Thief "has £656" but mounts a legal appeal

A benefit cheat who scammed nearly £60,000 while working as a lifeguard has failed to convince top judges he cannot afford to repay his ill-gotten gains.

Despite his day job saving lives on a Teignmouth beach, Joseph William Olroy claimed he was too weak to lift a kettle and was given benefits for four years — spending the cash on 'high living' and surfing holidays, a court heard.

The 46-year-old, from Paignton, was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Exeter Crown Court in January 2009, after admitting six counts of obtaining money by deception and two of making a false representation.

In October 2009, he was ordered to pay back £25,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions, after a judge at the same court found he had the money available in 'hidden assets'.

Yesterday he challenged that decision at London's Criminal Appeal Court, where his lawyers argued he only had about £800 to his name and could not afford to repay the debt. Who paid for his appeal?

But his appeal was dismissed by top judges, who said the crown court judge had to deal with a 'determinedly dishonest man' and his conclusions about the available amount were justified.

Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Simon and Mr Justice Lindblom, told the court Olroy initially made a genuine claim for state benefits in 1998, including incapacity benefit, income support and housing benefit.

Olroy claimed he had 'very seriously limited mobility' caused by Crohn's disease and had difficulty boiling a kettle to make a cup of tea.

However, between 2001 and 2006, when his dishonesty was uncovered, he worked as a lifeguard for Teignbridge Council on Teignmouth beach, using the pseudonym Olroy Owen.

At his confiscation hearing in October 2009, he claimed the £59,494 he was paid in benefits had all but gone and — despite having 17 separate bank accounts — he had just £656 to his name.

The court heard Olroy said he donated £8,500 to a Sri Lankan charity after his fiancee was killed in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, while the couple were on holiday there.

He also claimed he spent around £32,000 on a £50-a-day cocaine habit and £3,000 on a Ford Maverick car.

The crown court judge reduced the amount he had to pay back to £25,000, making allowances for nearly £9,000 housing benefit, which was paid directly to his landlord, the Sri Lankan charity donation, the car and his 'ordinary living expenses'.

However, he rejected Olroy's evidence about the cocaine, saying he had been 'unforthcoming' and refused to accept he spent 'anything like that amount' on fuelling his habit.

Olroy's barrister, Rosemary Walsh, argued that the judge was wrong about that and told the Appeal Court it was 'unlikely' he had £25,000 available, since the prosecution claimed he spent large sums on 'high living'.

But, dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Laws said there was 'no arguable basis' for challenging the confiscation order.

Observing that Olroy was 'fortunate' the Crown court judge accepted his evidence about the Sri Lankan donation, he added: "The judge was dealing with a determinedly dishonest man, who had opened and manoeuvred 17 bank accounts.

"Very significant sums were being moved about from the moment he was identified as a potential offender."

The court heard Olroy has been released from jail on home detention curfew, but faces a further 13 months behind bars if he doesn't pay the £25,000.