Jailed: Carina Reid (pictured in Dubai), who lived in Chelsea, had 19 bank accounts containing £180,000

A model who claimed she was so poor she had to accept free food from a mosque has been jailed for three years after benefits investigators unearthed her glamorous lifestyle on Facebook.

Carina Reid, 32, who lived in a flat on Chelsea’s fashionable King’s Road in West London after buying it with a deposit of £20,000, had 19 bank accounts containing £180,000.

But she claimed more than £50,000 in housing and council tax benefits to help fund holidays to Hong Kong, Dubai, Spain, Portugal, France and Switzerland and meals at luxury restaurants.

Reid, who also worked as a beautician, told the council that she had no savings and had taken no holidays between 2009 and 2014 – but was jailed for three years at Isleworth Crown Court yesterday for dishonestly claiming benefits.

The court heard how self-employed Reid first claimed benefits from Kensington and Chelsea Council in 2009, stating she earned a very low income from her beauty business Enhance.

But an investigation found her Facebook profile showed her taking holidays to various countries, sipping champagne in Harrods and dining at top London establishments including Scotts, the Dorchester Hotel and the Berkeley Hotel.

A profile of Reid on the Enhance website said she was a ‘senior medical aesthetician’ who had ‘worked with a wide range of clientele, from VIP film stars, TV and radio presenters as well as on magazine shoots and celebrity events.’

Her King’s Road flat was purchased with a deposit of £20,000, and she got a mortgage based on her true tax returns which showed that Enhance was a successful business.

She had also sent £116,000 abroad in 2013-2014 to acquire property in Dubai, and her LinkedIn profile indicated her desire to expand her business to Dubai and Los Angeles.

Eight of the nine dishonesty charges related to Reid’s failure to declare savings of £180,000 in 19 separate bank accounts.

Up in the air: Reid, who is pictured in a helicopter in Cannes, France, first claimed benefits from Kensington and Chelsea Council in 2009, stating she earned a very low income from her beauty business Enhance

Jetset lifestyle: Reid (left at Cove Beach in Dubai, and right in the Jumairah area of Dubai) claimed more than £50,000 in housing and council tax benefits to help fund her holidays

Cheers: An investigation by the council found that Reid's Facebook profile showed her taking holidays to various countries, sipping champagne and dining at top London establishments

Reid also faced a charge of making a false representation to the council after a tenancy agreement on the King’s Road property named her as a tenant, when in fact she was the owner.

The court heard that her false statements to the council saw her overpaid £51,110.37, made up of £48,395.99 housing benefits, £2,173.40 council tax benefits and £540.98 council tax reduction.

None of the monies have been repaid. Reid told the court that she did not believe she had an extravagant lifestyle despite what her social media profile might have suggested.

She added that some of the trips abroad were paid for by friends or boyfriends and some were also business training trips. She also insisted that she had always been truthful in her tax affairs.

Sentencing her, Judge Marks Moore described Reid’s fraud as ‘sophisticated’ and ‘premeditated’ and designed to fund her lavish lifestyle.

Defensive: Reid, pictured posing on a Rolls Royce at Al Bustan Rotana hotel in Dubai, told the court that she did not believe she had an extravagant lifestyle despite what her social media profile might have suggested

On tour: Chelsea resident Reid, pictured left at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and right at a fashion event in London, claimed that she was so poor she had to accept free food from a mosque

Causing havoc: Reid said that some of the trips abroad were paid for by friends or boyfriends over the years and some were also business training trips

He also said that this was ‘not a passive fraud’ and that every time she filled in a claim form there was a ‘positive demonstration to deceive’.

Speaking after sentence was passed, Andreja Oblak, 31, a barista at a coffee shop opposite Enhance’s outlet in Wandsworth, told the London Evening Standard: ‘I can’t believe it.

I can’t believe she was such a scammer and she was ripping us all off to pay for her lifestyle Andreja Oblak, who worked opposite Carina Reid's business in London

‘She always seemed so polite and sophisticated. I can’t believe she was such a scammer and she was ripping us all off to pay for her lifestyle.’

A neighbour at her block on Kings Road added: ‘It’s a shock. We barely saw her because of her jetset lifestyle. She was always partying and just gave the impression of being very successful.’

And council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown said: ‘Money that was intended for those in greatest need was instead dishonestly used by Carina Reid to fund a lavish lifestyle at taxpayers' expense.

‘I am very pleased that following our investigation, which uncovered her real circumstances, the court has handed down this custodial sentence.’

Cruise liner: Reid (in Lisbon) was rarely seen by her neighbours 'because of her jetset lifestyle', one said

Up close: Reid is pictured at a snake and reptile encounter at an unknown location in Britain