At Bodmin Magistrates Court Julie Pote, from Gunnislake, pleaded guilty to 3 charges of dishonestly failing to declare changes in her circumstances to the Council.
Mrs Pote claimed Housing and Council Tax Benefit in December 2008 declaring that she was on a reduced income as she was off sick from work and in receipt of Statutory Sick Pay. She provided her payslips to the Council to support her claim however two weeks after providing this information she returned to work. Mrs Pote was charged with dishonestly failing to declare to the Council that she had returned to full time work on 19 January 2009.
The second charge involved Mrs Pote dishonestly failing to declare a change in her Tax Credit award in October 2009 and then in August 2010 Mrs Pote changed jobs but again she did not notify the Council generating the third dishonesty charge.
In April 2011 the case was referred to the Council’s Investigation Department who discovered the undeclared changes. Mrs Pote’s benefit entitlement was reassessed and over £6,000 of overpaid benefit had been made as a result of the fraudulent activity.
The magistrates acknowledged the seriousness of the case, and gave Mrs Pote credit for her early guilty plea however, they imposed a 6 month community order and a 12 week curfew (reduced from 18 weeks due to the early guilty plea) effective from 10 December 2011. The curfew imposed covers the period 12.00 midnight to 12.00 noon for 6 days a week Tuesday to Sunday.
Mrs Pote was ordered to pay £100 costs to the Council.
The overpaid Housing and Council Tax Benefit of £6602 is being recovered by the Council as a separate matter.
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