Trivial sentence for £58k benefit fraudster

Jennifer Watson from Widnes received nearly £58,000 in benefits over a five-year period before a tip-off that her account of being unable to take a single step unaided was a lie.

Fraud investigators filmed her undercover and captured her walking a mile without obvious discomfort and even working as a supervisor at a branch of Argos, stacking heavy items on shelves.

But she escaped a jail sentence after a court was told her tough upbringing had left her 'deluded'.

She began legitimately claiming income support in 1995, but seven years later she started claiming for housing and disability benefits as well, stating she had angina, panic attacks and severe arthritis.

Supporting her claim, she stated she needed friends to push her wheelchair, adding: 'I fall over even if I try to walk one step. I think my life has come to an end.'

The application stated she 'dreams of going to bingo, but (has) no-one to take her' and that she 'thinks that her life has come to an end', Warrington Crown Court was told.

'An extremely high level of disability was described, also saying she was unable to cut food, go to the toilet, and she had panic attacks on a daily basis,' said Kevin Slack, prosecuting.

But in April 2003 she had begun working as supervisor at a branch of Co-op, taking home £230 a week. In 2007 she went to work at a local Argos as supervisor - again failing to notify the authorities. Surveillance footage showed her walking more than a mile without assistance, loading up her car following a shopping trip and also working at Argos.

But she appeared on crutches when she was summoned by investigators. She claimed she had 'pushed through the pain barrier' to go to work but admitted she had been wrong to continue claiming disability benefits.

After walking into court unaided, Watson admitted nine charges of failing to declare a change in circumstances. She illegally claimed £57,965, of which she has so far paid back £1,000.

Her barrister argued she had been 'deluded rather than dishonest', having led a hard life including leaving school aged 13 and having the children from her first marriage taken away from her.

However Judge Thomas Teague, QC, told her she was lucky not to be jailed for her con. 'You told the authorities that you were in a wheelchair, you couldn't walk indoors, and that you had a carer to look after you,' he said. 'We are then told you are working at a store as a supervisor and we certainly never saw any proof of the mythical wheelchair. I have my doubts as to how much this was delusional. You have been very fortunate today.'

Watson was given a 24 week prison sentence suspended for two years, a two month supervision order, and a three month overnight curfew.

• People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

More databases not communicating

Clare Grey, from York, had been claiming housing and council tax benefit based on her low income, as she was unable to work due to sickness.

But in April 2008 the council learned Grey was receiving bereavement benefit, following the death of her estranged husband, who had died in August 2007.

She had not declared the benefit. An investigation then found she had resumed employment following a period of sickness and this change had not been reported to the council either.

Grey was overpaid £3,866 in housing benefit and £752 in council tax benefit. She pleaded guilty and was given a 40 hour community punishment order, and ordered to pay £3,800 in compensation and £200 in costs.

Shannon Matthews family member charged with benefit fraud

The aunt of kidnap-plot victim Shannon Matthews has been charged with over £43,000-worth of benefit fraud, reports The Sunday People.

A DWP spokesman said: "Amanda Hyett has been charged with benefit fraud totalling around £43,000. The figure may change. She is due in court on July 29."

The paper adds that Karen Matthews is also being investigated, along with her ex-lover, by social security investigators.

East Northants residents can't repay benefits

East Northamptonshire Council was owed £581,825 by the end of March this year through benefits overpaid in error or through fraud – compared with £461,663 the previous year.

In a committee report on countering benefit fraud being considered by the council on Tuesday, senior benefit officer, Jacqui Pell cited the current economy situation as the reason for the increase.

She said the downturn is affecting the benefit team's ability to recover overpaid benefit because people have other debts to pay.

However, they successfully identified more than £100,000 in recoverable overpaid benefit last year, compared to the previous year.

A spokesman for East Northamptonshire Council said: "It is a concern that people increasingly have priority debts such as mortgage or rent that come before repayment of overpaid housing benefit, so in the current climate we are seeing a reduction in the overall amount of overpayment recovered.

"We put the increase in identified overpayments down to improved detection of overpaid benefit, which has improved this year.

"We believe that our detection and collection rates are very good and compare well with other similar councils."

The council's aim is to recover as much of the outstanding money as possible, but as of March 31 this year, £2,967 had to be written off.

However, a number of benefit cases have been dealt with, with positive outcomes.

There were 521 referrals where there was suspected fraud, and 323 cases were completed following investigation.

There was one successful prosecution, three prosecutions are pending and 15 cautions have been given.

The fraud hotline received 93 calls up to March 31, of which 27 led to investigations.

Light sentences for Herts benefit cheats

A benefit cheat from Hertford who claimed more than £19,000 she wasn't entitled to, after failing to disclose a £23,000 compensation claim, was spared jail. Dawn Pearce was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and an 18-month supervision order by a crown court judge after she admitted four counts of benefit fraud.

At Hertford Magistrates Court, a 46-year-old Ware woman has been convicted of benefit fraud for the second time in two years.

Rita Jones had begun full time work but failed to tell East Herts Council. She admitted being overpaid £999.75 in housing benefit and £379.35 in council tax benefit between August and November last year.

Before sentencing, the court heard that Jones had been given a 12-month conditional discharge for similar offences in May 2007. But she was just fined a total of £250 for two counts of benefit fraud and ordered to pay £150 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Oh and by the way both women will also have to pay back the money they defrauded.

• People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Hackney publicises blue badge fraud

Hackney Council has a new anti-fraud team to crack down on people who abuse the Blue Badge disabled parking scheme, reports the London Turkish Gazette.

With estimates that one in 200 badges are stolen from vehicles every year, there could be as many as 1,000 instances of Blue Badge misuse and abuse that could be occurring in London every day.

Before 2005, 60 per cent of car break-ins in Hackney were to steal Blue Badges. This has dropped dramatically since the introduction of the Companion Badge Scheme, which is specific to one vehicle, removing the incentive to steal it. The Council is encouraging Blue Badge holders to apply for a Companion Badge which is free and also allows the user to park in more places.

The Hackney Blue Badge Fraud Team will be out from 1st July, monitoring misuse and prosecuting offenders, who can face a fine of up to £1,000 or even imprisonment for the more serious offence.

Cllr Alan Laing, Hackney Council’s Cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Disabled people have told us that they want something done about fraud and misuse, which makes it harder for them to go about their daily life. A Blue badge is a privilege which shouldn’t be abused. When it is, we will take action and if you do try to cheat the system, you will be caught.”

Single person fraud in Runcorn

Jacqueline Duke was ordered to repay £8,445 she fraudulently claimed in housing benefit and council tax benefit for four years.

She admitted failing to notify Halton Council that her husband, who was in employment, had moved back into her home.

She was ordered to do 160 hours unpaid work and pay £150 towards the council’s costs.

Database shall not speak unto database

In the 21st century it is incredible that the government cannot get databases sharing simple information updates.

Thus Maureen O’Neill admitted failing to inform Allerdale council of a change in circumstances, which resulted in an overpayment of housing and council tax benefit of £5,380. In June 2003 she stated that her only source of income was job seekers allowance of £53 per week. But in January 2009, the council received information from the housing benefit matching service indicating that O’Neill’s claim for job seekers allowance had ended in June 2007 when she started work. She was interviewed under caution in March 2009 and admitted she had been fraudulently claiming benefits she was not entitled to for 18 months. She was given a two-year community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay costs of £75. Allerdale Council has also made arrangements for O’Neill to repay the money she falsely claimed.

Separately, Ghulam Ali was found guilty of failing to notify Rugby Borough Council of changes in his financial circumstances. He over-claimed £2,100. He had been in receipt of tax credits since November 2007 which he should have declared to the town hall. Ali claimed he told officials about the change, but admitted he had not filed a copy of his tax credit letter or any details regarding the amount of tax credits he was receiving.

There are two unacceptable aspects to this primitive administration of benefits. First, it makes it easier to rip off taxpayers. It probably costs taxpayers a lot of money every year.

Second, it puts temptation in people's way, especially as the sums of money reported are often several thousands of pounds - far from trivial supplements to what they can earn.

So by not getting databases communicating, the state is failing in its moral duty in two ways.

Back to Mr Ali. He turned down the chance to pay a fixed penalty as an alternative to prosecution, instead opting for his chance in court. Magistrates gave him an 18-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay back the £2,100 and pay costs of £395. So he got off more lightly than he would have with an administrative penalty, which would have involved paying a penalty of 30%, or £630.

Update

The missing husband has turned up. He was arrested in Hemel Hempstead and has been remanded in custody.

Ex-con was benefit thief

A man who claimed he was too unwell to make his own meals spent six days a week cooking – for fellow prisoners.

Nigel Mark Robinson told benefit bosses he suffered from severe pains in his leg, was prone to falling and needed help in and outside the home. But the 36-year-old continued to pick up cash when his condition improved during a 16-month period, leading to an overpayment of £6,244.

Investigations revealed Robinson, of Snowdon Place, Peterlee, completed a number of catering qualifications while in HMP Welstun, where he was serving time as part of a Proceeds of Crime case.

In June 2007, Robinson was ordered by Teesside Crown Court to pay the Government £177,000 in unpaid excise duty on cigarettes he smuggled into the UK.

Peterlee Magistrates' Court was told he has since paid back £110,000.

Robinson, also known as Mark Robinson and by the surname of Cleckner, had originally pleaded not guilty to failing to notify the DWP his condition had improved between March 2006 and July the following year. However, he changed his plea to guilty as his trial was due to begin.

Magistrates heard he made his first claim for benefits in August 1998 because of a problem with his right knee. He struggled to walk distances, make a meal because it meant standing for long periods and needed to wear a leg brace.

But while he still has problems, his condition has improved and he was caught out during his time behind bars.

Allan Devine, prosecuting, said: "Mr Robinson was in custody for a period of time in 2006 and in the course of that sentence of custody he was actually working in the kitchens of the prison.

"He had been received into the prison system and there was no record of his disability, that he had a leg brace or needed help with is care or personal needs, and he was assessed and went to work in the prison.

"He did work in that kitchen for six days a week and he was working for a certificate in food preparation and kitchen safety and he did that very well as far as that was concerned."

He added that when interviewed, Robinson denied he had completed the work, said he did not leave his cell and had not been assessed.

Mr Devine also said the payments continued to be made to his account, even though he was in jail.

Paul Abrahams, defending, said he had seen a letter from Robinson's consultant regarding ongoing issues with his leg, but said his client was managing to hold down a full-time job with an engine manufacturing firm.

Magistrates sentenced him to a 12-month community order with supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work.

He was also told to pay £456 in costs.

Mother hoarded illegal benefits

A pregnant mother of four has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting a £30,000 benefit fraud.

Marie Boswell, 25, from Stratford-upon-Avon, fiddled social services and then hoarded the cash in three separate bank accounts.

She was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.

She pocketed the benefits on the basis that she was incapable of working due to depression. She also claimed benefits on behalf of her husband, Jimmy Joseph Boswell, and her children.

But following a tip-off, investigators from the DWP found £30,000 in three undeclared bank accounts.

Alongside her prison sentence Boswell was given a supervised probation order for two years and 120 hours unpaid community work – which has been suspended for four months as she is due to give birth soon.

We should also get our money back.

DWP: benefits "based wholly on trust"

John Ward claimed £16,483 in disability handouts after insisting he couldn't walk more than four yards. But he was working full-time driving a 40-ton tipper truck.

And after an anonymous tip-off Ward, from Eccles, was filmed leaping in and out of his truck, walking unaided, working full time and showing no signs of a walking impediment.

Inquiries revealed his wife Winifred, 53, had also pocketing £4,540 for being her `disabled' husband's full time `carer'.

Ward hobbled into court using a walking stick but was sent to jail for 18 weeks by Salford magistrates.

His wife sobbed as her husband limped off down to the cells.

The court heard that Ward had begun claiming benefits 20 years ago when he fractured his spine and was unable to work. But as his condition improved, he failed to notify the DWP and continued to state that he was unable to walk unaided and needed help with bodily functions throughout the day and night.

He then `misled' his doctor in order to get medical evidence to support his claim, the court heard.

Prosecuting, for the DWP, Mr Paul Darnborough said: "These claims were on the basis of information that he gave that he was literally unable to walk. ... He has abused an application which is based wholly on trust. He as taken advantage of benefits from the state."

Ward used a false name - `Sean Walsh' - and a false address and national insurance number in order to get a new LGV licence. More about the DWP's investigation

Ward had been claming higher rate mobility component and higher rate care component since 1995 and was in receipt of Income Support from November 1989.

The court heard Winifred had claimed carers allowance since April 2007 saying she was caring for `disabled' husband for at least 35 hours per week. Mrs Ward was given a 12-month community order and a 12pm-6pm curfew.

The court heard that Ward had also been charged with making false representation in relation to his LGV license and was dealt with at Crown court in August 2008, where he was given a community order.

He is repaying the benefits overpayment at £7 per week but it will take him 45 years to repay the full amount.

In mitigation defence lawyer Ms Katherine Cross said the couple embarked on the fraud to pay off debts! More mitigation

Builder cheat spared jail to carry on running business

A builder who made false claims for benefit totalling more than £20,000 over a three-year period has been given a one-year prison sentence suspended for two years.

David Murphy, from Hollywood, was also ordered to do 300 hours unpaid work and to pay £400 costs at Worcester Crown Court.

His claims for incapacity benefit and disability allowance were genuine after he underwent a serious operation in 2003, but he began work again in January 2004, and did not notify the department. He has paid back more than £5,000, including £200 a month to Bromsgrove District Council for Council Tax.

David Mason, defending, said Murphy accepted his wrongdoing but at the time he was spending large sums on drugs, which was unknown to his wife. But he had since been attending Narcotics Anonymous, not only freeing himself of the habit, but helping others.

The family home was mortgaged to the hilt and he was running a small building firm with three employees who were dependant on him.

Judge Richard Rundell said dishonesty against the state was a serious offence, but prison would be disastrous for Murphy's family and employees.

Benefit fraud ex-cop serves one day in jail

A disgraced ex-cop has been freed after serving just ONE DAY of a seven-month jail term for benefit fraud. Robert Chestnutt, 51, was released from Scotland's overcrowded prison system simply by saying he wanted to appeal his sentence.

Just hours earlier, a sheriff had jailed him and branded his £21,000 benefits scam a "serious offence".

But the same court decided to release Chestnutt, pending an appeal which probably won't be heard for six months.

Since then, Chestnutt has been bragging to pals that he's now free to do what he wants.

Pension A neighbour in East Kilbride said: "He was down at the shops laughing and joking about the Scottish justice system and how it's a soft touch.

"He said he was given special favours because he used to be in the police.

"He said that pretty much as soon as he got to prison, they gave him his train fare and said, 'off you go'.

"Whatever happened, there he is, walking the streets again."

Chestnutt, who left the police force in 1991, was taken to Addiewell Prison in West Lothian after being sentenced at Hamilton Sheriff Court on June 2. The married dad-of four had admitted illegally claiming council tax and housing benefits for six years on his council house to pay off £20,000-worth of debt.

That was despite him pocketing a £500-a-month police pension and living off his wife Anne's earnings and savings.

Yesterday, prison chiefs confirmed Chestnutt was released on June 3 after one night behind bars.

He was granted bail and formal papers have since been lodged at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

Originally from Belfast, Chestnutt moved to Scotland in 1977.

Sources said he left the police in disgrace in 1991 after 14 years' service following a dishonesty scandal.

Chestnutt claimed he had lost a tax disc handed in by a member of the public - but it was later found hidden in his notebook.

More benefit fraudsters

A 49-year-old woman from Airdrie has been jailed for 14 months after conning the benefits system out of more than £28,000. An anonymous call to the National Benefit Fraud Helpline prompted Jobcentre Plus into looking into Margaret Humphrey’s Income Support claim.

A mother of four who duped taxpayers out of thousands of pounds has been slapped with three six month suspended prison sentences. Debbie Payne, from Crawley, cheated the public of up to £30,000 through housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support claims between 2003 and 2007. The sentence is ridiculously light.

Benefit fraud round-up

Paula Lowbridge, from Chasetown, who wrongly claimed almost £2,000 in benefits, has been ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work. She had failed to tell Lichfield District Council of a change in circumstances.

Kara Brown, from Eastbourne, claimed £2,704 in income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit but failed to tell the relevant departments she was working. She was just given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs.

Steven Foxall from Weston has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work following a conviction for benefit fraud of £2,472. He was interviewed under caution in November and admitted he knew he should have told the council he had started paid employment and said that it was his 'own fault'.

Judicial mercy, then thief re-offends

A BENEFITS cheat has appeared in court after pocketing more than £12,000 in fraudulent claims – two years after stealing thousands of pounds from a Southampton pre-school.

Serina Barker, previously known as Serina Weeks, wrongly claimed the money from income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit payments during an 11-month period.

Her deception began just three months after she admitted stealing £13,235 while she was a treasurer at Oaktrees Pre-School, attached to Mason Moor Primary School in Millbrook.

She used some of that cash to fund a holiday to Gran Canaria while her thieving eventually led to the cancellation of children’s trips and nonreplacement of equipment.

On that occasion the 36-year-old was ordered to pay all the money back, carry out 200 hours community service and given an eight month suspended sentence by Judge John Boggis QC at Southampton Crown Court.

But just a few months later London’s Appeal Court slashed the amount she had to repay to just £750 – to be paid off at the rate of £10 a week.

Judges said it would cause her “25 years of heartache” to pay back the entire amount.

Now Barker will be sentenced before the city’s crown court next month after admitting three charges of benefit fraud at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

She also faces serving her original eight-month prison term that was suspended on the condition she stayed out of trouble.

When Barker, of Langrish Road, Southampton, signed on for the benefits in 2004 she told the Department for Work and Pensions that she was a single mum-of-three.

But three years later she failed to notify the department that her circumstances had changed and that she had married Keith Barker, with whom she has a ten-month-old baby.

He left her last December.

Robert Booker, prosecuting, told how Barker wrongly claimed £12,190.27 in income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit that she was not entitled to from September 2007 to July 2008.

Mr Booker said: “She obtained those benefits when she was not entitled to after failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions that she was living with Keith Barker as husband and wife.”

He said that during an interview Barker admitted that she and her husband had “massive financial problems” and could not afford to lose the benefits as she was pregnant with his child.

The offences came to light after her husband used the couple’s home address as his work address.

Peter Clark, mitigating, said Mr Barker was himself “financially irresponsible” with lots of debt.

“He was working but did not seem to assist my client with her debts.”

He added that Barker’s offence was “unsophisticated”.

“She kept signing on without declaring that Mr Barker had moved in. It was no surprise she got caught.

Far from spending the money on an extravagant lifestyle she has spent the money on her debts” - trying to catch up with previous extravagances.

Barker will be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court next month.

Enquiry into taxi driver took slow route

Mr Abdul Ullah, from Watford, claimed council tax benefit from the council in 2005, based on him being self-employed as a taxi driver.

However, a routine data matching exercise run by council officers discovered bank accounts held by Mr Ullah and his wife that had not been disclosed on their application forms.

When Mr Ullah was interviewed in March and July 2007 he said his accountant had completed his benefit forms and that he must have failed to declare them on the forms.

After further enquiries, however, it emerged Mr Ullah had re-mortgaged his property and also sold his share of a restaurant, and therefore had more than £16,000 in the bank.

He was sentenced to 180 hours community punishment order, to be carried out over a 12-month period, and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs to Watford Borough Council. We aren't told how much he cheated taxpayers for.

Light sentence for Selby £3.5k benefit thief

Michael Smith started working for a recruitment company but failed to declare his employment and continued claiming from Selby District Council and the DWP. He was fined £200 and ordered to pay £200 costs, as well as pay back the cash he wrongly obtained.

More

Light sentence for benefit thief

A man from Seal who claimed nearly £8,000 in benefit that he was not entitled to has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

At Sevenoaks Magistrates Court Douglas Rombach pleaded guilty to two charges of falsely obtaining social security benefit by failing to declare that he had started work.

Mr Rombach received a total of £5,688 in incapacity benefit and £2,128 in housing benefit he was not entitled to after failing to declare that he was working between May 2007 and April 2008. He was sentenced to 120 days imprisonment, reduced to 90 days due to an early guilty plea, suspended for 24 months.

He was also ordered to pay £100 costs, and was given a community supervision order with a requirement to attend an alcohol treatment course.

The district council is seeking the repayment of the debt incurred.

• People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Anonymous call outs benefit thief

A Belper woman has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service after being found guilty of benefit fraud.

Jennifer Ratcliffe, of Acorn Drive, has also been given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to pay Amber Valley Borough Council almost £1,200, after swindling the authority out of more than £33,900 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support.

She was found out after an anonymous call to the council's benefits fraudline.

She had been claiming benefits over a seven-year period, despite coming into a significant amount of money from the sale of a house, making her ineligible for the financial support.

In an interview with council officers in 2008 Ratcliffe admitted failing to declare the capital, and that she knew she was not entitled to any of the benefits. She has now repaid all of the overpayments.

Benefits official became benefits thief

A former benefits worker was given a two-year conditional discharge after pleading guilty to fraud.

Jacqueline Bannister, of Cloverfield, Clayton-le-Woods, admitted falsely obtaining money as she claimed £2,500 in income support and council tax benefit.

South Ribble Magistrates Court heard that Bannister, 54, had quit as a benefits decision-maker at the DWP on ill-health grounds and received a lump sum.

She claimed the benefits saying she could do no paid work and had no capital, but failed to declare she had over £39,000 in savings. Bannister was ordered to pay £75 costs.

• So this fraudster got a light sentence.
  
  People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Jail for £47k benefit fraud

A property developer who conned the authorities out of more than £47,000 in benefits despite owning four homes has been jailed for 12 months.

Arjan Singh claimed benefits over four years while buying and selling houses in the West Bromwich area. But on benefit application forms he insisted he was out of work and told officials he had no capital and no properties other than his home.

He has now repaid just over £20,000.

More

We should get the whole lot back, together with any consequential profits.

Another councillor jailed for benefit fraud

A disgraced parish councillor who had almost £500,000 go through his bank accounts has been jailed for benefit fraud.

Disabled Geoffrey Bratt, aged 65, failed to declare substantial assets, two properties or his wife's income while receiving £5,971 in council tax exemptions.

Bratt, of The Greys, Weedon, who has previous convictions for benefit fraud, was jailed for four months at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.

Having admitted 10 charges of failing to notify a change in circumstances, he has since resigned as a parish councillor in Weedon.

Carys Owen, prosecuting, said Bratt claimed council tax benefit or exemptions due to him receiving disability and incapacity benefit.

She said: "This application was fraudulent from the outset."

On three occasions in July 2002, July 2005 and November 2006, he repeatedly applied for the exemption while failing to declare his true assets and savings.

As well as not declaring his wife's salary as a company secretary, he owned two properties in Eton Close, Weedon for which he was receiving about £450 a month each in rent, also undeclared.

Miss Owen said investigators also found five hidden bank accounts through which credits of £480,000 were paid in between 2002 and 2006. She added: "Clearly had these accounts and properties been declared, the defendant would not have passed the means testing and would not have received the council tax credit.

"There was also a breach of trust as this was all done while he was acting as a parish councillor having become one in 1994.

The court heard Bratt and his wife were employed as company director and secretary of Atlantechs which makes police cars for US enforcement agencies.

The court heard Bratt was given a 24-month conditional discharge in 2003 for making false statements for disability and incapacity benefit.

At the time, he admitted four offences and asked for a further 94 to be taken into consideration.

Passing sentence, Judge Thomas Corrie said there was little sign of any remorse.

"Over a substantial period of more than three years you were taking benefits to which you were not entitled. There is no doubt these offences are so serious only a custodial sentence can be justified. The remaining question for the court is whether it should be immediate or suspended. The aggravating factors outweigh those of mitigation and you have a similar previous conviction.

"The impression I have formed and it's clear to me, your remorse is something less than genuine.

"These were a determined series of offences, over a substantial period of time by someone who should have known better."

Stuart Yeung, mitigating, said Bratt had a number of health problems and was partially paralysed following a serious car crash. The £5,971 has now been repaid.

Last week, Councillor Terry Mullett, 54, of Portland Close, Daventry, who represented Drayton ward for the Conservatives on Daventry District Council, was jailed for 18 weeks for £13,500 benefit fraud from July 2005 to May 2008.

Single person frauds in Merseyside

Two big general points arise from this important news report.

First, this single person fraud seems to be widespread enough to be a cultural choice. Twenty-one people were sentenced in this single swoop.

Second, almost £1m was involved. That just shows how risible the government figures are when they put benefit fraud at £800m.

Young Merseyside mums who pretend to be living alone to claim benefits are costing taxpayers a fortune.

Some £1m of benefits were fraudulently obtained by people convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in April.

Twenty-one people were sentenced for stealing from the state, almost all of them young mums in their 20s.

Investigators found they were enjoying the benefits of a partner’s wage while pocketing thousands in benefits.

On average, each of the 21 fraudsters netted £42,000 each to deprive local authority coffers out of a total of £900,000.

They were all instructed to pay the money back.

Among the 21 was mum Andrea Coltman, 33, who was convicted of claiming income support, housing benefit and council tax while claiming to be a single parent.

She was jailed for six months after swindling Knowsley council out of nearly £27,000.

An investigation found that she had been living with her partner who was working for a living.

She failed to declare that she had been living with him in Lakenheath Road, Halewood, but admitted to her dishonesty when questioned by benefit investigators.

Coltman told them the relationship was not stable and that her partner had been in prison for a spell and that had caused their break-up.

And Anthea Joliffe, 33, a mother-of-four, of Southbrook Road, Netherley, pleaded guilty to falsely claiming £43,245 in benefits over three years.

She was jailed for 12 months.

Mum-of-nine Denise Hopwood who swindled more than £77,000 in benefits despite having a "nest egg of savings" was spared jail.

Her eight-month prison sentence was suspended for a year as she has a severely disabled daughter.

Hopwood, of Rivington Avenue, St Helens, was sole carer for six of her nine children, aged 11 to 24, including Amanda, 22, who has cerebral palsy.

Between 2003 and 2008, the mum had two bank accounts which, by 2008, housed nearly £59,000 in savings.

Nearly all the mothers sentenced in April were dealt with by the same Liverpool Crown Court judge.

He described jailing them as ‘one of the hardest things he’d ever done.’

The jail terms ranged up to 18 months to supervision orders with most offenders receiving six month sentences.

Today, experts vowed to continue their crackdown.

Roy Paul, fraud operations manager for Merseyside, said: "Benefit thieves have to understand that they will not get away with it.

"No one can expect to come up with an excuse: we’ve heard them all before."

Criminal mother jailed

A 28-year-old mother of five young children has begun a prison sentence for a £46,507 benefit fraud while her husband continues to evade police after a "bogus" death certificate was produced in his name.

Sarah Butt was jailed for 18 months after Judge Bruce Carr said she had “milked the public purse” for benefits after she and her husband Kashif Butt, paid cash for a brand new car; bought a four-bed £275,000 house and claimed to be renting it to continue receiving benefits from Watford Borough Council; and had up to £100,000 in various bank accounts.

All the time Kashif Butt said he was earning just £256.53 a month as a warehouseman for Rainbow Plastics Limited, when he was driving around in a £25,000 station wagon he paid in cash for, was depositing thousands of pounds at a time and owned the lease on a shop, St Albans Crown Court heard.

During investigations Kashif Butt went to Pakistan and while away the authorities received a death certificate from a hospital, which is now part of a perverting the course of justice investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Mrs Butt, formerly Wickerson, pleaded guilty to seven counts of carrying out benefit fraud along with her husband, which was fraudulent from the start.

An initial application for council tax and housing benefits was received by Watford Borough Council from Mr Butt in 2003. During the time the couple were living in Berry Lane, Watford, Mr Butt took out a lease on a mini-supermarket in Leavesden Road, Watford.

In 2006 a four-bedroom semi-detached house was bought in Sandringham Road in Mrs Butt's name, which the couple claimed to be renting from a Mrs S Butler to enable them to rake in more benefits. When investigators became suspicious they produced a fake shorthold tenancy agreement in an attempt to cover their deception.

Mrs Butt's name was on the mortgage application stating she was a post office manager at the Leavesden Road shop, while informing the council she was unemployed.

Up to £20,000 a time was being deposited into accounts, and counting only amounts of £500 and over the prosecution said a figure “in excess” of £100,000 was paid in from “undisclosed sources”.

Mr Griffith said: “We characterise this as a deliberate fraud of some sophistication over a long period of time.

“There was an adjournment because the defence said Mr Butt had unhappily died in Pakistan, which seems to be entirely false and there are proceedings for perverting the course of justice taking place.

“We have since received documentation to show that the purported death certificate is bogus and information from the hospital where he was supposed to have been taken, shows he did not.”

He added: “That is not to be held against Mrs Butt, I merely add it for background to the case.”

In interview Mrs Butt maintained Mrs Butler was her landlady of their home in Sandringham Road. She said her husband filled out all the paperwork and she thought they were renting the property.

The shop at the post office was her sister's and she helped out occasionally, Mrs Butt told investigators. She refused to answer questions at a second interview.

Joanna Staples, defending, said Mr Butt had taken the money and his wife was now living penniless, still drawing benefits, with her sister.

Judge Carr said: “For four years you and your husband made repeated representations to Watford Borough Council which you knew to be false. In excess of £100,000 was coming into a bank account. You weren't a poverty stricken mother trying to eke out a living for you and your children. You have milked the public purse. You decided to claim benefits for a house that you owned, saying your husband was earning just £256 a month from a firm which was out of business.

“To assist your bogus claim you produced a bogus tenancy agreement.

“This is a very bad case of benefit fraud. You were plainly living together and had a very good lifestyle with your husband for four years. Sentence: 18 months in jail.

Clearly there was more to this. They never got to the bottom of those large sums of money swirling into the account. Cash or (traceable) cheques? We aren't told. The benefit fraud was only part of it.

Repeat fraudster rightly jailed

A fraudster has been jailed for more than three years after falsely claiming £23,477 in benefits.

Bais Sulaiman, from Lewisham, used bogus documents including a driving licence, bank statements and pay slips to claim housing and council tax benefits from Lewisham Council, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Sulaiman started claiming benefits and council tax in December 2006 for both himself and his wife, saying he was a cleaner living on a low wage.

During an investigation, however, council officers found that in fact he owned the company he worked for.

To support his benefit claims, Sulaiman also provided a national insurance number for his wife that did not belong to her and failed to declare that he had a savings account.

The court heard how Sulaiman had served a previous prison sentence for producing and selling forged documents from an office in Camberwell.

He also has a previous conviction for being equipped with the means to make false identity cards, the court was told.

Jailing him for three years and two months, Judge Peter Murphy said: “This was a sophisticated and professional fraud, it was well planned”

He added: "Over a number of years you have committed sophisticated frauds - previous sentences had not slowed you down.”

Golfer was on disability benefits

HE banked more than £11,000 of disability benefits after claiming he could barely walk a few yards without the aid of a walking stick.

John McPhee, 44, told the DWP he could not look for a job as he was crippled with spondylitis, a debilitating back condition.

But investigators caught the father-of-three literally swinging the lead – by secretly filming him playing 18 holes of golf at an exclusive country club.

McPhee received a two-month suspended jail sentence for the benefit fraud when he appeared before Cannock Magistrates’ Court.

The unemployed HGV driver, from Handsacre, was also ordered to repay every penny of the £11,667 he had claimed, as well as £225 costs.

The court heard McPhee told DWP officials that he required a walking stick just to get around on ‘a good day’ because of spondylitis.

He also claimed he needed help bathing, shaving or going to the toilet – and said his wife had to help him in and out of bed or if he fell over.

Yet McPhee was living a lie as he was secretly playing golf up to three times a week on the beautifully manicured fairways of Lichfield Golf & Country Club.

He was eventually caught out by undercover fraud investigators who filmed him enjoying a leisurely round in September and October 2008.

The videos revealed a perfectly-fit McPhee lugging his heavy golf bag in and out of his car with no distress. It also showed him teeing-off with ease and sending powerful shots down the course, while he chatted happily with his golf partner.

McPhee was subsequently charged with making false representation to obtain benefits, under the Social Security Act 1992, and he pleaded guilty to the offence at Stafford Magistrates Court in May.

He had claimed Disabled Living Allowance since June 1997, but the false claims had been made from November 15, 2006 to November 25, 2008.

Moira Bell, prosecuting on behalf of the DWP, said McPhee joined the golf club in 2006. Yet he had an ongoing duty to report any change in his medical condition, particularly an improvement, she added.

“He regularly played golf at Lichfield Golf and Country Club, which was totally inconsistent with the condition described in his application,’’ said Ms Bell.

McPhee was interviewed and shown the surveillance video which had been taken by an investigating officer in September 2008.

Ms Bell added: ‘‘The video showed him walking around the golf course, pushing a golf trolley and teeing off. There were no walking aids and he walked 6,000 yards. He was also seen to lift his trolley out of a car and into a car, without any aid or sign of discomfort.

“He admitted he played golf twice a week and knew he should have reported the change in circumstances.’’

Pensions paid to dead police?

Claims police pensions are being paid to former officers who have died are being investigated by Scotland Yard.

An audit has found the families of 12 ex-Metropolitan Police employees may have failed to tell the force of the deaths and continued drawing pensions.

Internal auditors said the force blocked payments worth a total of £167,000 in the past financial year.

Formal police inquiries could be launched if evidence is found of criminal wrongdoing.

More ...

No jail for £44k benefit fraud

A benefit cheat escaped an immediate trip to jail for conning her way to more than £44,000 of taxpayers’ money.

Mother-of-five Katriena Graham, 37, repeatedly hid the fact that she lived with a partner while claiming housing and council tax benefit, York Crown Court heard.

She also failed to notify the authorities when thousands of pounds were paid into her account between 2003 and 2005.

When she appeared before the same court for sentence, Judge Jim Spencer QC gave her a 51-week prison sentence.

This was suspended for 12 months, on condition that she does 240 hours’ unpaid work. Benefit officials are reclaiming the money without involving the crown court.

In other cases they have made deductions from any benefits claimed legitimately by defendants or sued them through the civil courts.

More ...

No jail for £32k benefit fraud

Corrin Armstrong was claiming lone parent benefits while living with her husband and running the U R Unique beauty salon in Ormskirk.

At Preston Crown Court the mother-of-three pleaded guilty to three offences in relation to housing and council tax benefits and income support.

She was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 150 hours unpaid work and has to repay the full amount.

Council benefit investigators were first alerted to the benefit cheat through an anonymous call and after making extensive enquiries discovered her double life.

The business premises she was using were originally let to Jose Jorge, trading as U R Unique, and Ms Armstrong claimed that she had been working voluntarily for him at the beauty parlour. However, it was discovered that the man was actually her husband posing under a false name.

West Lancashire Borough Council successfully proved that Ms Armstrong was not entitled to any benefits from May 2004 to December 2007 because she was living with her husband and working.

• People convicted of benefit fraud should have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

No jail for £24k benefit fraud

Asmahan Yusef Ali from Hayes has been a mere two months suspended sentence for 18 months, with a Community Service Order of 250 hours, for fraudulently claiming £24,330 of benefit. She was also ordered to repay the money plus £1,500 costs.

Ms Ali was found guilty of failing to disclose two properties and rental income while claiming benefits. She was originally interviewed by officers from Hillingdon Council but chose not to answer questions regarding failing to declare these properties.

• People convicted of benefit fraud should have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Parish councillor guilty of benefit fraud

In the second story today about a disgraced councillor, a former parish councillor has been electronically tagged after committing benefit fraud.

Mr Watson says he is innocent of making a false statement to obtain benefit which led to an overpayment of more than £3,000.

It is believed the curfew was imposed because Mr Watson is not fit to do community work. It means he has to stay in his home and garden between 8pm and 7am every day and wear the tag.

He was also ordered to pay £300 costs to South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC).

SCDC told the parish council about the accusations against Mr Watson before his conviction.

Parish council chairman Philip King said: "Jim resigned on June 3 after the council was made aware of the situation. We believe he acted properly and did the right thing by resigning. He has done a lot of good work for the community over many years."

In 2004, Mr Watson inherited £20,000 from his parents. SCDC said he failed to declare it, and, in 2005, failed to tell the council's home visiting officer that he still had about £12,500 in two undeclared bank accounts. But he signed a statement saying his circumstances had not changed.

Mr Watson pleaded not guilty to the two charges, claiming he had called SCDC to ask about the inheritance, that a council officer had not visited his home to discuss it and that the signature on the statement was not his.

After evidence from two forensic handwriting experts, the court found Mr Watson had been dishonest in not reporting the change.

But Mr Watson said: "I told them about the money in 2004. I believe I have been targeted by the council.

"They could have just talked to me. I would have paid the money back. I am not a cheat."

Finance and staffing portfolio holder Cllr Simon Edwards said: "If you don't tell us when your circumstances change, and continue to claim, it is fraud."

htp Dave

Foster carer spared prison

A Worksop foster carer who was guilty of a £20,000 benefit fraud has been spared prison because of the two children in her care.

Kathleen Harris was told by Judge Jeremy Lea: "This would normally require a short period in prison. But the only persons I would really be punishing would be them."

Nottingham Crown Court was told on Friday that Harris claimed income support between 2004 and 2008 as well as housing and Council Tax benefits while concealing the fact she owned a property.

The sentence was four months suspended for two years, with probation supervision.

• But people convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Daventry district councillor's amazing life

A disgraced councillor who fraudulently claimed almost £13,500 in benefits was rumbled after stories about him appeared in the Daventry Express.

The court heard he had failed to declare income from his position as a Daventry district councillor for Drayton ward or as proprietor of a fishing shop. He had also stated he lived alone when he was living with his partner Sharron Buckingham.

Henrietta Paget, prosecuting, said: "The investigation began following an article in the Daventry Express which named him (Mullett] as proprietor of Terry's Tackle and this began in April 2008.

"Some months earlier a picture had appeared in the paper after the birth of his third child, featuring them as a family and presenting them as a couple. An investigation began into
their affairs."

Mullett had been found guilty of fraudulently claiming benefits between July 2005 and May
2008 totalling £13,475.

He had stated he lived with his two teenage children at his three-bedroom house in Portland Close, Daventry, but had been living with Ms Buckingham since July 2005.

Mullett, who was elected to Daventry District Council in May 2007 as Conservative councillor for the Drayon ward, also failed to declare additional earnings.

During interviews Mullett said he was not aware he had to declare councillor expenses as Daventry District Council was the same authority paying his wages and benefits. He declined to comment further in court.

During her summary, Ms Paget said the court needed to take into consideration Mullet's previous "good character".

However chairman of the bench Robert Cave questioned Mullett's criminal record which showed he had six previous convictions and 22 other offences he had asked to be taken into account. The offences occurred between 1976 and 2002 but had not shown up on Mullett's background checks. However they would not have prevented him from standing as a councillor.

In a statement Daventry District Council said: "In order to become a district councillor candidates have to sign a nomination form to declare that they are not disqualified from being elected in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972."

Mullett, who became an independent councillor in December 2008, was immediately disqualified from the council following a year-long investigation by the authority's fraud investigation team.
He has been ordered to repay the money he falsely claimed, in addition to court costs of £3,967, and sentenced to 18 weeks in prison.

In January 2008 Mullett wrote a letter to the Daventry Express following a story of thieves who broke into a home and stole a family's wrapped Christmas presents. At the time he said it was time to stop using the "softly, softly approach when it comes to offenders and time the punishment fitted the crime". He added it was time to "bring back corporal punishment" and "time the courts started to dish out proper sentencing".

Hounslow blue badge fraud

Two fraudsters who used false disabled badges to dodge parking charges have been fined more than £1,000 after they were successfully prosecuted by the London Borough of Hounslow.

In the first case Geoffrey Willis, 65, of Ashford Road, Feltham pleaded guilty to an offence relating to blue badge abuse after he was caught out using the badge to park free of charge in Hounslow council’s visitor’s car park at the civic centre, where it was spotted by council enforcement officers.

Mr Willis admitted in court that he had dishonestly brought the badge for £30 from a man in Ealing hospital car park to avoid paying for parking, but claimed that the badge had already been altered when he purchased it. The laminate on the badge had been peeled back and the expiry date extended. The badge also used to belong to a female, as her photograph was still attached to the back.

Mr Willis was fined £250 and a victim surcharge of £15. He was also ordered to pay £250 costs (total £515).

Mostapha Majed, 59, of Pavely Street, London, NW8 also pleaded guilty to a charge of blue badge abuse after he was caught using a photocopy of a Hounslow blue badge which had not been issued to him, to park in a disabled bay in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, where it was spotted by the borough’s parking officers.

During his interview with Hounslow council fraud officers, Mr Majed repeatedly denied misuse of the badge but later changed his story about his involvement in the offence.

In his first interview he told officers that he had not been the driver of the car and that he could provide proof to have sold it before the date of the offence. He then changed his story to say the blue badge had been left on the dash-board when he had purchased the car.

Mr Majed later admitted to intentionally parking in a disabled bay and to displaying a disabled badge so that he could avoid parking charges. He was fined £250 and a victim surcharge of £15. He was also ordered to pay £250 of costs (total £515).

Data matching net confirms single person fraud

A benefit cheat who failed to disclose she was living with her working boyfriend must repay £9,000, Runcorn magistrates have ordered.

Sara Morris, from Widnes, claimed housing and council tax benefit for five years.

She declared that she was living alone at her former home in Terrace Road, West Bank from July, 2003 to February, 2008. She cancelled her benefit claim in February, 2008, saying that her partner, Anthony Whyment had moved in with her at a new address.

An anonymous caller notified Halton Council that he had in fact been living with her at Terrace Road for at least two years. It was alleged that Mr Whyment is the father of her youngest child and works full-time.

A Citizen View credit search in May, 2008, showed that he had obtained credit at Terrace Road in February, 2004.

In June, 2008, a Social Security Fraud Act credit report said he had applied for credit at Terrace Road.

His employer, Geopost UK Limited confirmed the address they had for his wages was Terrace Road.

In September, 2008, a copy of his credit card application with Capital One was received. This stated his present address as Terrace Road and that he had lived there for two years and nine months.

At first, Morris denied that she had been living with Mr Whyment when interviewed under caution. But, a few hours later, she admitted that he had been living with her since April, 2005.

Appearing at Runcorn Magistrates Court on Monday, Morris was ordered to complete 140 hours unpaid work and pay £100 costs.

She must also repay more than £9,000 in overpaid council tax and housing benefits.

No jail for £30k tax credit fraud

A mother and daughter from Porlock escaped jail despite falsely receiving nearly £30,000 in tax credits.

Daughter Sarah Adams pleaded guilty to five counts of calling the Tax Credits helpline pretending to be her mother between April and October 2006.

In two weeks Sarah added a newborn child and six adopted children to her mother’s claim, including two she said were in her care after the death of her daughter.

Tracey pleaded guilty to receiving £29,040.34, which she suspected to have been obtained illegally.

The court heard Tracey had questioned Sarah about the increase but was told an advisor added the extra children to her claim to pay back money lost on a previous claim.

Patrick Mason, defending Sarah, said: “Sarah has a strong desire to please and protect her mother.

“She didn’t want her to suffer and seeing her struggle with money wanted to help.”

Sentencing Judge Stephen O’Malley said: “This was relatively short period of time - some fraudulent claims go on for years.

“You are both hard workers and Tracey plays a big part in caring for her elderly parents as well as two young children.”

Tracy was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,000 in compensation while Sarah was given a 12month suspended sentence and ordered 180hours unpaid work.

Recidivist kept getting benefits

Anthony McGuigan falsely claimed £2,451 over seven months while he worked as a cleaner.

Plymouth magistrates gave McGuigan, who has six previous convictions for benefit fraud, a jail sentence of 12 weeks but suspended the term for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £75 costs.

John Major, prosecuting on behalf of the DWP, said: "In interview under caution he admitted that he not informed the department he was working. He said that he knew that he had to tell the department about a change of circumstances but said that he could not be bothered."

At what point does society say enough is enough?

£37k benefit fraud but no jail

Linda Williams from Orford received income support and council tax benefit from 2001 to 2007 claiming she was living alone and incapable of work. But she had been co-habiting with her fiancé, conning the council and the DWP for almost £37,500 which she has been forced to start repaying.

Simon Berkson, defending, said: “The defendant has ill health. The sad feature is they got married and went on honeymoon on the holiday of a lifetime but it turned into a nightmare because she contracted Legionnaires’ disease and as a result of hospitalisation she got MRSA that has left her with oozing sores on her legs.”

Judge Nicholas Woodward handed the benefit cheat a 12-month suspended sentence, a one year residency order and ordered her to pay £500 prosecution costs.

He said: “You obtained some £37,000 from the state that you were not entitled to which was a thoroughly disgraceful and dishonest enterprise.

“You have substantial health problems which are ongoing and substantial. I could send you to prison immediately but that would have little benefit to the public and bearing in mind your ill health it would be very difficult for you to have that sentence.”

• Er ... it's supposed to be difficult. She stole more than £37,000 over several years. Deliberate fraud. And no real punishment. What a soft touch.
  
  People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Benefit thieves in Harlow

Paul Baldwin failed to tell the council when he a got a full-time job and stopped claiming jobseekers allowance and subsequently received £2082 in housing benefit and £180 in council tax benefit which he was not entitled to. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £395 towards costs.

Daniel Glover failed to notify the council that his circumstances had changed after he received more than £20,000 from a family house sale. He received £2813 in housing benefit and £374 in council tax benefit he was not entitled to. Mr Glover was given a community punishment order for 12 months to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £395 towards costs.

Henry Penn made false statements when making benefit claims despite having more than £20,000 in an undisclosed bank account. He received £8860 in housing benefit and £1203 in council tax benefit he was not entitled to. He received the same sentence as Mr Glover. Arrangements will also be made for the overpaid money to be paid back. Why have we not got it back now?

• People convicted of benefit fraud should have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Benefits cheat repaid fraud in full

A benefits cheat who was overpaid more than £18,000 after he lied about the full extent of his savings, has been ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work.

Leslie Cushings, from Norwich, had stated in his initial claim form for benefits in November 2004 that he only had £5,747 in savings. But the court was told he had more than £20,000 in savings with Scottish Widows in May 2003 and that figure had risen to more than £30,000 by November 2004.

The prescribed upper limit for savings for claimants to be entitled to benefits was £8000 in November 2004 and £16,000 in April 2006, prosecutor Andrew Spence said.

In mitigation, Rebecca Saunders said her client realised he was in the wrong and had made a full admission of guilt at the earliest opportunity.

She said: “He had worked for 18 years at Nestle until he was made redundant about eight years ago.

“He had put money in his savings to save for his pension. He's not using it as an excuse, but he has worked hard all his life, paid his taxes, and not relied on the state system.

“He has also paid the full amount he was overpaid back, at the earliest opportunity. The savings were in long-term investments so it has cost him in lost revenue and redemption pay.”

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Benefit cheat caught out by own forgery

A benefit cheat who, when the authorities caught up with her forged a Trust document for a niece who had not even been conceived, has received an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

Bernadette O'Driscoll, 53, pleaded poverty and claimed more than £40,000 in benefits illegally for 14 years, St Albans Crown Court heard.

During that time she had a house and assets which she failed to declare.

More of this long report

DWP in slow clunky pursuit of benefit fraud

Former soldier Bernard Crowe, from Hull, has pleaded guilty to four counts of making false statements to obtain benefits amounting to £20,746 over a five-year period.

Judge Roger Thorn QC jailed Crowe, who has been unemployed for 19 years, to eight months imprisonment with £250 court costs.

Judge Thorn said:

I have to have regard for the prevalence of these offences.

In this area of deprivation, these are substantial sums and anything less than a custodial sentence would send out the wrong message and would repulse those who are law abiding.

Crowe had claimed he only had £100 of savings, but investigators discovered he had £60,000 in his bank accounts.

He pleaded guilty on the basis that only £10,000 of the money belonged to him and admitted he had dishonestly looked after the rest of the money for a friend who was getting divorced to ensure it not form part of a divorce settlement.

Crowe admitted wrongly claiming housing, council tax and income support benefits between March 2001 and May 2006.

Judge Thorn QC added:

Over a period of time you have been dishonest. You also concealed a sum of £40,000 while your friend was going through a divorce process.

"Concealing money that might have been available to his wife. I take into account the gravity of these matters over all.

A proceeds of crime hearing will be held on September 30.

His benefits have currently been reduced to enable him to pay back some of the money he fraudulently claimed from the DWP.

"Data sharing can prevent local government fraud"

Every time a criminal defrauds a local authority, not only is he or she stealing from the public purse, but is also diverting resource away from someone who really needs it. At a time when the pressures on local authority funding are already severe - and increasing as a result of the recession - fraud losses just make matters worse. It therefore follows that, if fraud can be prevented, local authorities will have more resource available to bolster their local communities and for those individuals who really qualify for benefits.

So what are the fraudsters up to? Essentially, the frauds themselves aren't rocket science, but professional fraudsters are good at what they do. Organised criminals, for example, use false identities when dealing with local authorities, and opportunistic individual fraudsters use lies - in both cases to secure services or benefits to which they have no right. Fraudsters tend first, but not exclusively, to prefer benefits with higher value, and therefore target, for example, housing benefit or council tax benefits (such as fraudulently claiming a single person's discount). Typically, fraudsters include those who:
• work but also claim benefits to which they have no right
• claim that they are single when they are in fact living with a partner
• claim from an address other than their own
• lie about their status/income/savings, etc, when claiming benefits
• do not qualify for the benefit they are claiming for some other reason.

In doing so, fraudsters also target local authorities by making false insurance claims (for injuries after tripping over, etc), and fraudulent applications for: housing grants, adaptations to homes, blue disabled badges, licences and permits, bus passes, concessionary travel, concessionary rates on evening courses and free school meals.

But what can local authorities do to prevent fraud? Many of them already do a great deal, employing teams of investigators and initiating prosecutions where they can, even recovering stolen monies where possible. But this kind of investigation work requires considerable resource. There are other solutions that could support this kind of activity, or provide an alternative, depending on any authority's appetite and funding regime. These involve the legitimate sharing of fraud data through a Specified Anti-Fraud Organisation (SAFO) as designated within The Serious Crime Act 2007.

One such SAFO is the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). The NFI already helps to identify fraud for local authorities, but this takes place once every two years, detecting fraud after it has occurred. Its 2006/2007 Report identified housing benefit fraud and overpayments in excess of £24m. In respect of individuals fraudulently claiming council tax single person discounts, the Report also refers to one Council that worked closely with the NFI on this, identifying a scale of abuse that, when rectified, would lead to an increase in the Council's revenue in excess of £3m. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

Another SAFO is CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service. During 2008, by sharing fraud data through the CIFAS database, its 260 member organisations reported that they prevented fraud losses of £848m. The database is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for members to prevent fraud and it works in a different way from the NFI. It prevents fraud before it occurs. And, so far as the public sector is concerned, not only could local authorities benefit from membership, but also central Government departments. At present, all CIFAS members are from the private sector, although a number of public sector organisations are preparing to join. They acknowledge that fraudsters do not discriminate - the same fraudsters who attack the private sector also attack the public sector, so the same protection is required.

Local authorities could use a SAFO like CIFAS to prevent financial losses through fraud in a number of ways. They could, for example, search the database to verify applications for housing benefit, council tax benefit, council tax single person discounts, etc. In doing so, they might find that an application for housing benefit was being made by someone using a false name, or that in a previous application for a loan (from another member organisation), that individual had quoted a much higher income, thus alerting the authority to the likelihood of fraud. If any of the addresses provided by an applicant was linked to a fraud on the database, for example, a local authority could look more closely at the details, enabling them, after a full investigation, to determine whether the application was genuine and valid, or fraudulent. This would help them to ensure that benefits reach those in real need, and not criminals and opportunists.

Source htp Dave

£87k benefit fraud - easy peasy

Benefit cheat Isaac Smith, who claimed £87,000 from the state although he had thousands tucked away in bank accounts, has been jailed for 16 months.

His lying claims for income support, housing and council tax benefit continued for nearly eight years before they were uncovered in an investigation by the Department of Work and Pensions and Wyre Forest Council.

Smith, aged 59, of Barnfield Road, Walshes estate, Stourport-on-Severn, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to making false representation to obtain benefit.

When the father-of-two first applied for income support in May 2000, he maintained he was unable to work and had no source of income, said Mary Loram, prosecuting. He also said he had no bank or building society accounts.

The result was that he was paid £65,189 in income support and £22,358 in housing and council tax benefit - a total of £87,547. But an investigation showed that he had three accounts with the Halifax.

Miss Loram said one was a Gold account with a balance of £26,624 and another an ISA which grew to £18,500. There was also a Mature Funds account with a balance of £25,000.

Smith, a father-of-two, claimed he had problems in filling in forms and he thought some of the accounts were in his son's name.

Katrina Wilson, defending, said he accepted his wrongdoing and was ashamed of blotting his exemplary character. He had lost his home and his wife of 37 years was divorcing him. He had 12 grandchildren and there was no suggestion that he had been living an extravagant lifestyle. His benefit had been reduced and he had repaid more than £900.

Judge Toby Hooper QC said Smith had "despoiled a good life" by his cheating. Welfare benefits channelled precious resources to deserving cases. Apparently it was easy to defraud but very easy to detect and punish. Custody was the only remedy for consistent and continuous deception over eight years.

Speaking after the case, Department for Work and Pensions senior fraud investigator David Adams said: “Our investigators have more powers than ever before – we can check the bank accounts and household bills of those we suspect of fraud, as well as working with local authorities.

"People committing benefit theft don’t just face the possibility of a criminal record and a jail sentence. Their crime can impact on future employment, insurance and credit applications too.”

htp Dave

Single person benefit fraudsters

John Gallop from Warrington, who fraudulently claimed £8,296 as a single man when he actually lived with a woman, will have to do 120 hours of unpaid work despite being on incapacity benefits.

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And Deborah Griffin from Haverhill, who fraudulently claimed over £16,000 after failing to inform the DWP and the benefits service of St Edmundsbury Council that her partner was living with her, was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a supervision order for 12 months, as well as being ordered to pay costs of £220.

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• People convicted of benefit fraud who don't receive a custodial sentence should have to do unpaid work.
  
  Benefit thieves should also have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have.

Tax credit system hopelessly outgunned

Mother of two Asima Faisal has been jailed for 12 months after claiming to care for 15 children she didn't have.

The 27-year-old, from Jubilee Avenue, Etruria, was overpaid by more than £38,000 in tax credits after filling in forms and making calls to a helpline.

Fourteen of the children's names were fictitious. Another was that of a young girl who received treatment at Specsavers in Longton, where Faisal worked.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard yesterday Faisal first made fraudulent claims in 2005 and carried on until 2007 despite being investigated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from 2006. In total, she was overpaid £38,679.

Her husband Failsal Mahmood, from whom she has now separated, did not know what she was doing, the court heard.

But just weeks after discovering he was being investigated, £17,000 was withdrawn from his wife's building society account and transferred into his own.

He pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property and was jailed for six months.

Prosecutor Raymond Herman, representing HMRC, said Faisal's first application was fraudulent from the outset.

"She made false claims, claims for inflated child care, claims for children who were fictitious, and said others were disabled to boost the tax credit.

"She made around 500 calls to the helpline."

The court heard Faisal was interviewed in November, 2006, and again in January, 2007, when she made admissions she had made inflated claims. But just more than a week later, she called to falsely assert her care costs had risen and reiterated it on a tax form in June, 2007. And nobody stopped her.

Mr Herman said aggravating features of Faisal's offending were the length of the fraud, the large sum involved, it was fraudulent from the start, she persisted with it despite being investigated, the wide nature of the offence and the breach of trust involved.

Alexander Jacobs, defending Faisal, who admitted 18 offences of fraud, asked for her to be given a suspended sentence for the sake of her children.

He said Faisal had been forced into the marriage by her parents and was saving the money to leave her husband.

"She found it so easy to make a telephone call and receive money for nothing. It was need, not greed. There was no evidence of lavish living."

But Judge Robert Trevor-Jones told Faisal: "Over 18 months, you became greedier and greedier.

"Your claims were cynical, sustained, bold and quite sophisticated."

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How to set up a benefits scam

A family of criminals set up a benefits racket which fleeced the taxpayer of £200,000. The McIntyre family – father, son and daughter trio Frank, Scott and Fiona – set up a cleaning company which employed an army of people working under fake names.

Amazingly, they had the cheek to allow one through the company books under the name Mrs Dole.

Another gave a statement saying he was told he could call himself Donald Duck.

The scam saw the Blackpool family register their workers under fake names to allow them to claim benefits.

Officials say the business was then able to offer low prices and undercut rivals by paying their workers less wages.

But the net closed on the family after investigators from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) got wind of the scam.

As well as discovering the company's activities, the fraud officers also found Frank, 63, was on the fiddle himself, drawing incapacity benefits while working for the firm – Housemasters Management Services.
Frank McIntyre, formerly from Blackpool and now living in Southsea, Hampshire, was jailed for 60 weeks.

His daughter Fiona, 41, of the same address, who was on a Caribbean holiday when DWP investigators went through her company records, was jailed for a year.

Son Scott, 34, of Langfield Avenue, South Shore, was jailed for 43 weeks.

The investigation centred on the company, which was set up by Fiona McIntyre with a £18,000 loan from her father.

Frank and Scott became managers of the firm which employed hundreds of staff over a three-year period cleaning caravans on big holiday sites around the Fylde coast.

The cleaners were on £5 an hour and because so many were reluctant to lose Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, housing and council tax benefits they were given a list of false names to choose from.

That led to one going through the system as Mrs Dole and another saying he was told he could call himself Donald Duck.

At the same time Frank McIntyre was drawing incapacity benefits because of heart problems.

But he was in fact working and sporting a company badge bearing the title "manager" and using a golf buggy to travel around the sites.

In all £10,746 was overpaid to him in incapacity benefit.

The conspiracy covered a three year period until 2006 when investigators moved in.

In statements made to them one woman from Fleetwood told how she was asked to chose a new name from a list.

Another from Blackpool was falsely called Dole and then Moffett and then Clarke.

When she said she was worried because she was on benefits she was told: " ....on benefits?....don't worry everyone is."

The McIntyres also logged false hours for their staff and used false National Insurance numbers.

Some of their cleaners have also been prosecuted receiving suspended sentences, community punishments and fines failing to declare their earnings. They were always paid in cash by Fiona McIntyre.

Peter Hamer, DWP fraud operations manager, said: "This is an excellent example of our success at tackling benefit fraud when we work closely with our colleagues at Blackpool and Wyre Councils, and the sentences imposed illustrate the seriousness of the crime.

"Our skilled teams of investigators will root out anyone who commits benefit fraud, or colludes with others to allow them to steal money intended for vulnerable members of our society."

Single person benefit sweep hits snag

Bradford Council has apologised for a “human error” which resulted in extra warnings being sent to residents about a Council Tax discount they were claiming.

It was part of a crackdown by the Council on people no longer qualifying for a 25 per cent discount on Council Tax for single occupancy.

Some residents received letters about their Council Tax single person’s entitlement based on out-of-date information and the Council has apologised for the upset caused by the tone of these.

The letter has now been redrafted to make it clearer and more appropriate for when it is used in the future.

Martin Stubbs, the Council’s assistant director of revenues and benefits, said: “In Bradford some £17 million is claimed each year from more than 72,000 properties and because people’s personal circumstances may change there is a statutory duty to review these discounts to check that they are still valid.”

The Council has a contract with Experian and a list of addresses receiving the single person discount were supplied to the company.

Experian then gave the Council an indication of whether an address was possibly occupied by more than one adult. This resulted in the Council sending a letter and form to the resident asking them to confirm their entitlement to the discount.

It was at this point while reviewing the high number of letters being sent out that a “human error” was spotted relating to the length of time the discount had been claimed. No personal financial or credit-related details of individuals were provided to the Council by Experian.

Councillor Mohammed Masood, the Council’s executive member for corporate services, said: “Once the implications of the error had been identified, Experian and the Council sent out letters of apology.

“Experian has confirmed that it will reimburse the Council for additional postage costs incurred as a result of the error.”

Bruno Rost, of Experian, said: “Experian apologises for the inconvenience the error may have caused. Experian works with hundreds of local authorities across the UK and its service has saved council tax payers many millions of pounds so far. This is an isolated incident which has been resolved quickly.”

During the crackdown, 800 people replied to the Council saying they no longer qualify for the 25 per cent discount, saving approximately £185,000. That will be £185,000 a year. And they're the ones who owned up.

Single person benefit frauds

An Ipswich woman failed to declare her partner's income and was overpaid £3,904. Sentence - full repayment, and 100 hours' community service.

A Bristol man failed to declare his wife's income and was overpaid £5,438. Sentence - 125 hours' community service and £100 costs.

6 months jail for £55k benefit fraud

Benefit cheat Deborah Davies has been jailed for six months for illegally claiming more than £55,000.

She legitimately claimed for income support from February 1998, and for housing and council tax benefit from 2000, as Deborah Knapper. At the time she was a lone parent who was unable to work, had no savings and no income.

But she took the surname of her partner Neil Davies and they lived together as husband and wife since 2002.

Davies was first interviewed by DWP officers in May 2007. She confirmed she had taken her partner's name but claimed he did not live with her and she was not in a relationship with him.

Davies was further interviewed and still maintained she was not with Mr Davies, saying she was scared of him.

She maintained her stance in a third interview.

But in court she pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify a change in her circumstances.

None of the money has been repaid and there will be civil recovery proceedings.

Andrew Evans, defending, said Davies, who has no previous convictions, admitted failing to tell the DWP what she should have told them.

He said: "Where a husband or partner is not contributing it is difficult to announce he is there because that will lessen the benefits.

"Neil Davies was not contributing. She was relying on benefits and what she could bring in to feed them.

"The money was not spent on a lavish lifestyle but on care for the family."

Mr Evans said the defendant now lives in Highgrove Road, Trent Vale, and has found work at McDonalds. He said she suffers medical problems and cares for her mother and son, adding: "She is now in lawful employment and has moved away from a man who was destroying her life. She has done all she can to reconstruct her life."

No jail for £17k benefit fraud

Linda Mellish gave up her job to be a full-time carer for her husband after he was involved in a serious accident – but the new relationship she formed following his death in 2002 eventually landed her in court.

She failed to tell the authorities she and her new partner were living together, and also returned to work in 2006 while continuing to claim money she was not entitled to.

Now she has vowed to pay back the £17,355 as a judge at Leeds Crown Court ordered her to do 180 hours' unpaid community work as a punishment after she admitted three counts of failing to notify the DWP and City of York Council that she was working and failing to admit she was living with her partner.

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Trivial sentence for £28k benefit fraud

An unemployed Lincolnshire mum who claimed she was renting a house she actually owned has been given a suspended jail sentence after admitting benefit fraud charges.

Denise Cartwright illegally claimed housing benefit for seven years on the property in Sleaford after telling the authorities she was paying more than £300 a month rent.

Kam Jaspal, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court Cartwright claimed her ex-partner's daughter was her landlord, but in fact she owned the house herself and did not even have a mortgage.

She went on to produce rent books to back up her claim, but in reality was not entitled to any housing benefit.

The scam was eventually uncovered by a series of checks carried out, but by then she had been paid £24,478 housing benefit by North Kesteven District Council to which she was not entitled.

She also claimed just over £3,000 from the Department of Work and Pensions in state benefits to which she was not entitled.

Mr Jaspal said: "The fraud in question was over a protracted period of time and the amount in question was just short of £28,000.

"The claim was fraudulent from the outset. It is not a case where there was a change of circumstances she did not declare.

"It was on 12 separate occasions these fraudulent representations were made."

Cartwright, of Lothian Way, Sleaford, admitted 14 charges of benefit fraud on dates between 2000 and 2007. She was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to pay £2,000 towards prosecution costs.

Recorder Simon King also ordered her to do 80 hours of unpaid work and placed her on a nightly curfew between 9pm and 7am for six months.

He told her: "Without the guilty plea and without the personal mitigation you would be going inside today."

Blue badge parking fraud

A council parking services worker has been convicted of faking a disability badge to "routinely" leave her executive car outside Harrow town hall.

Sandeep Bhardwaj, who has been fired by Harrow Council, was fined £250 and ordered to pay more than £1,000 costs after she was spotted by fraud officers parking with the blue badge.

She failed to appear before Harrow magistrates but was found guilty after the court heard how fraud officers used covert surveillance to prove the defendant was displaying the pass in her windscreen as she parked her blue BMW.

Benefit cheat claimed £11k

A benefit cheat from Bamber Bridge has been caught out after over-claiming more than £11,000.

Zoe Jones failed to tell South Ribble Council and the DWP that her partner was living with her.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order and 100 hours' unpaid work, and ordered her to repay the entire amount.

Doors open to benefit theft

A man who falsely claimed almost £50,000 in housing benefit from Liverpool City Council has been jailed for a year.

Richard Davies - formerly Richard Gerrard - of Withnell Road in Broadgreen, claimed and received housing benefit over 13 years from 1993 to 2006, claiming he was the tenant of the property. In reality, he was the owner, having bought it in 1992.

Suspicions were aroused when Gerrard changed his surname to Davies by deed poll in 2006, and a benefits assessment officer noticed that it was the same as the supposed landlord of the property.

Further investigations by Liverpool Direct Limited, which runs the city council's benefits service, showed that they shared the same date of birth and national insurance number.

Today, in a prosecution brought by the city council, he was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court for housing benefit fraud totalling £48,000.

He also admitted producing a number of false documents including benefit application forms and a rent book.

Jailing Davies for 12 months, Judge Bryn Holloway said the onus is on people to make genuine claims because the local authority doesn't have the resources to check that every single claim is right.