His wife Juliet Ubiribo, 32, told benefit bosses she was a single mum so she could claim housing and council tax benefit.
She also asked the council to rehouse her because she was a victim of domestic violence – but the phone number she gave revealed her landlord, Ayiomike Neburagho, was really her husband Mayomi using a false identity.
Fraud investigators discovered he owned a large luxurious house in Nigeria worth more than £1m and boasting chandeliers and £89,000 worth of sound equipment.
He also wore a £25,000 watch and his wife drove a Mercedes Sport Coupe.
A judge has now ordered Mayomi to pay £1,197,743 in a confiscation order – or face six years in prison.
The Proceeds Of Crime Act allows the court to seize assets even if it doesn’t have enough evidence of criminal activity to secure a conviction.
As well as two money-transferring businesses and bank accounts, investigators also discovered Mayomi owned a fish farm in the country.
Court orders were signed freezing their assets in the UK and abroad in 2010, and an investigation was launched to find out how much the Nigerian-born couple had gained from their criminal lifestyle.
Judge Nicholas Ainley made the confiscation order at Croydon Crown Court after Mayomi disputed the investigators’ findings.He must cough up by March 14 next year.
In July Ubiribo was ordered to pay back £9,357 or face five months in prison.
Ubiribo was charged with 10 theft offences, four fraud act offences and two immigration offences.
Mayomi was charged with nine counts of theft, one count of fraud, four immigration offences, and one count of perjury for entering into a false marriage using a false identity.
They pleaded guilty to all charges and Mayomi was jailed for 30 months, while Ubiribo was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.
This prosecution was the result of a joint investigation by Croydon Council’s corporate anti-fraud team and the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA).
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