Grenfell tower fire: Fake 'victim' accused of trying to get cash, housing

The burned Grenfell Tower apartment building on June 23. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A London man has been arrested on suspicion of fraudulently claiming the Grenfell tower inferno killed some of his relatives earlier this month -- so he could get cash and housing meant for the real victims.

Flames and smoke billowing from the Grenfell Tower on June 14. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

The 52-year-old man allegedly surfaced in the aftermath of the fire and had family liaison officers assigned to him after he said he lost his wife and son in the disaster, Sky News reported. He tried to get financing after he said he lost all of his property in the fire, according to Scotland Yard.

Inconsistencies in his story, however, led police to launch an investigation into his claims. They also spoke to residents of the flat within the building where he claimed to live. The residents said his story was bogus.

Investigators later found that the man lived in Bromley, in southeast London, around 20 miles away from the site of the fire, and he had neither a wife nor a child.

GRENFELL TOWER FIRE: MORE FEARED DEAD AFTER LONDON INFERNO

Law enforcement planned to “robustly investigate any information about anyone who seeks to capitalize on the suffering of so many," Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormac said.

The Grenfell tower caught fire on June 14 after a refrigerator fire spread throughout the 24-story building. Investigators raised the number of people killed from 79 to 80 on Wednesday.

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