A mother of two, who is paying back more than £20,000 in benefits she was not entitled to, escaped a prison sentence.
Ms Kerry Codd 25, from Bircotes, pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates Court, to two counts of failing to notify of a change in circumstances, which affected her entitlement to housing and council tax benefit.
The prosecution was brought by West Lindsey District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. The offence occurred when Ms Codd lived in Gainsborough.
Mr. David Payne, prosecuting said:
"The defendant failed to inform the affected bodies her partner had returned to live with her.
"He was in full time employment at the time, which was paid into a joint bank account."
The overpayment of £23,717.19 took place between 7th June 2004 to 31st October 2007.
It included the following:
* Income support - £10,020.87
* Housing benefit - £11,419.68
* Council tax benefit -£2,276.64
Defending, Mr. Lloyd Edwards, said she is paying back the overpayments. He said:
"She had a difficult time with her previous partner who left suddenly and reappeared on the scene.
"She was not sure he would stay and she delayed reporting it and delayed it."
Mr. Edwards explained she is with a new partner now and has two young children. He added:
"This was out of character."
District Judge, Richard Blake said:
"Many people are managing in the community on low income and not cheating on benefits.
"What you did was a cheat on the system.
"I accept it was to provide for your family and that you have done the best to make amends as you are paying it back."
He gave her 12 weeks in prison for each offence, suspended for a year. And a 12 month supervision order to run concurrently.
28 Jun 2010
Monday morning numbers
8.3m people are unemployed, on incapacity benefit, or economically idle - which is about 21.5% of the adult workforce. (That's from the mouth of Will Hutton, no right winger he.)
Over 20% of the adult workforce not earning? Do we really believe this?
How many are using benefits to supplement hidden earnings? All the benefit checks in the armoury can't keep up with these numbers.
So there has to be deterrent punishment for the few who get caught - to deter the many who are bound to get away with it.
Over 20% of the adult workforce not earning? Do we really believe this?
How many are using benefits to supplement hidden earnings? All the benefit checks in the armoury can't keep up with these numbers.
So there has to be deterrent punishment for the few who get caught - to deter the many who are bound to get away with it.
Data matching belatedly catches benefit thief
A 58-year-old ex-soldier from Chorley has pleaded guilty to four counts of falsely obtaining a total of more than £11,000 in benefits over a six year period.
The extra cash was claimed from Chorley Council in housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Alan James Cobham claimed the benefits on the basis that his only source of income was his incapacity benefit.
However, he had also been in receipt of a war disablement pension and an armed forces occupational pension after leaving the Army because of injury – neither of which he had declared on his claims form, South Ribble Magistrates Court was told.
Mr Cobham also failed to declare the bank account into which these pensions were paid.
The information had come to light following a national data matching exercise, the National Fraud Initiative.
Information from the council's benefit system was matched with data held by other public authorities including the Armed Forces Pension Agency.
Coun Kevin Joyce, Chorley Council's executive member for transformation said: "Chorley Council has, for many years, used its discretionary powers to disregard war pensions, war widows and war disablement pensions when calculating entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit. These pensions are paid when a serving member of the British armed forces is killed or wounded.
"By disregarding these pensions, ex-service personnel and their families are more likely to qualify for help with their rent and council tax.
"However the extra benefit paid under this scheme is not funded by central government, the cost is borne directly out of council funds.
"But Mr Cobham's occupational pension, like any pension from a former employer, is not disregarded and should have been declared. Mr Cobham had several opportunities to tell the Council about his income but he did not.
"Now as well as having to repay the overpaid benefit, Mr Cobham has a criminal record for benefit fraud."
Mr Cobham was given a two-year conditional discharge. No costs were awarded. He is currently repaying the overpayment.
The extra cash was claimed from Chorley Council in housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Alan James Cobham claimed the benefits on the basis that his only source of income was his incapacity benefit.
However, he had also been in receipt of a war disablement pension and an armed forces occupational pension after leaving the Army because of injury – neither of which he had declared on his claims form, South Ribble Magistrates Court was told.
Mr Cobham also failed to declare the bank account into which these pensions were paid.
The information had come to light following a national data matching exercise, the National Fraud Initiative.
Information from the council's benefit system was matched with data held by other public authorities including the Armed Forces Pension Agency.
Coun Kevin Joyce, Chorley Council's executive member for transformation said: "Chorley Council has, for many years, used its discretionary powers to disregard war pensions, war widows and war disablement pensions when calculating entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit. These pensions are paid when a serving member of the British armed forces is killed or wounded.
"By disregarding these pensions, ex-service personnel and their families are more likely to qualify for help with their rent and council tax.
"However the extra benefit paid under this scheme is not funded by central government, the cost is borne directly out of council funds.
"But Mr Cobham's occupational pension, like any pension from a former employer, is not disregarded and should have been declared. Mr Cobham had several opportunities to tell the Council about his income but he did not.
"Now as well as having to repay the overpaid benefit, Mr Cobham has a criminal record for benefit fraud."
Mr Cobham was given a two-year conditional discharge. No costs were awarded. He is currently repaying the overpayment.
25 Jun 2010
"Disabled" gran avoids jail for benefit fraud
A 'wheelchair-bound' gran who claimed £9,000 in disability benefits but was seen jetting off to a Florida theme park has avoided jail.
Wendy Needham, from Coalway, Coleford, was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work.
The 50-year-old, who legitimately claimed disability living allowance in 1994 for a spinal injury, sciatica and asthma, made a "substantial recovery" in 2005 – but continued to claim.
Needham had pleaded guilty to making false statements to receive benefits amounting to £8,793 between October 2005 and October 2007.
Peter Richardson, prosecuting on behalf of the Department for Works and Pensions, told the court: "An investigation by the department revealed that she was seen enjoying walking, dancing, cycling, playing skittles, gardening and even going on holiday to Florida, where she visited theme parks.
"Despite her health improving vastly in 2005 she did not notify the department and made signed declarations that there had been no improvements.
"There was an overpayment of £8,793 but she has no previous convictions."
Defending solicitor Lucy Beale said: "Although my client is still claiming benefit on a reduced rate she is currently paying back the amount she over-claimed.
"So far she has paid back some £1,500 and now owes the department £7,240.
"She has shown great remorse for the situation she finds herself in and is anxious to pay back more. Yes, of course she is.
After reading a pre-sentence report, Judge Bopa-Rai sentenced Needham, who was in tears after the proceedings, to a 12-month community order, with a requirement to do 150 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay costs of £150.
No use weeping, Wendy Needham is a thief who kept stealing money from taxpayers.
htp Dave
Wendy Needham, from Coalway, Coleford, was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work.
The 50-year-old, who legitimately claimed disability living allowance in 1994 for a spinal injury, sciatica and asthma, made a "substantial recovery" in 2005 – but continued to claim.
Needham had pleaded guilty to making false statements to receive benefits amounting to £8,793 between October 2005 and October 2007.
Peter Richardson, prosecuting on behalf of the Department for Works and Pensions, told the court: "An investigation by the department revealed that she was seen enjoying walking, dancing, cycling, playing skittles, gardening and even going on holiday to Florida, where she visited theme parks.
"Despite her health improving vastly in 2005 she did not notify the department and made signed declarations that there had been no improvements.
"There was an overpayment of £8,793 but she has no previous convictions."
Defending solicitor Lucy Beale said: "Although my client is still claiming benefit on a reduced rate she is currently paying back the amount she over-claimed.
"So far she has paid back some £1,500 and now owes the department £7,240.
"She has shown great remorse for the situation she finds herself in and is anxious to pay back more. Yes, of course she is.
After reading a pre-sentence report, Judge Bopa-Rai sentenced Needham, who was in tears after the proceedings, to a 12-month community order, with a requirement to do 150 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay costs of £150.
No use weeping, Wendy Needham is a thief who kept stealing money from taxpayers.
htp Dave
24 Jun 2010
Footballer claimed disability benefit
The Daily Mail reports on a disability claimant who is somehow able to play football.
I wouldn't go that far. Benefit thieves should have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have. A confiscation order should be automatic and immediate.
I do agree, though, that if you don't punish people who are convicted of an easy crime, the offence will continue to look attractive.
A benefits cheat who falsely claimed £11,000 in disability allowance after falling from a ladder was caught out after he was filmed playing Sunday league football.One commenter there writes that "People who cheat on benefits and are caught should be banned for the rest of their lives from ever claiming again".
Kevin Freeman had claimed it took him 10 minutes to walk just 18 yards with the use of a stick and kept a mattress on his living room floor which he told visitors he slept on when he could not get upstairs.
The 31-year-old, who had claimed disability allowance and incapacity benefit for nearly 10 years, narrowly avoided jail after he was filmed sprinting across the pitch.
Freeman, of Bilston, near Wolverhampton, repeatedly told job centre officials he was unable to perform simple tasks since falling from a ladder in 1999.
But the fraudster was caught out playing football for The Great Western pub team in Wolverhampton's East Park after a tip off.
Freeman admitted two counts of failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances between October 2008 and July 2009 when he appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court yesterday.
During that period, he fraudulently claimed £11,217 of benefits which he was not entitled to.
Catherine McTigue, prosecuting, said Freeman would also play indoor football and train twice a week during the time he was claiming disability.
He had registered for the Wolverhampton and District Sunday League team under a false name and address.
She said: 'During the filming he was seen stretching jumping and massaging his legs.
'At one point he sprints to the ball, falls over and gets back up again.'
Kevin Freeman
Caught out: Freeman can be seen smiling and doing keepy uppy while playing for a Sunday league team in Wolverhampton
Debbie Cartwright, defending, said her client's injuries were severe but that he had been taking 'tentative steps' back to full fitness.
Freeman was sentenced to a three-month jail term suspended for two years.
He was also placed on a six-month supervision order.
In addition, Freeman was ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work and pay £300 costs.
After the case, Freeman said: 'I've said I'm sorry but what's done is done. I just want to get a job.'
I wouldn't go that far. Benefit thieves should have to repay twice what they've stolen, and should not be eligible for any further benefits – including tax credits - until they have. A confiscation order should be automatic and immediate.
I do agree, though, that if you don't punish people who are convicted of an easy crime, the offence will continue to look attractive.
Community service for £23k benefits fraud
A mother claimed she was a single parent to claim more than £23,000 in benefits she was not entitled to.
Shirley Nash, 51, pleaded guilty at Chichester Magistrates Court to three charges of failing to report a change of circumstances.
She claimed she was a single parent after moving to Bracklesham Bay in July 2007 from Sutton, Surrey,.
She transferred her Income Support claim and made new claims to Housing and Council Tax Benefit for the new address.
But she did not declare that her husband was living with her there.
The true circumstances were discovered after a joint investigation between Chichester District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
She was overpaid £15,364.48 of Income Support, £6,496.42 of Housing Benefit and £1,333.74 of Council Tax Benefits and was sentenced to 300 hours of community punishment.
Shirley Nash, 51, pleaded guilty at Chichester Magistrates Court to three charges of failing to report a change of circumstances.
She claimed she was a single parent after moving to Bracklesham Bay in July 2007 from Sutton, Surrey,.
She transferred her Income Support claim and made new claims to Housing and Council Tax Benefit for the new address.
But she did not declare that her husband was living with her there.
The true circumstances were discovered after a joint investigation between Chichester District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.
She was overpaid £15,364.48 of Income Support, £6,496.42 of Housing Benefit and £1,333.74 of Council Tax Benefits and was sentenced to 300 hours of community punishment.
23 Jun 2010
Social worker was benefit thief
A social worker who fraudulently claimed more than £90,000 in income support and housing benefits has been jailed for eight months.
Maxine Wilson, 42, of Cricklewood, north west London, began legitimately claiming housing and council tax benefits in 1997 when Hammersmith and Fulham Council granted her three years’ unpaid leave to study a degree.
But Wilson continued to claim the benefits for a further eight years after returning to work at the council, with an increased salary, in June 2000.
At the same time she began working part-time for British Airways by taking paid sick leave from the council and using her annual holiday entitlement, adding £6,000 to her annual income of £32,000.
In total, Wilson, a mother of four children, was overpaid £96,870 in income support, housing and council tax benefits by the London Borough of Brent, where she lived, between June 2000 and February 2009.
She pleaded guilty to benefit fraud at Harrow Crown Court on 8 June and received an eight-month jail sentence. Brent Council said that in addition to three other children, she will be leaving behind a new-born baby, who was three weeks old at the time of sentencing.
Simon Lane, head of audit and investigations at Brent Council, said: “No one is exempt from our investigations.
“No matter how long it takes for us to find benefit fraudsters you can be assured that the council will do everything in its power to seek them out.
“Anyone who is in receipt of benefits is regularly reminded to notify the council when there is a change of circumstances and is urged to do so.”
Maxine Wilson, 42, of Cricklewood, north west London, began legitimately claiming housing and council tax benefits in 1997 when Hammersmith and Fulham Council granted her three years’ unpaid leave to study a degree.
But Wilson continued to claim the benefits for a further eight years after returning to work at the council, with an increased salary, in June 2000.
At the same time she began working part-time for British Airways by taking paid sick leave from the council and using her annual holiday entitlement, adding £6,000 to her annual income of £32,000.
In total, Wilson, a mother of four children, was overpaid £96,870 in income support, housing and council tax benefits by the London Borough of Brent, where she lived, between June 2000 and February 2009.
She pleaded guilty to benefit fraud at Harrow Crown Court on 8 June and received an eight-month jail sentence. Brent Council said that in addition to three other children, she will be leaving behind a new-born baby, who was three weeks old at the time of sentencing.
Simon Lane, head of audit and investigations at Brent Council, said: “No one is exempt from our investigations.
“No matter how long it takes for us to find benefit fraudsters you can be assured that the council will do everything in its power to seek them out.
“Anyone who is in receipt of benefits is regularly reminded to notify the council when there is a change of circumstances and is urged to do so.”
Bristol reports benefit fraud results
Investigations into suspected benefit fraud in Bristol have dramatically increased in the last year, just as the number of investigators dealing with them has been reduced.
Bristol City Council's Benefit Fraud Team looked into 653 suspected false claims in 2009/10, a 20% increase on the year before.
At the same time the team that has to bring benefits cheats to justice has been cut back by 20%.
More than £1.3 million of tax payers money was paid out to fraudulent claimants in the last year.
The fraud team prevented a further £470,000 in fraudulent claims being paid out through its investigation work.
The budget for the team last year was £484,000 but it currently only has five and a half full time equivalent members of staff, dealing with a caseload of around 49,182 between them as of April this year.
And a report on the team's performance in the last year warns that caseload could further increase because of the recession.
The 49,182 figure represents every person claiming benefits in the city, around one in 10 of the population.
Between April 2009 and April 2010, a total of £1,324,833 in overpaid benefits from the council and the Department for Work and Pensions was identified as fraud.
According to the report, the number of cases investigated and prosecuted was higher than the year before.
In 2009/10 653 cases were investigated, compared to 546 the year before, a 20 per cent increase.
Of these 179 led to prosecution, cautions or penalties, more than the 162 in 2008/09.
From that 179, 79 people were prosecuted and 100 cautioned or given an administration penalties, also known as "sanctions".
The team should have seven full-time investigative staff to deal with that, but one now spends have their time dealing with other issues and another has gone on maternity leave.
The report states: "During 2008/09, the council had the lowest investigative staffing resource per 1,000 case load of the core city group of councils. The sanction target for 2010/11 is set at 170 for the year, and while this is an increase on the previous year's target, it will be a challenge to achieve in light of the increasing fraud risk and a 21 per cent reduction in staffing."
The report, due to be considered by the council's audit committee on Friday, gives a number of examples of successful prosecutions.
In February this year, a Southmead woman was sentenced to six months in prison after a £82,000 fraud that spanned more than 11 years. An investigation by the council and the DWP revealed she had been claiming benefit as a single person despite being married.
Council spokesman Peter Wood said: " Bristol does have a live benefit caseload of approximately 49,000 but we don't investigate all those claims only a proportion which come to us either as referrals or cases we identify ourselves from pro active audits and data matching work.
"The council's benefit fraud team is committed to protecting the public purse, providing value for money and to ensuring that benefits go to those who are entitled to assistance.
"We have a very good record of taking action against those who seek to claim benefits fraudulently using a variety of means and will continue to maintain the integrity of the service in these challenging times."
Anyone who suspects benefit fraud has taken place can call the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0500 554535.
Bristol City Council's Benefit Fraud Team looked into 653 suspected false claims in 2009/10, a 20% increase on the year before.
At the same time the team that has to bring benefits cheats to justice has been cut back by 20%.
More than £1.3 million of tax payers money was paid out to fraudulent claimants in the last year.
The fraud team prevented a further £470,000 in fraudulent claims being paid out through its investigation work.
The budget for the team last year was £484,000 but it currently only has five and a half full time equivalent members of staff, dealing with a caseload of around 49,182 between them as of April this year.
And a report on the team's performance in the last year warns that caseload could further increase because of the recession.
The 49,182 figure represents every person claiming benefits in the city, around one in 10 of the population.
Between April 2009 and April 2010, a total of £1,324,833 in overpaid benefits from the council and the Department for Work and Pensions was identified as fraud.
According to the report, the number of cases investigated and prosecuted was higher than the year before.
In 2009/10 653 cases were investigated, compared to 546 the year before, a 20 per cent increase.
Of these 179 led to prosecution, cautions or penalties, more than the 162 in 2008/09.
From that 179, 79 people were prosecuted and 100 cautioned or given an administration penalties, also known as "sanctions".
The team should have seven full-time investigative staff to deal with that, but one now spends have their time dealing with other issues and another has gone on maternity leave.
The report states: "During 2008/09, the council had the lowest investigative staffing resource per 1,000 case load of the core city group of councils. The sanction target for 2010/11 is set at 170 for the year, and while this is an increase on the previous year's target, it will be a challenge to achieve in light of the increasing fraud risk and a 21 per cent reduction in staffing."
The report, due to be considered by the council's audit committee on Friday, gives a number of examples of successful prosecutions.
In February this year, a Southmead woman was sentenced to six months in prison after a £82,000 fraud that spanned more than 11 years. An investigation by the council and the DWP revealed she had been claiming benefit as a single person despite being married.
Council spokesman Peter Wood said: " Bristol does have a live benefit caseload of approximately 49,000 but we don't investigate all those claims only a proportion which come to us either as referrals or cases we identify ourselves from pro active audits and data matching work.
"The council's benefit fraud team is committed to protecting the public purse, providing value for money and to ensuring that benefits go to those who are entitled to assistance.
"We have a very good record of taking action against those who seek to claim benefits fraudulently using a variety of means and will continue to maintain the integrity of the service in these challenging times."
Anyone who suspects benefit fraud has taken place can call the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0500 554535.
22 Jun 2010
Window cleaner was £71k benefit thief
A benefits cheat who stole £71,500 in disability payments after claiming he was too afraid to go outside was caught operating his own window cleaning business.
John Booth, 63, took the incapacity benefit handouts citing stress and agoraphobia and being unable to go out alone.
He also said he could not walk more than 50 yards unaided.
But inspectors from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) discovered he had set up a window cleaning round.
They secretly filmed him scaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over the balcony on the first floor of a house.
He also subsequently claimed Pension Credit stating he was single and not working. In truth he was married and his wife was in full-time employment.
Inquiries revealed he had been taking state benefits for 14 years whilst cleaning windows in Alderley Edge and Wilmslow, Cheshire.
At Preston Crown Court today Booth from Chorley, Lancashire, admitted 17 counts of false accounting.
He was given a 28-week prison sentence suspended for two years after the court heard he was able to pay back the £71,000 in full.
He was also placed under a four-month curfew from 8pm to 7am and ordered to pay £750 costs.
Prosecuting, Frank Nance said; 'The defendant claimed benefits from being unfit to work due to illnesses and later claimed he was grossly disabled.
'In reality he was working as a window cleaner throughout this time.'
The court heard that Booth began claiming incapacity benefit in 1982 stating he was 'was suffering from depression and produced medical certificates signed by his GP'.
Department of Work and Pensions inspectors filmed Boothscaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over a balcony on the first floor of a house
But in April 1994 he started working and failed to notify the DWP. In December 1996 he claimed he has 'agrophobic anxiety' and a fear of open spaces.
The court heard that in April 2002 Booth had a building society account with £27,000 in it which he closed two years later when it had £24,000 in it.
He continued to claim it took him two minutes to walk 30m and he couldn't go out on his own.
Booth lived in Wilmslow and then Winsford until February 2008 when he moved to Chorley.
Mr Nance went on: 'He claimed he was a single parent when he was married to a lady who had a full-time job. That was false from the outset.
'An investigation began in 2008 and in the summer of that year he was observed working as a window cleaner in Alderley Edge. He was witnessed carrying ladders and walking unaided.'
Booth was arrested in October of that year and claimed he had been feeling better because of spinal injections he had in his back.
But further inquires were made by the DWP and 'customers confirmed he had been working for many years'.
Defending, James Hawks said: 'This is a defendant whose claim was not false from the outset but became false and there were subsidiary false claimed within it.
'The dishonesty was a lapse into dishonesty. The vast bulk relates to the claims of invalidity or incapacity.
'Some of the more recent claims were limited in time and limited in value.
'This is a defendant who has had and continues to have genuine difficulties with his health particularly to do with chronic back pain.
'A considerable amount of money claimed went to support his son who is a long-term heroin addict and has health problems and has run up debts which the defendant paid off on his behalf.
'There was an element of pressure from his ex-wife based upon her life-style which he couldn't meet with his income.
'He remains a principal carer for his son who is in his 40s with considerable health problems.
'A voluntary repayment of £39,000 has been made at an early stage and he is in a position to recompense the state fully.'
Sentencing, Judge Norman Wright said: 'What you committed was not just a a fraud of the state but a fraud of everyone in this court and every member of the public.
'Because the monies you claimed came out of the public purse that tax payers have contributed for the welfare of people who properly deserve these monies.
'Some of those claims were dishonest from the very outset and these are serious matters.
'Because of what you did it means the people who are genuinely disabled all the time have suspicion placed upon them and have to undergo rigorous examinations to try to wheedle out people such as yourself.
'This money wasn't just frittered away because based on that money, you were able to save up and you were able to help your son and you were able to fund your consumption of cannabis. All this paid for by the state.
'You have repaid the money but the state has lost out because it has not had use of these monies.'
John Booth, 63, took the incapacity benefit handouts citing stress and agoraphobia and being unable to go out alone.
He also said he could not walk more than 50 yards unaided.
But inspectors from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) discovered he had set up a window cleaning round.
They secretly filmed him scaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over the balcony on the first floor of a house.
He also subsequently claimed Pension Credit stating he was single and not working. In truth he was married and his wife was in full-time employment.
Inquiries revealed he had been taking state benefits for 14 years whilst cleaning windows in Alderley Edge and Wilmslow, Cheshire.
At Preston Crown Court today Booth from Chorley, Lancashire, admitted 17 counts of false accounting.
He was given a 28-week prison sentence suspended for two years after the court heard he was able to pay back the £71,000 in full.
He was also placed under a four-month curfew from 8pm to 7am and ordered to pay £750 costs.
Prosecuting, Frank Nance said; 'The defendant claimed benefits from being unfit to work due to illnesses and later claimed he was grossly disabled.
'In reality he was working as a window cleaner throughout this time.'
The court heard that Booth began claiming incapacity benefit in 1982 stating he was 'was suffering from depression and produced medical certificates signed by his GP'.
Department of Work and Pensions inspectors filmed Boothscaling 20ft ladders and cleaning windows as well as climbing over a balcony on the first floor of a house
But in April 1994 he started working and failed to notify the DWP. In December 1996 he claimed he has 'agrophobic anxiety' and a fear of open spaces.
The court heard that in April 2002 Booth had a building society account with £27,000 in it which he closed two years later when it had £24,000 in it.
He continued to claim it took him two minutes to walk 30m and he couldn't go out on his own.
Booth lived in Wilmslow and then Winsford until February 2008 when he moved to Chorley.
Mr Nance went on: 'He claimed he was a single parent when he was married to a lady who had a full-time job. That was false from the outset.
'An investigation began in 2008 and in the summer of that year he was observed working as a window cleaner in Alderley Edge. He was witnessed carrying ladders and walking unaided.'
Booth was arrested in October of that year and claimed he had been feeling better because of spinal injections he had in his back.
But further inquires were made by the DWP and 'customers confirmed he had been working for many years'.
Defending, James Hawks said: 'This is a defendant whose claim was not false from the outset but became false and there were subsidiary false claimed within it.
'The dishonesty was a lapse into dishonesty. The vast bulk relates to the claims of invalidity or incapacity.
'Some of the more recent claims were limited in time and limited in value.
'This is a defendant who has had and continues to have genuine difficulties with his health particularly to do with chronic back pain.
'A considerable amount of money claimed went to support his son who is a long-term heroin addict and has health problems and has run up debts which the defendant paid off on his behalf.
'There was an element of pressure from his ex-wife based upon her life-style which he couldn't meet with his income.
'He remains a principal carer for his son who is in his 40s with considerable health problems.
'A voluntary repayment of £39,000 has been made at an early stage and he is in a position to recompense the state fully.'
Sentencing, Judge Norman Wright said: 'What you committed was not just a a fraud of the state but a fraud of everyone in this court and every member of the public.
'Because the monies you claimed came out of the public purse that tax payers have contributed for the welfare of people who properly deserve these monies.
'Some of those claims were dishonest from the very outset and these are serious matters.
'Because of what you did it means the people who are genuinely disabled all the time have suspicion placed upon them and have to undergo rigorous examinations to try to wheedle out people such as yourself.
'This money wasn't just frittered away because based on that money, you were able to save up and you were able to help your son and you were able to fund your consumption of cannabis. All this paid for by the state.
'You have repaid the money but the state has lost out because it has not had use of these monies.'
A benefits cheat mother who claimed £10,000 as a single parent living alone was caught and is facing jail - after she appeared on wife swap.
Kelly Jones, 23, failed to tell the authorities that she and bus driver husband, Steven Jones, had been living together for 18 months.
She illegally claimed £4,976 in housing benefits, £3,614 in income support and £1,171 discount on her council tax bill.
But Jones was caught out when she and Steven, who she married in April this year, appeared on Channel 4's Wife Swap.
Self-confessed 'slob' Jones was branded 'Britain's worst mother' after she appeared on the show last June under her maiden name, Moyston.
She was condemned after viewers saw Jones feed her 18-month-old daughter fast food and spending ten hours a day online in her filthy house in Fishponds, Bristol.
Jones appeared at Bristol Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to admit a string of charges for illegally claiming benefits.
Lynne Harvey, prosecuting, said: 'Mrs Jones said she had not declared him at the address because his wages were too low to pay their rent and live.
'She panicked at the thought of losing their home. She said she knew once the TV programme was aired she would be caught.'
The couple met in 2006 and moved in together in Yate, near Bristol, in February 2008, before the house was repossessed in May that year.
They then rented a house in Fishponds, Bristol, in July that year but failed to notify Bristol City Council they were living together.
Jones then approached Channel 4 over appearing on Wife Swap and a camera crew filmed them in October, for which she was paid £1,000.
She swapped places with hairdresser Kerry Murphy for two weeks and moved into a five-bedroom house in Rotherham, Yorkshire, with building contractor Tim.
Jones was widely condemned following the programme after admitting she fed her then daughter, Georgina, crisps for breakfast.
She also admitted gorging on fast food, which she also fed to her daughter, and regularly lying in bed until lunchtime.
Georgina, now three, was also filmed crawling just inches away from cat faeces rotting in the corner of the room and left in her cot until midday in a wet nappy.
More than 50 viewers contacted broadcasting watchdog Ofcom claiming Channel 4 should have intervened, although the complaints were not upheld.
After the programme, she admitted in an interview with a glossy magazine that she fed Georgina Quavers for breakfast, sausage rolls for lunch and regularly slept until after midday.
Jones approached Channel 4 over appearing on Wife Swap and a camera crew filmed them in October, for which she was paid £1,000
Council officers interviewed the couple, who also have an 11-month-old child, in August 2009, after receiving an anonymous tip off that they were falsely claiming benefits.
And at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Jones admitted failing to notify the council that she and Steven were living together.
She also admitted falsely declaring that she lived alone, failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her, and failing to declare her husband had received £30,625 when his house in Yate was repossessed.
Her husband Steven, 40, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting.
Ruth Tiley, defending Jones, described her client as a 'quite naive and gullible young woman.' She told the court that Jones had suffered with post-natal depression.
They were both released on bail but were told they faced a possible prison sentence.
htp: Dave
Kelly Jones, 23, failed to tell the authorities that she and bus driver husband, Steven Jones, had been living together for 18 months.
She illegally claimed £4,976 in housing benefits, £3,614 in income support and £1,171 discount on her council tax bill.
But Jones was caught out when she and Steven, who she married in April this year, appeared on Channel 4's Wife Swap.
Self-confessed 'slob' Jones was branded 'Britain's worst mother' after she appeared on the show last June under her maiden name, Moyston.
She was condemned after viewers saw Jones feed her 18-month-old daughter fast food and spending ten hours a day online in her filthy house in Fishponds, Bristol.
Jones appeared at Bristol Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to admit a string of charges for illegally claiming benefits.
Lynne Harvey, prosecuting, said: 'Mrs Jones said she had not declared him at the address because his wages were too low to pay their rent and live.
'She panicked at the thought of losing their home. She said she knew once the TV programme was aired she would be caught.'
The couple met in 2006 and moved in together in Yate, near Bristol, in February 2008, before the house was repossessed in May that year.
They then rented a house in Fishponds, Bristol, in July that year but failed to notify Bristol City Council they were living together.
Jones then approached Channel 4 over appearing on Wife Swap and a camera crew filmed them in October, for which she was paid £1,000.
She swapped places with hairdresser Kerry Murphy for two weeks and moved into a five-bedroom house in Rotherham, Yorkshire, with building contractor Tim.
Jones was widely condemned following the programme after admitting she fed her then daughter, Georgina, crisps for breakfast.
She also admitted gorging on fast food, which she also fed to her daughter, and regularly lying in bed until lunchtime.
Georgina, now three, was also filmed crawling just inches away from cat faeces rotting in the corner of the room and left in her cot until midday in a wet nappy.
More than 50 viewers contacted broadcasting watchdog Ofcom claiming Channel 4 should have intervened, although the complaints were not upheld.
After the programme, she admitted in an interview with a glossy magazine that she fed Georgina Quavers for breakfast, sausage rolls for lunch and regularly slept until after midday.
Jones approached Channel 4 over appearing on Wife Swap and a camera crew filmed them in October, for which she was paid £1,000
Council officers interviewed the couple, who also have an 11-month-old child, in August 2009, after receiving an anonymous tip off that they were falsely claiming benefits.
And at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Jones admitted failing to notify the council that she and Steven were living together.
She also admitted falsely declaring that she lived alone, failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her, and failing to declare her husband had received £30,625 when his house in Yate was repossessed.
Her husband Steven, 40, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting.
Ruth Tiley, defending Jones, described her client as a 'quite naive and gullible young woman.' She told the court that Jones had suffered with post-natal depression.
They were both released on bail but were told they faced a possible prison sentence.
htp: Dave
21 Jun 2010
Cambridge reports on local benefit fraud
Keeping up with the Joneses might lie behind a 25 per cent leap in allegations of housing and benefit fraud in Cambridge.
Investigators don’t believe the massive hike was accompanied by an increase in actual fraud and think families might be getting more suspicious of their neighbours as the economic downturn bites.
Investigators don’t believe the massive hike was accompanied by an increase in actual fraud and think families might be getting more suspicious of their neighbours as the economic downturn bites.
John Frost, the head of revenue and benefit services at Cambridge City Council, said: “I don’t think there’s been an increase in attempts to defraud the system because we have made people very aware of the consequences.
“But there has been an increase in allegations and it may be that, in the economic downturn, they are being punished a bit more and wonder how come next door are having a good time.”
Mr Frost said the rise in reports might also be because of growing knowledge about how the benefits system works.
Official figures reveal there were 574 allegations of the city council being defrauded in the 12 months up to April, with the vast majority of these – 506 – relating to housing benefit. There were 66 allegations relating to council tax and two on housing matters.
In the previous year there were just 458 allegations.
Of the 574 allegations, 323 were investigated – a seven per cent increase on the previous year.
Mr Frost said: “Perceptions are important. People may have two or three cars and people might wonder how they are claiming benefits.
“Often they are not claiming benefits, but people perceive they are.”
Mr Frost said his team was noticing the amounts people were trying to defraud were now “quite substantial”.
In 2009/10 the total amount of overpaid benefits identified came to £212,046, and £28,343 of extra council tax income was detected.
The largest single fraud identified was £32,476, and while the claimants were not prosecuted due to ill health, their son was convicted of “knowingly allowing” the fraud.
In 2008/9, £151,562 of overpaid benefits was identified and no extra council tax income was found.
Two council tenancies were also recovered in the last financial year.
Rotherham Council reports on benefit fraud
In the financial year 2009-2010 we had two targets in this area which were based on the number of Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions per 1,000 benefit claims we administer.
Our first target was to achieve 4.2 Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions per 1,000 benefit claims.
We achieved this target in 2009-2010 with 6.30 Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions per 1,000 benefit claims.
Our second target was for our performance in this area to be in the top 25% percent of the 36 Metropolitan Authorities against which we are measured.
We do not know yet whether we have achieved this target as results for all Metropolitan Councils have not yet been published.
Our performance for the financial year 2009-2010 was as follows, with the figure in brackets relating to the number of Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions:
Our first target was to achieve 4.2 Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions per 1,000 benefit claims.
We achieved this target in 2009-2010 with 6.30 Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions per 1,000 benefit claims.
Our second target was for our performance in this area to be in the top 25% percent of the 36 Metropolitan Authorities against which we are measured.
We do not know yet whether we have achieved this target as results for all Metropolitan Councils have not yet been published.
Our performance for the financial year 2009-2010 was as follows, with the figure in brackets relating to the number of Cautions, Administrative Penalties or Prosecutions:
| Date | 2007-2008 Performance | 2008-2009 Performance |
| 1st May | Not recorded (27) | 0.60 (16) |
| 1st June | Not recorded (28) | 1.10 (31) |
| 1st July | 1.50 (39) | 1.96 (55) |
| 1st August | 1.73 (45) | 2.67 (75) |
| 1st September | 1.94 (51) | 3.28 (92) |
| 1st October | 2.25 (59) | 3.42 (96) |
| 1st November | 2.25 (77) | 3.84 (108) |
| 1st December | 3.43 (90) | 4.52 (127) |
| 1st January | 3.96 (104) | 4.98 (140) |
| 1st February | 4.54 (119) | 5.37 (154) |
| 1st March | 4.86 (130) | 5.78 (167) |
| Performance for year | 5.27 (140) | 6.30 (182) |
Clumsy fraud trips couple eventually
A mother claimed her children’s father was their uncle to fraudulently claim nearly £23,000 in housing benefit.
For six years Tracy Kilfoyle pretended her landlord was an uncle to three of her four children.
But in fact he was their father, making the claim for housing benefit ineligible.
At Bolton Magistrates Court Kilfoyle, aged 42, of Valpy Avenue, Hall i‘th’ Wood, pleaded guilty to making false representation to obtain benefit.
Andrew Morris, prosecuting, said that in January 2005 Kilfoyle, a single mum, moved into her home and filled out a claim for housing benefit.
Officials queried it with her when they noticed her landlord had the surname Settle, the same as three of her four children.
But Kilfoyle lied, insisting that Mr Settle was her ex-partner’s brother.
The fraud came to light last year after the Department for work and Pensions suspected that Kilfoyle and Mr Settle were living together, after they had gone into Bolton Council’s One Stop Shop together to make a new claim for housing and council tax benefit and declared they were the parents of the children.
When questioned by investigators Kilfoyle said the house had originally been bought by Mr Settle with the intention of them living together, but due to family pressure that did not happen and she moved into the property alone.
She claimed she had been disturbed by noisy children when filling out the claim form and had mistakenly written “uncle” instead of “father”. Anthony Shimmin, defending, said Kilfoyle, who works as a cleaner, was a woman of “previous impeccable character”.
“Unfortunately, because of her financial situation she put herself at odds with the law,” he said, adding that she is now paying back the money.
“She was desperate and was forced into making a catastrophic mistake.”
Magistrates sentenced Kilfoyle to do 200 hours unpaid work and ordered that she pay £200 prosecution costs.
For six years Tracy Kilfoyle pretended her landlord was an uncle to three of her four children.
But in fact he was their father, making the claim for housing benefit ineligible.
At Bolton Magistrates Court Kilfoyle, aged 42, of Valpy Avenue, Hall i‘th’ Wood, pleaded guilty to making false representation to obtain benefit.
Andrew Morris, prosecuting, said that in January 2005 Kilfoyle, a single mum, moved into her home and filled out a claim for housing benefit.
Officials queried it with her when they noticed her landlord had the surname Settle, the same as three of her four children.
But Kilfoyle lied, insisting that Mr Settle was her ex-partner’s brother.
The fraud came to light last year after the Department for work and Pensions suspected that Kilfoyle and Mr Settle were living together, after they had gone into Bolton Council’s One Stop Shop together to make a new claim for housing and council tax benefit and declared they were the parents of the children.
When questioned by investigators Kilfoyle said the house had originally been bought by Mr Settle with the intention of them living together, but due to family pressure that did not happen and she moved into the property alone.
She claimed she had been disturbed by noisy children when filling out the claim form and had mistakenly written “uncle” instead of “father”. Anthony Shimmin, defending, said Kilfoyle, who works as a cleaner, was a woman of “previous impeccable character”.
“Unfortunately, because of her financial situation she put herself at odds with the law,” he said, adding that she is now paying back the money.
“She was desperate and was forced into making a catastrophic mistake.”
Magistrates sentenced Kilfoyle to do 200 hours unpaid work and ordered that she pay £200 prosecution costs.
Slow pursuit of obvious target
A sponging £200,000 benefits and tax cheat who said he could barely walk was rumbled after investigators found a certificate congratulating him for climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Self-employed painter Robert Johnson, 62, claimed £31,325 after telling benefits bosses he had crippling arthritis and had failed to pay a penny in taxes for the last 32 years.
But he was uncovered when investigators found the certificate for doing the gruelling three-and-a-half hour hike up one of the world's tallest bridges.
Despite claiming for the highest possible level of immobility, Johnson, from Tamworth, Staffs, completed the 1.74km guided journey 440ft above Sydney Harbour in 2007.
Birmingham Crown Court heard on 18 June how Johnson had failed to claim the earnings from his successful business since 1975, netting £341,891 without paying any taxes. He should have given £172,428 of that to the taxman.
And in 1990, he also claimed to be so disabled he could not walk unaided, claiming Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Mobility Allowance and council tax benefits.
But the suspicions of fraud investigators were aroused when he registered as a contractor for the Construction Industry Scheme in 2005.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of Cheating the Public Revenue and five of dishonest claims at an earlier court hearing on April 29 this year. The court heard how Roberts had scammed a total of £203,753.
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said: 'The defendant has been working as a self-employed painter and decorator for many years and he has not been paying tax since at least 1975 at all to date.
'During that time he was claiming various benefits which were paid to him.
'In order to obtain work with a company called AA Erections Ltd he registered with a scheme which meant he was automatically put on tax self-assessment.
'Because of that it was noted he was not paying tax so we asked him to attend the DWP offices for interview.
'He went to two but left one after just 34 minutes after claiming to have a panic attack.
'He was arrested in March 2008 by customs officers and interviewed under caution that is when matters came to light.
'He has got a string of previous convictions for dishonesty stretching back to when he was just 12-years-old, including one for house breaking.'
Self-employed painter Robert Johnson, 62, claimed £31,325 after telling benefits bosses he had crippling arthritis and had failed to pay a penny in taxes for the last 32 years.
But he was uncovered when investigators found the certificate for doing the gruelling three-and-a-half hour hike up one of the world's tallest bridges.
Despite claiming for the highest possible level of immobility, Johnson, from Tamworth, Staffs, completed the 1.74km guided journey 440ft above Sydney Harbour in 2007.
Birmingham Crown Court heard on 18 June how Johnson had failed to claim the earnings from his successful business since 1975, netting £341,891 without paying any taxes. He should have given £172,428 of that to the taxman.
And in 1990, he also claimed to be so disabled he could not walk unaided, claiming Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Mobility Allowance and council tax benefits.
But the suspicions of fraud investigators were aroused when he registered as a contractor for the Construction Industry Scheme in 2005.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of Cheating the Public Revenue and five of dishonest claims at an earlier court hearing on April 29 this year. The court heard how Roberts had scammed a total of £203,753.
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said: 'The defendant has been working as a self-employed painter and decorator for many years and he has not been paying tax since at least 1975 at all to date.
'During that time he was claiming various benefits which were paid to him.
'In order to obtain work with a company called AA Erections Ltd he registered with a scheme which meant he was automatically put on tax self-assessment.
'Because of that it was noted he was not paying tax so we asked him to attend the DWP offices for interview.
'He went to two but left one after just 34 minutes after claiming to have a panic attack.
'He was arrested in March 2008 by customs officers and interviewed under caution that is when matters came to light.
'He has got a string of previous convictions for dishonesty stretching back to when he was just 12-years-old, including one for house breaking.'
18 Jun 2010
Benefit fraud as part of a criminal package
Ms Ibilola Gbadamosi, from Abbey Wood, claimed over £2,000 worth of housing benefits using a false passport and was discovered after the national fraud initiative highlighted irregularities with her status in the UK.
A further investigation by Greenwich Council found that Ms Gbadamosi was employed by the British Library in London and used a false letter confirming she had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Ms Gbadamosi pleaded guilty to all three charges relating to the false passport, fake letter submitted to the British Library and benefit fraud.
She was sentenced to twelve months in prison.
A further investigation by Greenwich Council found that Ms Gbadamosi was employed by the British Library in London and used a false letter confirming she had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Ms Gbadamosi pleaded guilty to all three charges relating to the false passport, fake letter submitted to the British Library and benefit fraud.
She was sentenced to twelve months in prison.
17 Jun 2010
More single person fraud
A benefits cheat from the Isle of Sheppey has been convicted for swindling tax payers out of thousands of pounds.
Miss Charlotte Farnham, 24, was ordered to complete 90 hours of community service and pay £200 costs after being found guilty of obtaining benefits totalling £6,879.
The court heard how she had dishonestly obtained £5,132 in housing benefit and £906 in council tax benefit between July 1, 2007 and February 29, 2008.
She claimed the money as a single person while she living with Mr Lee Baldock as husband and wife. Farnham was also convicted for dishonestly claiming income support.
Miss Charlotte Farnham, 24, was ordered to complete 90 hours of community service and pay £200 costs after being found guilty of obtaining benefits totalling £6,879.
The court heard how she had dishonestly obtained £5,132 in housing benefit and £906 in council tax benefit between July 1, 2007 and February 29, 2008.
She claimed the money as a single person while she living with Mr Lee Baldock as husband and wife. Farnham was also convicted for dishonestly claiming income support.
16 Jun 2010
£40k benefits thief didn't declare income
A disabled man cheated the taxpayer out of more than £40,000 by failing to declare he was receiving payments of more than £400 a month from his former employer’s insurers.
James Benson was given a six month prison sentence at Bolton Crown Court, suspended for two years after admitting five counts of benefit fraud.
Stephen McNally, prosecuting, said until November 1997 Benson worked for Bury Electroplating Company, Radcliffe, but then became too ill to work.
The court heard that Benson blamed his illness on chemicals at work and unsuccessfully tried to sue the company, which is now known as BEP Surface Technologies Ltd.
The company denied being responsible for Benson’s illness, but did have an income protection scheme, run by its insurers Legal and General, which paid him more than £400 a month after tax.
Mr McNally said in March 1998 Benson became eligible to receive the payments but did not start receiving the cash until August because of an administrative delay.
In March 1998 Benson submitted claims to Bolton Council for housing and council tax benefits and made a claim for income support. Over the subsequent years Benson never mentioned his payments from the insurers on any claim forms.
His crime only came to light in March 2009 when he admitted in interview he had concealed the insurance payments. He said that, as he paid tax on the income, the government would know about the payments anyway. A joined up government would.
In total he was wrongly paid £30,332.74 in council and housing benefits and £11,356.80 in income support.
Michael Knowles, defending, said Benson, from Farnworth, was a man of previous good character.
Judge William Morris also imposed a three month 9pm to 7am curfew on Benson.
The court was told Benson is gradually paying all the money back.
James Benson was given a six month prison sentence at Bolton Crown Court, suspended for two years after admitting five counts of benefit fraud.
Stephen McNally, prosecuting, said until November 1997 Benson worked for Bury Electroplating Company, Radcliffe, but then became too ill to work.
The court heard that Benson blamed his illness on chemicals at work and unsuccessfully tried to sue the company, which is now known as BEP Surface Technologies Ltd.
The company denied being responsible for Benson’s illness, but did have an income protection scheme, run by its insurers Legal and General, which paid him more than £400 a month after tax.
Mr McNally said in March 1998 Benson became eligible to receive the payments but did not start receiving the cash until August because of an administrative delay.
In March 1998 Benson submitted claims to Bolton Council for housing and council tax benefits and made a claim for income support. Over the subsequent years Benson never mentioned his payments from the insurers on any claim forms.
His crime only came to light in March 2009 when he admitted in interview he had concealed the insurance payments. He said that, as he paid tax on the income, the government would know about the payments anyway. A joined up government would.
In total he was wrongly paid £30,332.74 in council and housing benefits and £11,356.80 in income support.
Michael Knowles, defending, said Benson, from Farnworth, was a man of previous good character.
Judge William Morris also imposed a three month 9pm to 7am curfew on Benson.
The court was told Benson is gradually paying all the money back.
15 Jun 2010
Paralympian admits benefit fraud
AN Olympian has been convicted of a £30,000 benefit fraud after failing to declare his lottery sports funding.
Peter Finbow, a Great Britain wheelchair basketball player and double bronze medallist, was at the 2008 Beijing paralympics when he discovered his money had been stopped and he was to be investigated.
Finbow, from Chickenley, pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud. He was given an eight-week prison term, suspended for a year.
Prosecutor Michael Rawlinson told Leeds Crown Court that Finbow received monthly payments into his bank account from the UK Sports Lottery Fund over five years.
Part of the grant was to fund his place in the wheelchair basketball team and his travel to the paralympics. The rest, £500 a month, was to cover his living expenses.
Finbow failed to tell the authorities about his change in circumstances and was overpaid £22,427.
He also failed to tell Kirklees Council and received housing and council tax benefits of £7,648.
When he was arrested in March last year he told police he had not realised he had to declare it.
Mitigating, Robin Sellers said Finbow admitted he should have told the authorities but it was not a case of someone simply going out to work while cheating the system.
Finbow had already paid back £9,000 and would repay the full amount.
He had been playing wheelchair basketball since he was 17, and helped to win bronze medals in Beijing in 2008 and Athens 2004.
Mr Sellers said the proceedings had affected his performance and he was not in the national squad. Finbow continued to visit schools and tried to set an example.
Judge Geoffrey Mason told Finbow: "It is a tragedy to see a man like you in the crown court having pleaded guilty to such matters."
Peter Finbow, a Great Britain wheelchair basketball player and double bronze medallist, was at the 2008 Beijing paralympics when he discovered his money had been stopped and he was to be investigated.
Finbow, from Chickenley, pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud. He was given an eight-week prison term, suspended for a year.
Prosecutor Michael Rawlinson told Leeds Crown Court that Finbow received monthly payments into his bank account from the UK Sports Lottery Fund over five years.
Part of the grant was to fund his place in the wheelchair basketball team and his travel to the paralympics. The rest, £500 a month, was to cover his living expenses.
Finbow failed to tell the authorities about his change in circumstances and was overpaid £22,427.
He also failed to tell Kirklees Council and received housing and council tax benefits of £7,648.
When he was arrested in March last year he told police he had not realised he had to declare it.
Mitigating, Robin Sellers said Finbow admitted he should have told the authorities but it was not a case of someone simply going out to work while cheating the system.
Finbow had already paid back £9,000 and would repay the full amount.
He had been playing wheelchair basketball since he was 17, and helped to win bronze medals in Beijing in 2008 and Athens 2004.
Mr Sellers said the proceedings had affected his performance and he was not in the national squad. Finbow continued to visit schools and tried to set an example.
Judge Geoffrey Mason told Finbow: "It is a tragedy to see a man like you in the crown court having pleaded guilty to such matters."
14 Jun 2010
A correspondent writes
I am a small trader selling at fairs, markets, and more recently at boot sales, and it's amazing how many of these booters are on benefits and selling professionally, whether it's job seekers/housing benefit/dla/council tax.
Do investigators not police these sales? I did a boot sale one weekend recently - over 50 sellers, with almost half of them claiming benefits - and that's the ones I know of.
I am just fed up working longer hours to earn money without having to deal with other sellers who, let's be honest, should not be there because of them claiming benefits which obviously they don't deserve.
The government are trying to save money - wouldn't this be a good starter?
11 Jun 2010
A correspondent writes:
Second, it's easy to show benefit fraud's probably at least £3.5bn - see here and comments in this blog from people who work in the system and say I've understated it. Others have contacted me privately saying the same.
Third, public prosecution has a deterrent effect. Imagine how much benefit fraud there would be if no one was ever prosecuted for it.
Finally, if you choose to visit a site or blog about benefit fraud, don't be surprised if it turns out to be discussing ... benefit fraud.
The cost of paying huge sums to courts, for judges and solicitors to prosecute over small individual amount and then jail people which also costs huge sums is a foolish way to deal with a problem.First, there's always another problem that looks bigger, but it doesn't follow that everyone should concentrate on the biggest one and ignore the rest.
Stop being prejudiced. Fraud exists throughout the class spectrum. The cost of tax fraud and evasion is 10 times higher and costs £40 billion, 40 times more than the £1.1 billion that benefit fraud costs. - stats national fraud office.
Second, it's easy to show benefit fraud's probably at least £3.5bn - see here and comments in this blog from people who work in the system and say I've understated it. Others have contacted me privately saying the same.
Third, public prosecution has a deterrent effect. Imagine how much benefit fraud there would be if no one was ever prosecuted for it.
Finally, if you choose to visit a site or blog about benefit fraud, don't be surprised if it turns out to be discussing ... benefit fraud.
10 Jun 2010
Jail for £40k amputee benefit thief
It's just too easy....
An amputee who featured in a national TV endurance show making it across the wilds of Nicaragua has been revealed as a benefits cheat.
The DWP confirmed that Karl Sacks, 48, was jailed for 10 weeks after he admitted wrongly pocketing more than £40,000.
Sacks was caught out after he took part in the 2005 BBC2 programme, Beyond Boundaries, where he took part in a 220-mile trek across deserts and jungles.
The show featured a group of people with a range of disabilities taking on a series of gruelling challenges in the wilds of the Central American country.
Sacks, from Alwoodley, Leeds, lost part of his leg in 1995 when he got caught in a boat propeller during a diving trip in South Africa.
But the DWP began an investigation and concluded the defendant, who had claimed for severe disablement allowance, had failed to inform the benefits office of his increased mobility.
The court heard Sacks had also been overpaid other benefits and had, in total, illegally claimed £40,600 over a period of about seven years.
He was at jailed Leeds Crown Court by Judge Geoffrey Marston who heard he was trapped after an investigation into his wife's bank account.
It emerged he had profited from property deals.
An amputee who featured in a national TV endurance show making it across the wilds of Nicaragua has been revealed as a benefits cheat.
The DWP confirmed that Karl Sacks, 48, was jailed for 10 weeks after he admitted wrongly pocketing more than £40,000.
Sacks was caught out after he took part in the 2005 BBC2 programme, Beyond Boundaries, where he took part in a 220-mile trek across deserts and jungles.
The show featured a group of people with a range of disabilities taking on a series of gruelling challenges in the wilds of the Central American country.
Sacks, from Alwoodley, Leeds, lost part of his leg in 1995 when he got caught in a boat propeller during a diving trip in South Africa.
But the DWP began an investigation and concluded the defendant, who had claimed for severe disablement allowance, had failed to inform the benefits office of his increased mobility.
The court heard Sacks had also been overpaid other benefits and had, in total, illegally claimed £40,600 over a period of about seven years.
He was at jailed Leeds Crown Court by Judge Geoffrey Marston who heard he was trapped after an investigation into his wife's bank account.
It emerged he had profited from property deals.
8 Jun 2010
"Paralysed" benefits thief played rugby
A 'paralysed' man who pocketed thousands of pounds in disability benefits was secretly filmed playing rugby.
Undercover fraud investigators stood on the sidelines taking footage of Shean Saunders in the middle of a scrum.
They also found out he had taken a part-time job as a cleaner.
The 34-year-old claimed more than £7,000 in benefits during a two-year period after he claimed he suffered from spastic paralysis which disables part of the nervous system that controls coordinated movement of the voluntary muscles.
Saunders, from Yeovil, Somerset, admitted claiming benefits between June 2007-9.
Prosecutor Will Palmer told South Somerset magistrates: 'In August 2007 information was received by the Department of Work and Pensions that Saunders started playing rugby for Crewkerne Rugby Club.
'It was also discovered he had started working for a local firm as a cleaner receiving £142.20 per fortnight.'
He was filmed twice running around a rugby pitch, and at the centre of the scrum.
Mr Palmer said: 'Both times Saunders was playing for the Crewkerne team in the positions of hooker and full back.
'He was interviewed by investigators on January 28 2009 where he denied working for the cleaning company but when shown photographs and video footage of the rugby games he denied to comment.'
The total fiddle was worth £7,448 in hand-outs.
Helena Suffield, defending, said: 'My client finds it very difficult to deal with paperwork and life in general now he is not with his ex-wife and he has become a bit lost in the world of officialdom and bureaucracy.'
She said the Dept of Work and Pensions would recoup the money.
Magistrates sentenced him to a 12 month community order and told to carry out 100 hours unpaid work.
Undercover fraud investigators stood on the sidelines taking footage of Shean Saunders in the middle of a scrum.
They also found out he had taken a part-time job as a cleaner.
The 34-year-old claimed more than £7,000 in benefits during a two-year period after he claimed he suffered from spastic paralysis which disables part of the nervous system that controls coordinated movement of the voluntary muscles.
Saunders, from Yeovil, Somerset, admitted claiming benefits between June 2007-9.
Prosecutor Will Palmer told South Somerset magistrates: 'In August 2007 information was received by the Department of Work and Pensions that Saunders started playing rugby for Crewkerne Rugby Club.
'It was also discovered he had started working for a local firm as a cleaner receiving £142.20 per fortnight.'
He was filmed twice running around a rugby pitch, and at the centre of the scrum.
Mr Palmer said: 'Both times Saunders was playing for the Crewkerne team in the positions of hooker and full back.
'He was interviewed by investigators on January 28 2009 where he denied working for the cleaning company but when shown photographs and video footage of the rugby games he denied to comment.'
The total fiddle was worth £7,448 in hand-outs.
Helena Suffield, defending, said: 'My client finds it very difficult to deal with paperwork and life in general now he is not with his ex-wife and he has become a bit lost in the world of officialdom and bureaucracy.'
She said the Dept of Work and Pensions would recoup the money.
Magistrates sentenced him to a 12 month community order and told to carry out 100 hours unpaid work.
7 Jun 2010
Benefit fraud conference to address failure
An organisation called "inside government" is offering a one day conference on benefit fraud in October. If you're in the private sector, one place will cost you £495, less a 10% discount for early booking.
According to the Audit Commission, ‘Protecting the Public Purse’ report, published September 2009, councils are losing millions of pounds a week through fraud and should be doing much more to crack down. The Audit Commission found housing tenancy fraud could be tying up at least 50,000 council and housing association properties worth more than £2 billion. Council taxpayers could be losing almost £2 million a week to fraudsters claiming a 25 per cent single person discount on their council tax.In other words, the authorised version. The truth is that benefit fraud alone is over £3.5bn a year.
The latest national statistics on Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: October 2008 to September 2009, produced by the Department for Work and Pensions were released on 27th May 2010. For 2009/10, it is estimated that 2.1 per cent, or £3.1bn, of total benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud and error. The preliminary estimate of total overpayments due to fraud and error across all benefits is £3.1bn, which is 2.1% of 2009/10 total benefit expenditure, which is forecast to be £148bn in 2009/10.
Delegates will include fraud managers and officers, benefit fraud managers, benefit fraud investigation managers, heads of fraud and error policy, revenue managers, treasurers, auditors, corporate fraud managers, performance and audit managers, finance directors, compliance managers, risk managers, information assurance managers, solicitors, barristers, heads of housing, social landlords, heads of child services, employment managers, and will be drawn from central government, jobcentre plus, local government, housing associations, health authorities, legal teams, financial services, academia, third sector and the private sector.That's an awful lot of managers and "heads" who've failed to grip the problems.
4 Jun 2010
Ex Bucks councillor admits benefit fraud
A former councillor in Buckinghamshire has been sentenced to 100 hours community service for falsely claiming £6,323 in benefits while in office.
Stefan Balbuza, from Stowe, was investigated by Aylesbury Vale District Council while he represented its Luffield Abbey ward.
He admitted four benefit fraud charges and was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court.
Balbuza, who resigned as councillor in December last year, was also told to pay a £4,875 compensation order.
The offences stemmed from May 2007, when he became a councillor, to September 2009.
The council said he claimed the money in housing and council tax benefit while failing to declare he received his councillors' allowance.
The allowance was paid into a bank account which he did not declare on any benefit forms, the council said.
He also failed to declare that he worked in a solicitor's office in July 2007, it added.
Speaking after the case, Neil Blake, the council's cabinet member for resources, said: "The fact the Mr Balbuza was a councillor makes, to my mind, this offence even more distasteful.
"Elected members have a duty to uphold the high standards expected of them and any breach lets down not only the electorate but, also, their fellow councillors."
Stefan Balbuza, from Stowe, was investigated by Aylesbury Vale District Council while he represented its Luffield Abbey ward.
He admitted four benefit fraud charges and was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court.
Balbuza, who resigned as councillor in December last year, was also told to pay a £4,875 compensation order.
The offences stemmed from May 2007, when he became a councillor, to September 2009.
The council said he claimed the money in housing and council tax benefit while failing to declare he received his councillors' allowance.
The allowance was paid into a bank account which he did not declare on any benefit forms, the council said.
He also failed to declare that he worked in a solicitor's office in July 2007, it added.
Speaking after the case, Neil Blake, the council's cabinet member for resources, said: "The fact the Mr Balbuza was a councillor makes, to my mind, this offence even more distasteful.
"Elected members have a duty to uphold the high standards expected of them and any breach lets down not only the electorate but, also, their fellow councillors."
3 Jun 2010
Unpaid work for £40k benefit thieves
Two £40,000 benefit fraudsters have been given suspended sentences and 150 hours' unpaid work. Both had claimed they were single parents but were living with their partner.
A 38 year old woman has been ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work for defrauding Bromley Council out of more than £40,000 in benefits over 10 years.
Aber Kibwota, from Penge, pleaded guilty to fraud after illegally claiming council tax and housing benefits between June 1999 and November last year.
An investigation showed she had failed to inform the council her partner had been living with her and she had been in employment.
Kibwota was also given a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months at Croydon Crown Court.
Separately, a mother of two who repeatedly lied to the Department for Work and Pensions has been spared jail for a £40,000 benefits scam.
Burnley Crown Court heard how Catherine Knowles claimed she did not have a partner, but they were living together and officials spotted him leaving her house and being picked up in his works van. The couple had applied for a £4,000 car loan together saying they were married and his wages were paid into a bank account in Knowles's name.
The defendant was quizzed twice by the department about the three-and-a-half year fraud and at first said she didn't really think she had done anything wrong.
Knowles, from Barnoldswick, admitted three counts of failing to notify a change in circumstances and two of making false representations. Judge Andrew Woolman said it would be "cruel" to send her to prison as it would leave her family in even worse difficulties than they were before. She was given eight months in custody, suspended for two years, with 150 hours unpaid work. The defendant had no previous convictions.
The court was told in May, 2002, Knowles started to receive income support as a single parent. The claim was legitimate and she also got housing and council tax benefits.
In 2003, she reported to the department the birth of her second son and in March, 2005 claimed she had no contact with her ex-partner who, she said, was violent and abusive. In early 2006, she told Pendle Council Paul Knowles did not live with her, was not her partner and there were no earnings coming into the household.
Mr Knowles had started work as a ceiling fixer in November, 2005, his employers had the defendant's address as his home and observations by the DWP found him being collected by his works van in the mornings.
The hearing was told Knowles was interviewed last April and claimed she did not really think she had done anything wrong. She claimed he had only gone with her for the loan as she could not get credit on her own.
Questioned again later, she admitted she and Mr Knowles were back together and she had been dishonest.
The defendant was overpaid £40,882 in income support, council and housing tax benefits between November, 2005 and April last year. She would have been entitled to child tax credits of about £10,000 over the period if she had been truthful. Knowles wanted to pay the money back and had repaid £120.
Mr John Woodward, for Knowles, said she had suffered anxiety, depression and relationship problems.
Mr Knowles had been living with her for a large part of the time, but did leave on occasions and wasn't really contributing that much to the family home. The barrister said: "He simply was not pulling his weight."
Mr Knowles had apologised and said he felt as responsible as the defendant. Mr Woodward continued: "She was in financial difficulties. There is no suggestion she was living a champagne lifestyle. It was simply to meet everyday bills. She is completely chastened, very sorry and ashamed."
A 38 year old woman has been ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work for defrauding Bromley Council out of more than £40,000 in benefits over 10 years.
Aber Kibwota, from Penge, pleaded guilty to fraud after illegally claiming council tax and housing benefits between June 1999 and November last year.
An investigation showed she had failed to inform the council her partner had been living with her and she had been in employment.
Kibwota was also given a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months at Croydon Crown Court.
Separately, a mother of two who repeatedly lied to the Department for Work and Pensions has been spared jail for a £40,000 benefits scam.
Burnley Crown Court heard how Catherine Knowles claimed she did not have a partner, but they were living together and officials spotted him leaving her house and being picked up in his works van. The couple had applied for a £4,000 car loan together saying they were married and his wages were paid into a bank account in Knowles's name.
The defendant was quizzed twice by the department about the three-and-a-half year fraud and at first said she didn't really think she had done anything wrong.
Knowles, from Barnoldswick, admitted three counts of failing to notify a change in circumstances and two of making false representations. Judge Andrew Woolman said it would be "cruel" to send her to prison as it would leave her family in even worse difficulties than they were before. She was given eight months in custody, suspended for two years, with 150 hours unpaid work. The defendant had no previous convictions.
The court was told in May, 2002, Knowles started to receive income support as a single parent. The claim was legitimate and she also got housing and council tax benefits.
In 2003, she reported to the department the birth of her second son and in March, 2005 claimed she had no contact with her ex-partner who, she said, was violent and abusive. In early 2006, she told Pendle Council Paul Knowles did not live with her, was not her partner and there were no earnings coming into the household.
Mr Knowles had started work as a ceiling fixer in November, 2005, his employers had the defendant's address as his home and observations by the DWP found him being collected by his works van in the mornings.
The hearing was told Knowles was interviewed last April and claimed she did not really think she had done anything wrong. She claimed he had only gone with her for the loan as she could not get credit on her own.
Questioned again later, she admitted she and Mr Knowles were back together and she had been dishonest.
The defendant was overpaid £40,882 in income support, council and housing tax benefits between November, 2005 and April last year. She would have been entitled to child tax credits of about £10,000 over the period if she had been truthful. Knowles wanted to pay the money back and had repaid £120.
Mr John Woodward, for Knowles, said she had suffered anxiety, depression and relationship problems.
Mr Knowles had been living with her for a large part of the time, but did leave on occasions and wasn't really contributing that much to the family home. The barrister said: "He simply was not pulling his weight."
Mr Knowles had apologised and said he felt as responsible as the defendant. Mr Woodward continued: "She was in financial difficulties. There is no suggestion she was living a champagne lifestyle. It was simply to meet everyday bills. She is completely chastened, very sorry and ashamed."
2 Jun 2010
Tax credits in the frame?
The government will consider dismantling the £20bn-a-year tax credits scheme for 2.4million households as part of a "big bang" reform of the welfare system, writes Andrew Grice.
In the election campaign the Conservatives denied that they would scrap the pay packet top-ups, promising only to stop paying them to families with incomes over £50,000 a year. But a merger of in-work benefits such as tax credits with out-of-work benefits such as Jobseeker's Allowance is being studied by Iain Duncan Smith, he says. "It is one of the leading options," said one Government source.
Grice reports officials' estimate that fraud and overpayments in the tax credits system amount to £1.7bn a year and Mr Duncan Smith has ordered a crackdown. More about tax credit fraud here.
I have written before that tax credits are very open to fraud and error because they are administered centrally. This centralisation - along with the detail required from claimants - reflects the character of their founder, Gordon Brown. Before they were introduced, the DWP offered to advise on how they might be administered, but he refused their offer. Control of tax credits was kept firmly in the Treasury. Thus it's significant that Grice's briefing appears to come from the DWP.
Grice writes that ministers believe tax credits are so complex that the public do not understand them. Many mistakes are reported in administering them - which suggests that not all the officials fully understand them either.
Labour fear the credits are vulnerable as the Government seeks ways to cut the £156bn public finances deficit. Obviously unpicking the scheme would be controversial. Grice writes that withdrawing tax credits "would be seen as a tax rise" for many hard-pressed families and could reduce their incentive to work rather than live on out-of-work benefits – at a time when Mr Duncan Smith has promised a major drive to "make work pay".
It wouldn't just "be seen as" a tax rise - it would be a tax rise - and a reform which Labour would vociferously oppose
According to Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform:
In the election campaign the Conservatives denied that they would scrap the pay packet top-ups, promising only to stop paying them to families with incomes over £50,000 a year. But a merger of in-work benefits such as tax credits with out-of-work benefits such as Jobseeker's Allowance is being studied by Iain Duncan Smith, he says. "It is one of the leading options," said one Government source.
Grice reports officials' estimate that fraud and overpayments in the tax credits system amount to £1.7bn a year and Mr Duncan Smith has ordered a crackdown. More about tax credit fraud here.
I have written before that tax credits are very open to fraud and error because they are administered centrally. This centralisation - along with the detail required from claimants - reflects the character of their founder, Gordon Brown. Before they were introduced, the DWP offered to advise on how they might be administered, but he refused their offer. Control of tax credits was kept firmly in the Treasury. Thus it's significant that Grice's briefing appears to come from the DWP.
Grice writes that ministers believe tax credits are so complex that the public do not understand them. Many mistakes are reported in administering them - which suggests that not all the officials fully understand them either.
Labour fear the credits are vulnerable as the Government seeks ways to cut the £156bn public finances deficit. Obviously unpicking the scheme would be controversial. Grice writes that withdrawing tax credits "would be seen as a tax rise" for many hard-pressed families and could reduce their incentive to work rather than live on out-of-work benefits – at a time when Mr Duncan Smith has promised a major drive to "make work pay".
It wouldn't just "be seen as" a tax rise - it would be a tax rise - and a reform which Labour would vociferously oppose
According to Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform:
The heart of this issue is the separate in and out of work [benefit] structures we have got, which are enormously expensive. There are real savings to be made purely in getting these structures together.Simplicity would cut running costs. It should reduce errors too.
1 Jun 2010
Single person benefit fraud
I wrote here about a married woman who was claiming benefit on the basis that she was a single parent, and commented:
We're losing upwards of £3.5bn a year to benefit fraud. So it's desirable that any route to taxpayers' cash should be checkable.
You would think the DWP would check whether someone claiming to be single was married. Apparently not.A contributor has made this useful comment:
It doesn't surprise me at all that they wouldn't check that someone claiming to be single was married. It would be a time consuming and expensive process - most of the records are not on a database, and marriage certificates only carry the age of the person and not the date of birth.If, after the IDS reforms, lying about being married continues to be a passport to taxpayers' cash, government needs a cost/benefit analysis of creating a database of marriages. Of course that won't capture less formal partnerships.
We're losing upwards of £3.5bn a year to benefit fraud. So it's desirable that any route to taxpayers' cash should be checkable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)