A fraudster who claimed he was displaced by the Grenfell Tower fire has been jailed for five years.

Moses Ettiene, 49, racked up food and hotel bills worth more than £47,000 after he spent 325 nights at a four-star Park Plaza in west London.

Kensington and Chelsea Council footed the bill after Ettienne claimed he had been living in the Grenfell Tower when the fire broke out on 14 June 2017.

The blaze killed 72 people.

Ettiene, who ran a vintage second hand clothes stall, previously lived in the tower but moved out several years before the fire.

He claimed he had been out on the night of the disaster, but attended the Westway Community Centre where survivors had gathered to seek help.

Ettiene claimed he was still a Grenfell Tower resident who had been sub-letting a flat inside the block.

He was arrested at Gatwick Airport after returning from a holiday in Grenada in September 2018.

Ettiene initially told police he had been living in a flat number that didn’t exist.

He later refused to reveal which flat he had been staying in.

Ettiene claimed that this was due to his work with foreign governments on renewable energy and that the flat may still contain “top secret” government files.

He even tried to claim that as a result of his government work he was afforded diplomatic immunity as a result of him being attached to the US Mission in Geneva.

Ettiene’s night-time phone activity was analysed and revealed he had not been sleeping in the Grenfell Tower for the five nights prior to the fire.

CCTV footage did not show him leaving or entering the building.

His fraud cost Kensington and Chelsea council £47,415.75.

Andrew Levin from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This is yet another shocking case of taking advantage of a community tragedy for personal gain.

“Although Ettiene did provide documents that proved he lived at the Grenfell Tower – these dated back to 2014 and there was absolutely no evidence showing he had lived in the building post 2015.

“The prosecution case did not dispute the historic links Ettiene had to the tower, but was able to prove that he was lying and was not a resident at the time of the fire.”

Ettiene isn’t the first fraudster to take advantage of the Grenfell tragedy.

Sharife Elouahabi received around £103,000 in accommodation, travel costs and maintenance after claiming his uncle and cousins died in the blaze.

He was jailed for six years.

Joyce Msokeri was jailed for four-and-a-half years after fraudulently obtaining more than £10,000.

She said she had lost her home and her husband in the fire and was also given accommodation at the Hilton, clothing and food.

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