Wood Green Crown Court heard Theresa McGroarty, from Wembley, claimed Housing and Council Tax benefit for more than 13 years after claiming her only income was from a state retirement pension.
However during a datamatching exercise, investigators discovered the 69-year-old was receiving a civil service pension of £200 - £280 a month from her former job as an usher at Harrow Crown Court.
Between July 1996 to December 2009, she pocketed £21,752 she was not entitled to.
McGroarty admitted four charges of benefit fraud.
She was sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge, ordered to pay £1,200 towards legal costs at and is paying the sum back to the council in instalments.
Brent Magistrates’ Court heard the cases of Sandra Harriott, 37, from Kenton, and 45-year-old Robert Peel, from Neasden.
Harriott claimed benefits citing she was on a low income just days after splashing out on a buy-to-let property in east London.
The mother-of-two received £25,000 in Housing and Council Tax benefits between May 2006 and June 2008.
She admitted three counts of benefit fraud and was sentenced to a 10-week jail term suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £500 towards the council’s legal costs.
To date she has paid back £23,000 of her ill-gotten gains.
Peel admitted fraudulently claiming £8,546 in Housing and Council Tax benefit between February 2006 and July 2009.
The court heard the single father failed to declare he was receiving a £250 a month pension from Transport for London.
In a further twist, he chose to go to court by rejecting an administrative penalty where he would have avoided court if he paid back the sum plus a penalty of 30 per cent.
He received a conditional discharge for 12 months and was ordered to pay an additional £300 towards legal costs.He must also pay back the overpaid benefits.
- Financially he made the right decision, didn't he.
“I hope it will send a clear message to anyone else claiming benefits fraudulently: don’t do it or you will get caught and we will prosecute.”
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