Michael Mann, from Heanor, was wrongly paid benefits of £15,926 while saying he was suffering from depression, anxiety, arthritis and the effects of polio.
He, admitted falsely claiming state benefit up to December 2005. He is already paying it back and must now also meet £400 prosecution costs after appearing at Derby Crown Court, and do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Judge John Burgess told him: "You were cheating everyone, somebody who obtains money that the government at the moment can ill afford and we can ill afford."
But he criticised the prosecution for delays in bringing the case and said that put pressure on Mann, who he told: "I can appreciate this sort of stress. I think four years' delay is a punishment in itself. That is substantial mitigation and I can see how distressed you are."
Laura Hobson, prosecuting, said the case had been delayed because civil servants had been trying to sift evidence from employers who were being "un co-operative". Other benefit claimants had been taken to court for working for the same company.
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