to the council and to the police.'

The biggest lies Grenfell Tower fraudster Joyce Msokeri told in a bid to swindle cash

'Where do I live?'

Msokeri said she had been living at Grenfell Tower with her husband and sister-in-law when the fire broke out. She said she lived at number 503 but there were only 120 flats in the block. In fact, Msokeri lived in Sutton 14 miles away and was recorded moaning to Sky about her bad signal just hours after apparently fighting her way out of the burning block.

Vanishing sister

She pretended her sister-in-law was a victim too. After moaning to Sky, Msokeri rang the Met Police hotline to report her sister-in-law 'Joy' as missing. Msokeri does indeed have a sister-in-law named Gloria - but she was not the person at the other end of the line. The call was made from a Samsung mobile found on Msokeri when she was arrested 10 days later. She had used a second SIM card to impersonate 'Gloria'.

After pretending her husband was killed in the fire, Msokeri claimed that her sister-in-law was a victim of the blaze too

Phone obsessed

Msokeri used the sister-in-law lie again when she was desperate to get her hands on a smart phone from the disaster fund. When it was pointed out she already had three mobiles the fraudster said she was looking after one of them for the relative. She was so angry when she did not get the other phone that she had the social worker removed from her case.

Eating for three

The fraudster was so greedy than she could not resist having room service send up three meals when her social worker came to call. The other guest was imaginary and Msokeri scoffed the lot.

'That's my husband!'

Msokeri wanted to get her hands large amounts of cash available if it was found her husband had died in the fire. She burst into tears for the benefit of a friend she was grooming as they watched a video clip of people who had died in the fire. Despite their faces being pixilated out Msokeri said she recognised her husband and sister-in-law. Msokeri went through the same charade again later for the benefit of police officers.

Msokeri then coerced her mentally ill ex-boyfriend Juma Hanlon to pretend he was her husband who had miraculously been found. She secured his admission to the mental health wing of the St Charles Hospital in Notting Hill and arranged for her solicitors to alert police to the dramatic discovery. She was foiled when Mr Hanlon fled the wing and reported the plan himself.

'Sorry, I don't understand!'

Msokeri pretended she could not understand what was happening on the first day of her trial and appeared to be 'talking in tongues' by mumbling incoherently and babbling in the dock. She said she was unable to enter pleas because she does not comprehend ordinary English words.

Feeling 'under the weather'

Msokeri has faked a legion of different conditions, diseases and ailments. One has struck her down with paralysis and left her wheelchair bound. Another has partially blinded her and forced her to wear a pirate style eye patch. In custody Msokeri said she was unable to eat or swallow - only for staff to find empty food containers and orange peel in her room. She now claims she has sores on her bottom from sitting in the wheelchair for too long.

Travelling in style

One of the main attractions of the disaster fund for Msokeri was the provision of free taxi rides. She used the service as he own personal chauffeur and clocked up £160 for a single journey, claiming her ordeal had left her too stressed to use public transport.

Don't call the doctor

Msokeri has claimed to be either a fully qualified or trainee nurse, skilled in matters medical. In fact there is no evidence that she has any occupation at all other than that of heartless swindler.