Benefit fraud pair's £100k yacht

A couple claiming benefits who sailed part way around the world on a £100,000 yacht have been warned they face jail.

Shashi Bacheta from Swansea had claimed she was so ill she had trouble getting out of bed, but investigators said she would go scuba diving. She admitted 16 counts relating to benefit fraud worth about £40,000 and Jeffrey Cole admitted four charges worth some £12,000. They will be sentenced next month at Swansea Crown Court.

He pretended to be her landlord when they were in fact living together, the court heard. At various times between October 2002 and January 2008 she claimed housing benefit, council tax relief, income support and disability living allowances. She had claimed to be unemployed and failed to declare she was living with Cole at his home in the Sketty area of the city or declare any of his assets, including his yacht.