A Stafford woman was able to claim thousands of pounds of benefits by not revealing she had more than £16,000 in savings.
Stafford Magistrates were told Elaine Banks, 39, had let a friend fill in the form to claim housing and council tax benefits as she was depressed because her partner was in prison.
The mother of four signed the benefits application form despite having just under £16,500 in a Britannia savings account, Moira Bell, prosecuting on behalf of Stafford Borough Council, told the court.
The mother of four received overpayments of £12,259 before being caught.
Banks, of Plant Crescent, Stafford, admitted not disclosing the 'capital' to Stafford Borough Council which would have affected her entitlement to benefits between January 2009 and July this year. Sentence was adjourned for a probation report to be prepared.
People with savings of more than £16,000 are not entitled to claim housing and council tax benefits. Anyone with any savings should declare them to the council when applying for benefit.
Mrs Bell, said: "She made a claim for housing and council tax benefit but did not tell the local authority that she had a savings account with just under £16,500 in."
The court heard she had not lived an extravagant lifestyle and had been putting money in to the savings account since she was 16 years old.
29 Nov 2011
Another one with savings stealing benefits from us
A Maidenhead woman who cheated council taxpayers out of more than £26,000 has been ordered to pay over £13,000 in compensation within seven days.
At East Berkshire Magistrates' Court Maidenhead on 30 September Mrs Shaheda Saeed, 59, of Winston Court, Halifax Road, pleaded guilty to 10 offences of failing to give prompt notification of a change affecting benefit entitlement. These were offences under Section 112 (1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
When Mrs Saeed appeared at East Berkshire Magistrates' Court Slough on Monday 21 November for sentencing she was ordered to pay £13,583.97, carry out 200 hours community payback within 18 months and pay costs of £200, also within seven days.
The balance of the overpayment will be collected by the Royal Borough's debt recovery team through an agreement with Mrs Saeed.
The case arose as a result of a housing benefit matching service referral which suggested that Mrs Saeed had failed to declare her true capital while claiming housing and council tax benefit. Further investigations revealed she had an undeclared bank credit of £46,776.81.
Between 12 March 2007 and 2 May 2011 Mrs Saeed received overpayments of £22,586.03 in housing benefit. Between 12 March 2007 and 28 April 2011 she received £3,538.97 in council tax benefit - a total of £26,125.
Andrew Brooker, head of finance, said: "Benefits are there as a support for those who are in real need. We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who abuses the system in this way.
"We invite members of the public to contact us if they suspect benefit fraud and strongly advise anyone who has received overpayments to contact us as soon as possible so that the issue can be resolved."
At East Berkshire Magistrates' Court Maidenhead on 30 September Mrs Shaheda Saeed, 59, of Winston Court, Halifax Road, pleaded guilty to 10 offences of failing to give prompt notification of a change affecting benefit entitlement. These were offences under Section 112 (1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
When Mrs Saeed appeared at East Berkshire Magistrates' Court Slough on Monday 21 November for sentencing she was ordered to pay £13,583.97, carry out 200 hours community payback within 18 months and pay costs of £200, also within seven days.
The balance of the overpayment will be collected by the Royal Borough's debt recovery team through an agreement with Mrs Saeed.
The case arose as a result of a housing benefit matching service referral which suggested that Mrs Saeed had failed to declare her true capital while claiming housing and council tax benefit. Further investigations revealed she had an undeclared bank credit of £46,776.81.
Between 12 March 2007 and 2 May 2011 Mrs Saeed received overpayments of £22,586.03 in housing benefit. Between 12 March 2007 and 28 April 2011 she received £3,538.97 in council tax benefit - a total of £26,125.
Andrew Brooker, head of finance, said: "Benefits are there as a support for those who are in real need. We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who abuses the system in this way.
"We invite members of the public to contact us if they suspect benefit fraud and strongly advise anyone who has received overpayments to contact us as soon as possible so that the issue can be resolved."
The benefit fraud family
THE mother of a motocross champion who pretended to be crippled has been sentenced for benefit fraud.
Julie Ann Preston, 43, a dental practice manager in Accrington, pocketed more than £34,000 after she claimed her son Jake Preston was crippled with a rare condition called syringomyelia.
He was filmed by fraud investigators winning a championships race.
The 20-year-old was handed a community order for falsely claiming £15,128 of disability living allowance over three years.
Preston was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended for 12 months, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £2,400 compensation.
She admitted the same fraud on DLA worth £34,615 between October 2001 and July 2007, relating to her claim for him while he was a youngster.
Preston admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions of a change in her son's circumstances, namely the improvement in his physical abilities.
The court heard it was not yet clear when her son's condition improved to the point where he no longer should have been claiming the benefits.
He had been racing bikes since the age of 10, competing in Holland at one point, and was filmed winning one race and coming third in another during the British Masters Motocoss Championships which took place in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
Preston had claimed the higher rate of disability living allowance (DLA), getting around £100 per week to pay for his care.
The higher rate of DLA was for people who are virtually housebound during the day and night.
He was convicted of a £15,128 benefit fraud because after he turned 16 in 2007, he made a claim for DLA in his own right, signing the form claiming he could not walk a yard without severe pain.
The Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which employs Julie Preston, said it will look into the ‘regrettable’ case.
Julie Ann Preston, 43, a dental practice manager in Accrington, pocketed more than £34,000 after she claimed her son Jake Preston was crippled with a rare condition called syringomyelia.
He was filmed by fraud investigators winning a championships race.
The 20-year-old was handed a community order for falsely claiming £15,128 of disability living allowance over three years.
Preston was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended for 12 months, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £2,400 compensation.
She admitted the same fraud on DLA worth £34,615 between October 2001 and July 2007, relating to her claim for him while he was a youngster.
Preston admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions of a change in her son's circumstances, namely the improvement in his physical abilities.
The court heard it was not yet clear when her son's condition improved to the point where he no longer should have been claiming the benefits.
He had been racing bikes since the age of 10, competing in Holland at one point, and was filmed winning one race and coming third in another during the British Masters Motocoss Championships which took place in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
Preston had claimed the higher rate of disability living allowance (DLA), getting around £100 per week to pay for his care.
The higher rate of DLA was for people who are virtually housebound during the day and night.
He was convicted of a £15,128 benefit fraud because after he turned 16 in 2007, he made a claim for DLA in his own right, signing the form claiming he could not walk a yard without severe pain.
The Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which employs Julie Preston, said it will look into the ‘regrettable’ case.
How not to pay back your fraudulent benefit
A man who falsely claimed £3,000 in housing benefit will not have to pay it back.
Instead, Gareth Haigh, from Cowlersley, has been handed a year-long community order, which includes supervision.
He will also have to pay a contribution to prosecution costs of £500.
Haigh appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday where he admitted one charge of fraudulently claiming benefit and one of making an article for use in fraud.
The offences dated back to between July 2009 and June 2010.
In total his fraudulent actions had resulted in an overpayment of around £3,000.
Judge Robert Bartfield said Haigh had been involved in a policy to deliberately deceive the local authority about what he was entitled to.
The court heard how Haigh had completed a fictitious tenancy agreement submitted in support of a housing benefit claim.
The fraud lasted almost a year, but the judge was told that the money had been paid on to someone else.
h/t Dave
Instead, Gareth Haigh, from Cowlersley, has been handed a year-long community order, which includes supervision.
He will also have to pay a contribution to prosecution costs of £500.
Haigh appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday where he admitted one charge of fraudulently claiming benefit and one of making an article for use in fraud.
The offences dated back to between July 2009 and June 2010.
In total his fraudulent actions had resulted in an overpayment of around £3,000.
Judge Robert Bartfield said Haigh had been involved in a policy to deliberately deceive the local authority about what he was entitled to.
The court heard how Haigh had completed a fictitious tenancy agreement submitted in support of a housing benefit claim.
The fraud lasted almost a year, but the judge was told that the money had been paid on to someone else.
h/t Dave
28 Nov 2011
A visitor writes
It has been obvious for years - shown clearly by the comments here - that the UK benefit system is in a hopeless mess.
My neighbour was a benefit cheat for 17 years. Many people reported him, using all the recommended means, and no one took a blind bit of notice. If the government would put its house in order and set up a workable system of detection, punishing heavily those who are convicted, there would be more money for deserving people - without bankrupting the country.
Data matching nabs £19k benefit thief - but hardly any punishment
A 61-year-old Minster woman has been given a curfew order after pleading guilty to benefit fraud.
Daphne Tanner claimed almost £20,000 worth of benefits she was not entitled to, of which just under £14,000 was income support.
On November 8, Tanner was sentenced at Maidstone Magistrates' Court for two offences of making false representations against the Department for Work and Pensions, as well as four offences of making false claims to Swale Council.
The court heard how Tanner made a total of six false representations when she failed to declare on the benefit claim form that she had received income from her widow's pension. The fraud was established on July 13 this year when it was identified through a monthly data match against other Government agency computer records.
In total, she fraudulently received housing benefit of £4,232.19, council tax benefit of £1,316.76 and income support worth £13,828.10.
Tanner was handed a curfew order between the hours 7pm and 7am. It will be relaxed for Christmas Day when she can remain out until 9pm.
Investigation team leader Janice Watts said: "We share a collective commitment to tackling all welfare benefit fraud."
Daphne Tanner claimed almost £20,000 worth of benefits she was not entitled to, of which just under £14,000 was income support.
On November 8, Tanner was sentenced at Maidstone Magistrates' Court for two offences of making false representations against the Department for Work and Pensions, as well as four offences of making false claims to Swale Council.
The court heard how Tanner made a total of six false representations when she failed to declare on the benefit claim form that she had received income from her widow's pension. The fraud was established on July 13 this year when it was identified through a monthly data match against other Government agency computer records.
In total, she fraudulently received housing benefit of £4,232.19, council tax benefit of £1,316.76 and income support worth £13,828.10.
Tanner was handed a curfew order between the hours 7pm and 7am. It will be relaxed for Christmas Day when she can remain out until 9pm.
Investigation team leader Janice Watts said: "We share a collective commitment to tackling all welfare benefit fraud."
- This "collective commitment" doesn't seem to extend to the judiciary, though.
Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have. A confiscation order should be made immediately.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
26 Nov 2011
Empty threat of prison for £20k benefits thief
A £20,000 benefits cheat was "relieved" that she was finally found out, a court heard last week.
Mum-of-two Alison Kerr (37) had found it increasingly difficult to live with the deceit, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
But the longer it went on, the harder it was to own up.
"She just stuck her head in the sand," said defence lawyer Stuart Beveridge.
Kerr made false claims that she was a lone parent over a three-year period between January, 2005, and January, 2008.
She had originally been entitled to the money, Mr Beveridge said, but when her long-term partner sold his own house and moved in with her she failed to notify the Department of Works and Pensions.
The fraud only came to light because Ms Kerr appeared in court on a domestic violence incident involving her partner, Kenneth White.
Alert benefits staff saw the case reported in the Press, and in-depth inquiries revealed that Mr White had been living with her - thereby making her claims fraudulent.
Mr White insisted to investigating officers that he lived with his mother at her sheltered home, but staff there said they had never seen him. Other detailed inquiries made it clear that 29 Temple View was his home.
As a result of Ms Kerr's deception, she was able to obtain housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support.
Last week, Mr Beveridge said: "She now feels relieved that the matter is out in the open.
"It was constantly hanging over her. She was sticking her head in the sand.
"The longer it went on, the harder it was for her to admit what she had done.
"She takes full responsibility for what she did, and very much regrets it.
"She knows it is a burden to the tax payer, and accepts that it is a serious enough matter for the court to consider a custodial sentence.
"She has no previous convictions and is willing to repay the money."
Sheriff Patrick Davies told Kerr: "Cases of this sort involving this amount of money would readily justify a significant period of imprisonment.
"Fraud like this is a serious crime but appears all too frequently, and I would be sending out an appropriate message to others if I was to impose a prison sentence."
The sheriff said that because of the impact that would have on her children, he was prepared to order her to carry out 200 hours community service.
He pointed out that the Department of Works and Pensions could take out civil proceedings to recoup the money she defrauded, or make deductions from any benefit she is still receiving.
Mum-of-two Alison Kerr (37) had found it increasingly difficult to live with the deceit, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
But the longer it went on, the harder it was to own up.
"She just stuck her head in the sand," said defence lawyer Stuart Beveridge.
Kerr made false claims that she was a lone parent over a three-year period between January, 2005, and January, 2008.
She had originally been entitled to the money, Mr Beveridge said, but when her long-term partner sold his own house and moved in with her she failed to notify the Department of Works and Pensions.
The fraud only came to light because Ms Kerr appeared in court on a domestic violence incident involving her partner, Kenneth White.
Alert benefits staff saw the case reported in the Press, and in-depth inquiries revealed that Mr White had been living with her - thereby making her claims fraudulent.
Mr White insisted to investigating officers that he lived with his mother at her sheltered home, but staff there said they had never seen him. Other detailed inquiries made it clear that 29 Temple View was his home.
As a result of Ms Kerr's deception, she was able to obtain housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support.
Last week, Mr Beveridge said: "She now feels relieved that the matter is out in the open.
"It was constantly hanging over her. She was sticking her head in the sand.
"The longer it went on, the harder it was for her to admit what she had done.
"She takes full responsibility for what she did, and very much regrets it.
"She knows it is a burden to the tax payer, and accepts that it is a serious enough matter for the court to consider a custodial sentence.
"She has no previous convictions and is willing to repay the money."
Sheriff Patrick Davies told Kerr: "Cases of this sort involving this amount of money would readily justify a significant period of imprisonment.
"Fraud like this is a serious crime but appears all too frequently, and I would be sending out an appropriate message to others if I was to impose a prison sentence."
The sheriff said that because of the impact that would have on her children, he was prepared to order her to carry out 200 hours community service.
He pointed out that the Department of Works and Pensions could take out civil proceedings to recoup the money she defrauded, or make deductions from any benefit she is still receiving.
25 Nov 2011
Suspended sentence for £44k benefits fraud
An Army veteran who claimed almost £45,000 in benefits he wasn’t entitled to has been handed a suspended prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court.
John Cornet, 68, was prosecuted by Newark and Sherwood District Council after he failed to declare his Armed Forces’ Pension while in receipt of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support and Pension Credit.
The amount of benefit illegally claimed totalled £44,272.
The council also prosecuted Cornet for the offences against the Department for Work and Pensions.
Cornet was due to stand trial on November 2 on five counts of dishonestly making false statements between 2001 and 2009.
However, he changed his plea to guilty, and was sentenced on November 23 2011 at Nottingham Crown Court to 18 weeks’ imprisonment on each count, suspended for 15 months, to run concurrently.
The sentence also included a requirement for Cornet to reside at his current address for the next six months.
On sentencing, His Honour Judge John Milmo QC said: “It is a thousand pities to see you here and would be a shock to your former colleagues.
"Take full account that the prosecution accept that the claim was not fraudulent from the outset but you did bluntly go away with £44,000 which could have been paid to a more deserving person.
“As I have said, you are of good character and service record and stand in good stead at this stage. Your punishment is that you have lost your good character.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council’s director- resources, David Dickinson, said: “The benefits system exists to help people who are not in a position to support themselves financially.
“Unfortunately, the system is sometimes abused by people often of previous good character, but it is always incumbent upon the council and its partners, regardless of who has committed the crime, to prosecute those who abuse the system, and we will continue to do so.”
John Cornet, 68, was prosecuted by Newark and Sherwood District Council after he failed to declare his Armed Forces’ Pension while in receipt of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income Support and Pension Credit.
The amount of benefit illegally claimed totalled £44,272.
The council also prosecuted Cornet for the offences against the Department for Work and Pensions.
Cornet was due to stand trial on November 2 on five counts of dishonestly making false statements between 2001 and 2009.
However, he changed his plea to guilty, and was sentenced on November 23 2011 at Nottingham Crown Court to 18 weeks’ imprisonment on each count, suspended for 15 months, to run concurrently.
The sentence also included a requirement for Cornet to reside at his current address for the next six months.
On sentencing, His Honour Judge John Milmo QC said: “It is a thousand pities to see you here and would be a shock to your former colleagues.
"Take full account that the prosecution accept that the claim was not fraudulent from the outset but you did bluntly go away with £44,000 which could have been paid to a more deserving person.
“As I have said, you are of good character and service record and stand in good stead at this stage. Your punishment is that you have lost your good character.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council’s director- resources, David Dickinson, said: “The benefits system exists to help people who are not in a position to support themselves financially.
“Unfortunately, the system is sometimes abused by people often of previous good character, but it is always incumbent upon the council and its partners, regardless of who has committed the crime, to prosecute those who abuse the system, and we will continue to do so.”
From the benefit fraud front line
Earlier this month I put up a short post about East European people trafficking and benefit fraud.
It's attracted this comment from a visitor:
This blog agrees that the fraud numbers are understated in order to give the impression that the problem of benefit fraud is being contained. Resources for enforcement are woefully inadequate, the system for enforcement is clunky, and if benefit fraud was prosecuted energetically the judicial system would be overwhelmed.
And the few who are caught often get away with trivial sentences - click on the "light sentences" label at the end for some startling examples.
The issue of benefit fraud was important to voters whom Ed Miliband met recently. One reporter remarked that
To those who are or who have been on the benefit front line: From time to time the blog is contacted by journalists or television programme makers. If you want to be put in touch when such requests come along, you can contact me through the website - see the link in the header.
It's attracted this comment from a visitor:
As a former Benefit Fraud Investigator, I can categorically state that this case is JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!I don't know the anonymous visitor, so I can't verify this. But the comments echo others made in the past - click the label "from the front line" at the end of this post.
When someone...anyone... in this or any other elected Government gets to realise the FULL extent of the carefully construed frauds against our benefit system; all hell will break loose.
It's okay them all bleating about "benefit fraud's taken very seriously". I was on the front line and can categorically state... NO IT IS NOT!
With Managers 'terrified' of having to put their full weight behind POCA cases and Investigators being forced to take the 'easy' prosecution options, i.e. go for the pensioners... the 'real' criminals continue to get away with it.
Benefit Fraud stats/costs aren't real or true; so I'm afraid people, be prepared to be very afraid when and if someone bothers to get to grips with the catastrophic benefit fraud being perpetrated against us. Be very afraid indeed!
This blog agrees that the fraud numbers are understated in order to give the impression that the problem of benefit fraud is being contained. Resources for enforcement are woefully inadequate, the system for enforcement is clunky, and if benefit fraud was prosecuted energetically the judicial system would be overwhelmed.
And the few who are caught often get away with trivial sentences - click on the "light sentences" label at the end for some startling examples.
The issue of benefit fraud was important to voters whom Ed Miliband met recently. One reporter remarked that
Where Miliband was less comfortable was on discussing benefit fraud, something that clearly exercised an awful lot of the people in the room.It's another of those issues important to voters which politicians prefer to brush under the carpet. So this campaigning blog will keep niggling away.
To those who are or who have been on the benefit front line: From time to time the blog is contacted by journalists or television programme makers. If you want to be put in touch when such requests come along, you can contact me through the website - see the link in the header.
Two Tamworth benefit thieves
Two Tamworth men have been sentenced to 12 month Community Orders and ordered to pay back the thousands they falsely claimed in benefits.
Paul Casey and Eric Meredith pleaded guilty separately to failing to notify a change in their circumstances.
Casey failed to declare that he was working for a period of 18 months while still claiming Jobseekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit.
His total overpayment was £16,192, made up of £1,493 Council Tax Benefit and £14,699 Job Seekers Allowance. Mr Casey pleaded guilty to the charge when he attended Burton Magistrates Court on Tuesday November 15.
He was given a 12-month Community Order, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £100 costs. He was also told to pay back the £16,192 which he unlawfully claimed.
On the same day Eric Meredith was also prosecuted at Burton Magistrates Court. Mr Meredith pleaded guilty to failing to declare that his wife had been working while they were claiming Incapacity Benefit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
The total overpayment was £18,144, made up of £2,378 Incapacity Benefit, £13,830 Income Support, £1,473 Housing Benefit and £462 Council Tax Benefit. Mr Meredith was given a 12-month Community Rehabilitation Order, a 12-month supervision order and told to pay £100 costs. Meredith was also ordered to pay back the overpayment of £18,144.
A lighter sentence for stealing more.
Paul Casey and Eric Meredith pleaded guilty separately to failing to notify a change in their circumstances.
Casey failed to declare that he was working for a period of 18 months while still claiming Jobseekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit.
His total overpayment was £16,192, made up of £1,493 Council Tax Benefit and £14,699 Job Seekers Allowance. Mr Casey pleaded guilty to the charge when he attended Burton Magistrates Court on Tuesday November 15.
He was given a 12-month Community Order, 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £100 costs. He was also told to pay back the £16,192 which he unlawfully claimed.
On the same day Eric Meredith was also prosecuted at Burton Magistrates Court. Mr Meredith pleaded guilty to failing to declare that his wife had been working while they were claiming Incapacity Benefit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
The total overpayment was £18,144, made up of £2,378 Incapacity Benefit, £13,830 Income Support, £1,473 Housing Benefit and £462 Council Tax Benefit. Mr Meredith was given a 12-month Community Rehabilitation Order, a 12-month supervision order and told to pay £100 costs. Meredith was also ordered to pay back the overpayment of £18,144.
A lighter sentence for stealing more.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have. A confiscation order should be made immediately.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
24 Nov 2011
Tip-off fingers £18k benefit thief
A benefit cheat who falsely claimed over £18,000 has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Lindsay Cleminshaw, from Heywood, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining benefit payments after failing to notify Rochdale Borough Council and the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) that she was living with her partner who was in full time employment.
She had received housing benefit, council tax benefit, and income support payments totalling £18,870 over two years which she wasn’t entitled to.
A joint investigation was launched after an anonymous referral was received by the Benefit Fraud Hotline, and Miss Cleminshaw admitted the offences during an interview under caution.
At Rochdale Magistrates Court she was sentenced to a Community Punishment Order and will have to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, in addition to repaying £12,329 to the council and £6,441 to the DWP.
Councillor Farooq Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “This serves as a warning to others who are withholding information in order to dishonestly receive benefits they are not entitled to. They can be sure we will continue to investigate and prosecute deliberate fraudsters.”
Lindsay Cleminshaw, from Heywood, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining benefit payments after failing to notify Rochdale Borough Council and the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) that she was living with her partner who was in full time employment.
She had received housing benefit, council tax benefit, and income support payments totalling £18,870 over two years which she wasn’t entitled to.
A joint investigation was launched after an anonymous referral was received by the Benefit Fraud Hotline, and Miss Cleminshaw admitted the offences during an interview under caution.
At Rochdale Magistrates Court she was sentenced to a Community Punishment Order and will have to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, in addition to repaying £12,329 to the council and £6,441 to the DWP.
Councillor Farooq Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Finance said: “This serves as a warning to others who are withholding information in order to dishonestly receive benefits they are not entitled to. They can be sure we will continue to investigate and prosecute deliberate fraudsters.”
Jail for £45k benefit fraud
A bus supervisor has been jailed for falsely claiming £45,000 in benefits.
David William Thompson, 51, claimed carer's allowance for almost eight years by pretending he was looking after his elderly mother.
He actually only looked after her for a few months, before getting a full-time job as an EYMS bus supervisor in Hull.
Thompson has now been jailed for eight months after his scam was exposed.
Hull Crown Court heard Thompson was given carer's allowance in 2001 on the grounds he looked after his mother for 35 hours a week.
He also claimed income support on the basis he had no job, along with housing and council tax benefit.
Thompson failed to declare he returned to work in 2002 for EYMS and was working 40 hours a week.
Prosecutor Claire Reed said: "He continued to receive benefits for caring for his mother, who lived in Patrington, despite the fact he was working full-time and living in Hull."
Thompson came to the attention of Hull City Council and the Department Of Work And Pensions in 2009 and was interviewed.
He denied the offences and claimed his late father had told him it was "OK" to work at the same time as care for his mother.
However, in later interviews he claimed he "could not remember" why he had not notified the authorities about changes in his circumstances.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud between April 2002 and September 2009.
Judge David Tremberg told Thompson: "You began to claim benefits around November 2001 for a valid reason, but a few months on your circumstances changed.
"You worked week after week, month after month and year after year and continued to receive benefits for a period of seven and a half years.
"You claimed £45,000 in benefits to which you were not entitled.
"In my judgment, such offending is so serious only a custodial sentence is appropriate for it.
"I bear in mind that this will be your first taste of custody, and your age."
The court heard Thompson has previous convictions for dishonesty.
Peter Shipp, EYMS group chairman and chief executive, said: "He has been a very good employee.
"We knew nothing of this until the outcome of the court case and we were very surprised. We will have to consider his position."
Hull City Council's assistant head of service for audit and fraud, Peter Holland, said: "Benefit fraud affects every household in the country.
"It is not a victimless crime. All taxpayers are victims, as are the majority of claimants who are honest.
"The council has a duty to preserve public money and to make sure that assistance goes to those who genuinely need it.
"This sentence demonstrates just how serious the crime of benefit fraud is.
"We will continue to use all powers at our disposal to ensure those who abuse the system are dealt with in the appropriate manner."
Thompson is expected to have to repay the amount on his release from prison.
David William Thompson, 51, claimed carer's allowance for almost eight years by pretending he was looking after his elderly mother.
He actually only looked after her for a few months, before getting a full-time job as an EYMS bus supervisor in Hull.
Thompson has now been jailed for eight months after his scam was exposed.
Hull Crown Court heard Thompson was given carer's allowance in 2001 on the grounds he looked after his mother for 35 hours a week.
He also claimed income support on the basis he had no job, along with housing and council tax benefit.
Thompson failed to declare he returned to work in 2002 for EYMS and was working 40 hours a week.
Prosecutor Claire Reed said: "He continued to receive benefits for caring for his mother, who lived in Patrington, despite the fact he was working full-time and living in Hull."
Thompson came to the attention of Hull City Council and the Department Of Work And Pensions in 2009 and was interviewed.
He denied the offences and claimed his late father had told him it was "OK" to work at the same time as care for his mother.
However, in later interviews he claimed he "could not remember" why he had not notified the authorities about changes in his circumstances.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of benefit fraud between April 2002 and September 2009.
Judge David Tremberg told Thompson: "You began to claim benefits around November 2001 for a valid reason, but a few months on your circumstances changed.
"You worked week after week, month after month and year after year and continued to receive benefits for a period of seven and a half years.
"You claimed £45,000 in benefits to which you were not entitled.
"In my judgment, such offending is so serious only a custodial sentence is appropriate for it.
"I bear in mind that this will be your first taste of custody, and your age."
The court heard Thompson has previous convictions for dishonesty.
Peter Shipp, EYMS group chairman and chief executive, said: "He has been a very good employee.
"We knew nothing of this until the outcome of the court case and we were very surprised. We will have to consider his position."
Hull City Council's assistant head of service for audit and fraud, Peter Holland, said: "Benefit fraud affects every household in the country.
"It is not a victimless crime. All taxpayers are victims, as are the majority of claimants who are honest.
"The council has a duty to preserve public money and to make sure that assistance goes to those who genuinely need it.
"This sentence demonstrates just how serious the crime of benefit fraud is.
"We will continue to use all powers at our disposal to ensure those who abuse the system are dealt with in the appropriate manner."
Thompson is expected to have to repay the amount on his release from prison.
23 Nov 2011
A visitor writes
This comment from a visitor deserves a separate post.
I am accused of benefit fraud. I have worked hard all my life and paid my taxes more than most but due to a series of catastrophes over the past six years, I have lost everything, had a breakdown and experienced much tragedy. Unable to find work I was forced to apply for benefits and failed to notify of a change in my circumstances at the right time - this did not involve false statements or any 'profit' on my part - I was merely claiming the wrong benefit.
There must be some thought given to the damage prosecution can cause to an individual and his family, it is enormously underrated. In the main, we are not talking hardened criminals - yet prosecution is a very public affair, local press have no qualms in publishing a ‘benefit cheat’ story especially if it is a slow news day; most councils follow on to report successful prosecutions on their websites - just like medieval public floggings or the stocks.
I read recently of an elderly couple who were faced with prosecution and tragically committed suicide rather than go through the public humiliation of going to court. Reports indicate that the most common charge is 'failure to disclose' often due to the complexity of the system and nothing, more and we are told 'ignorance is no defence'. It’s a witch-hunt.
Most would find it deeply embarrassing to end up on benefits -Many find themselves in this predicament through no fault of their own in these troubled times.
Being on benefits is distressing and not a thing to be proud of filling often-complex forms every time there is a change in circumstances no matter how temporary is humiliating.
Many people are being prosecuted to achieve 'quota's' like Traffic Wardens or Speed Cameras - Underlying benefit or just claiming the wrong type of benefit is hardly taken into account.
Where there is blatant dishonesty, lying and real evidence of fraud that quite a different matter - there is something wrong with our system where you are guilty just by accusation - the outcome of a hearing or trial has become almost irrelevant.
I have written this in the hope that some readers may stop and think a little more about 'balance' and humanity, we are all victims in some way or another.
The importance of social housing fraud
The Audit Commission reports that councils recovered nearly 1,800 homes from tenancy fraudsters in 2010-11, with a total replacement value of over £266 million.
Housing tenancy fraud could cost the public purse £900 million a year, they say. There are nearly 4m social housing properties in England, with an estimated asset value of more than £180 billion. In 2010, nearly two million families were waiting for a council house.
Where councils do not have enough social housing, they place homeless families in temporary accommodation. Nationally, it costs councils on average £18,000 a year for each of the families they place in temporary accommodation – a total of nearly £1 billion a year.
It costs around £150,000 to build one new unit of social housing, so tackling housing tenancy fraud is one of the most cost-effective means of making social housing properties available to match the demand from those in genuine need. It also reduces the significant financial loss to the public purse caused by this fraud.
Social housing providers may have lost control of the allocation of at least 50,000 social housing properties in England because of housing tenancy fraud. They can now take civil and criminal action.
Against this background, the Audit Commission highlights some success stories.
Surely every local authority should be on the case.
Housing tenancy fraud could cost the public purse £900 million a year, they say. There are nearly 4m social housing properties in England, with an estimated asset value of more than £180 billion. In 2010, nearly two million families were waiting for a council house.
Where councils do not have enough social housing, they place homeless families in temporary accommodation. Nationally, it costs councils on average £18,000 a year for each of the families they place in temporary accommodation – a total of nearly £1 billion a year.
It costs around £150,000 to build one new unit of social housing, so tackling housing tenancy fraud is one of the most cost-effective means of making social housing properties available to match the demand from those in genuine need. It also reduces the significant financial loss to the public purse caused by this fraud.
Social housing providers may have lost control of the allocation of at least 50,000 social housing properties in England because of housing tenancy fraud. They can now take civil and criminal action.
Against this background, the Audit Commission highlights some success stories.
- Hull City Council recovered 21 properties in 2010/11 (against none reported in 2009/10)
- Bristol City Council recovered 22 properties in 2010/11 (against none)
- Wolverhampton City Council recovered 57 properties in 2010/11 (against 4)
- Basildon Borough Council recovered 12 properties in 2010/11 (against none)
- City of York Council recovered 6 properties in 2010/11 (against 1)
- Bolton Council recovered 19 properties in 2010/11 (against 3)
- Some district councils show what they can achieve even with modest resources. In 2010/11, Ashford Borough Council spent £10,000 on an initiative to tackle housing tenancy fraud. This included a whistleblowing campaign and investigation time. In the first six months of this initiative, residents referred 15 suspected cases of tenancy fraud to the Council. The Council recovered eight homes from tenancy fraud, uncovered two housing benefit frauds, one SPD fraud and one housing application fraud
- Some housing associations have also taken action. In 2010, Gallions Housing Association recovered 51 homes from fraudsters after employing a dedicated housing investigator. Before that, it typically recovered about four properties each year.
The scale of loss is such that the government and housing providers should consider what more they could do to quicken the pace of improvement, increase the number of properties recovered and make best use of the knowledge and skills of the [national specialist] MBUS team.So detecting social housing fraud is hugely important. Every detection gives a poor family in temporary accommodation a better life. Quite apart from that, the savings for taxpayers are huge. And finally, this criminality can now be punished.
All social housing providers should recognise the problem of tenancy fraud and commit resources to tackling it.
Surely every local authority should be on the case.
22 Nov 2011
Pathetic "punishment" for £14k benefits thief
A benefits cheat who fiddled nearly £15,000 by saying he was too weak to walk was caught working as a veteran newspaper delivery boy.
Melville Matthews, 64, was caught on camera delivering armfuls of papers despite claiming he was crippled with arthritis.
A court heard benefits fraud investigators filmed Matthews out on his rounds. But he had been claiming benefits for 12 years saying he couldn’t walk for more than 100 yards without help.
Jonathan Holmes, prosecuting, said: “He was observed on his feet walking freely around the shop, sorting out papers and picking up large bundles of them.
“He was seen going in and out delivering papers without any discomfort.”
Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court heard Matthews had been on benefits since 1998 saying his was too sick to work because of a hernia, arthritis and asthma.
But investigators found he had been working as a paper-boy in Pontnewydd, near Cwmbran, for two and a half years.
In this time Matthews had falsely claimed £14,798.98 of Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit, the court heard.
Mr Holmes said: “These kind of benefits are very much dependent on self-assessment as to how the person is affected.
“Matthews claimed he was virtually unable to walk, said he could only manage 100 yards and it would take him five minutes to do this.
“He said the effort of walking was dangerous as his right leg could give way, he had to use the stick and was unable to work for prevention of serious injury.
“He said his wife was usually with him when he went out and he needed her help with dressing, bathing and his toilet needs.”
Matthews walked with the help of a stick when he appeared at court to admit cheating the taxpayer.
But during the hearing magistrates saw a video of him walking to and from his Nissan 4x4 car with large bundles of newspapers.
Matthews pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances.
Matthews, who was not represented by a solicitor, said: “I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.
“I was depressed. My wife thought if I went to get a paper round to me out of the house for half an hour it might help things a bit.”
Matthews was ordered to pay back the whole amount at a rate of £42.98 a fortnight – even though it will take more than 13 years to pay the total back.
Matthews, of Cwmbran, Torfaen, was fined £100, and ordered to pay £100 costs and a victim surcharge of £15.
After the case, Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud said: “It’s cases like these that show us why welfare reform is needed.
“We have a duty to the taxpayer and our customers to make sure that these vital benefits only go to those who need them.
“Benefit fraud takes money away from the most vulnerable.
“It is a crime and we are committed to stopping it by catching criminals.”
And the judiciary are committed to letting them off.
Melville Matthews, 64, was caught on camera delivering armfuls of papers despite claiming he was crippled with arthritis.
A court heard benefits fraud investigators filmed Matthews out on his rounds. But he had been claiming benefits for 12 years saying he couldn’t walk for more than 100 yards without help.
Jonathan Holmes, prosecuting, said: “He was observed on his feet walking freely around the shop, sorting out papers and picking up large bundles of them.
“He was seen going in and out delivering papers without any discomfort.”
Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court heard Matthews had been on benefits since 1998 saying his was too sick to work because of a hernia, arthritis and asthma.
But investigators found he had been working as a paper-boy in Pontnewydd, near Cwmbran, for two and a half years.
In this time Matthews had falsely claimed £14,798.98 of Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit, the court heard.
Mr Holmes said: “These kind of benefits are very much dependent on self-assessment as to how the person is affected.
“Matthews claimed he was virtually unable to walk, said he could only manage 100 yards and it would take him five minutes to do this.
“He said the effort of walking was dangerous as his right leg could give way, he had to use the stick and was unable to work for prevention of serious injury.
“He said his wife was usually with him when he went out and he needed her help with dressing, bathing and his toilet needs.”
Matthews walked with the help of a stick when he appeared at court to admit cheating the taxpayer.
But during the hearing magistrates saw a video of him walking to and from his Nissan 4x4 car with large bundles of newspapers.
Matthews pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances.
Matthews, who was not represented by a solicitor, said: “I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.
“I was depressed. My wife thought if I went to get a paper round to me out of the house for half an hour it might help things a bit.”
Matthews was ordered to pay back the whole amount at a rate of £42.98 a fortnight – even though it will take more than 13 years to pay the total back.
Matthews, of Cwmbran, Torfaen, was fined £100, and ordered to pay £100 costs and a victim surcharge of £15.
After the case, Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud said: “It’s cases like these that show us why welfare reform is needed.
“We have a duty to the taxpayer and our customers to make sure that these vital benefits only go to those who need them.
“Benefit fraud takes money away from the most vulnerable.
“It is a crime and we are committed to stopping it by catching criminals.”
And the judiciary are committed to letting them off.
Light sentence for deliberate theft
A benefit cheat prosecuted for claiming help while having £27,500 in savings told a court that the system was "unjust".
John Chamberlain admitted making a false declaration to get Jobseeker's allowance and council tax benefit in December 2009, at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court.
But he told the court: "The system is totally unjust when people like me have worked 40 years to save a little money, which the Government positively encourages.
"Then when you fall on hard times, you are not allowed benefits considering the situation."
District Judge Caroline Goulborn asked him: "Was it a deliberate action on your behalf?"
The 54-year-old replied: "Yes."
The court heard that Chamberlain, of Peasehill, Ripley, received £4,192, which has now been repaid.
He was fined £500 with £100 costs and must pay a £15 government surcharge.
Moira Bell, for the Department of Work and Pensions, said Chamberlain made a claim for the benefit on December 4, 2009.
She said: "Part of the information to give is that he didn't have any assets, savings or capital."
The court was also told that £16,000 was the cash limit which could be held by benefit claimants.
John Chamberlain admitted making a false declaration to get Jobseeker's allowance and council tax benefit in December 2009, at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court.
But he told the court: "The system is totally unjust when people like me have worked 40 years to save a little money, which the Government positively encourages.
"Then when you fall on hard times, you are not allowed benefits considering the situation."
District Judge Caroline Goulborn asked him: "Was it a deliberate action on your behalf?"
The 54-year-old replied: "Yes."
The court heard that Chamberlain, of Peasehill, Ripley, received £4,192, which has now been repaid.
He was fined £500 with £100 costs and must pay a £15 government surcharge.
Moira Bell, for the Department of Work and Pensions, said Chamberlain made a claim for the benefit on December 4, 2009.
She said: "Part of the information to give is that he didn't have any assets, savings or capital."
The court was also told that £16,000 was the cash limit which could be held by benefit claimants.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have. A confiscation order should be made immediately.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
Prison for £63k benefits thief
An Ealing man was sentenced to 20 months behind bars last week after fraudulently claiming £63,000 in benefits.
Brian Moore was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court after Ealing Council discovered he had failed to declare a £100,000 compensation payment he had received in 2001 and a further £10,000 in 2005.
In 2002, Moore bought a property in Majorca but neglected to declare this to the council or Jobcentre Plus.
As a result, he received more than £63,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance, to which he was not entitled, up to 2009.
In a trial which lasted more than two weeks, Moore was found guilty of five counts of dishonesty by obtaining benefit under the Social Security Administration Act, and one further count of dishonest representation under the Fraud Act.
Moore was remanded in custody at the end of his trial on October 12 to await sentencing last Friday.
He argued that he had informed the council of his change of circumstances and that his claim documents and records had been maliciously altered. This was rejected by the court.
Brian Moore was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court after Ealing Council discovered he had failed to declare a £100,000 compensation payment he had received in 2001 and a further £10,000 in 2005.
In 2002, Moore bought a property in Majorca but neglected to declare this to the council or Jobcentre Plus.
As a result, he received more than £63,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance, to which he was not entitled, up to 2009.
In a trial which lasted more than two weeks, Moore was found guilty of five counts of dishonesty by obtaining benefit under the Social Security Administration Act, and one further count of dishonest representation under the Fraud Act.
Moore was remanded in custody at the end of his trial on October 12 to await sentencing last Friday.
He argued that he had informed the council of his change of circumstances and that his claim documents and records had been maliciously altered. This was rejected by the court.
21 Nov 2011
Benefits thief is repeat offender
A Hildenborough man has been ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work after admitting dishonestly claiming benefits for the second time in two years.
Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court heard how Riding Park resident Wayne Allingham, 37, had claimed housing and council tax benefit from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council as a single person. However, he did not declare his partner was living there throughout the period of the claim, resulting in him being overpaid £807.
The prosecution stated Allingham, who was not represented on the day, was appearing in the court for the second time after committing a similar offence in 2010.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a direction to complete 80 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to attend Skills For Life sessions and to repay the fraudulently-claimed amount plus £511.50 court costs.
Martin Coffin, Tonbridge and Malling cabinet member for finance, said: "People who cheat the benefit system defraud us all."
Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court heard how Riding Park resident Wayne Allingham, 37, had claimed housing and council tax benefit from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council as a single person. However, he did not declare his partner was living there throughout the period of the claim, resulting in him being overpaid £807.
The prosecution stated Allingham, who was not represented on the day, was appearing in the court for the second time after committing a similar offence in 2010.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a direction to complete 80 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to attend Skills For Life sessions and to repay the fraudulently-claimed amount plus £511.50 court costs.
Martin Coffin, Tonbridge and Malling cabinet member for finance, said: "People who cheat the benefit system defraud us all."
Light sentence for long term benefit theft
A former prison officer fiddled nearly £40,000 in state benefits while living a "luxurious" lifestyle, a judge heard.
For eight years, James Butterworth claimed incapacity benefit whilst running a guest house and owning a string of other properties.
He also bought a 30ft powerboat in Spain and re-mortgaged his guest house for £375,000.
"He led a relatively extravagant lifestyle," said Daniel White, prosecuting.
Along with the incapacity benefit, Butterworth also fraudulently claimed more than £5,000 in pension credits and £1,225 worth of council tax relief by maintaining his wife Sandra was his daughter. Mr White said those claims were fraudulent from the outset.
The total amount falsely claimed by the defendant was £38,657.
Butterworth, aged 64, of Oldroyd Guest House, Uttoxeter, who admitted three charges of benefit fraud, was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £350 costs.
Recorder William Roddick told him: "You have come within a hairsbreadth of going to prison immediately. An aggravating factor is that you used this money to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
"You had, in a far country, a 30-foot power boat."
The judge said Butterworth had failed to inform the Department of Works and Pensions of his capital assets and to disclose his earnings.
Mr White said the claims for incapacity benefit went on from April 2002 to April last year, with the other fraudulent claims starting around 2008.
William Eagleston, defending, said Butterworth, who is still managing the guest house, had already paid back the whole amount he was not entitled to claim.
He said: "He has borrowed money from every source to repay the state and he is truly ashamed of what he did.
Butterworth had suffered a serious back injury during the 1980s whilst working in the prison service. He was forced to give up his job and took on the role of managing a guest house.
The frauds were not sophisticated – money was going straight in to his bank account and there was no attempt to conceal it.
Mr Eagleston added: "He became carried away with the money adding up in his bank account over the years and he failed to control it."
For eight years, James Butterworth claimed incapacity benefit whilst running a guest house and owning a string of other properties.
He also bought a 30ft powerboat in Spain and re-mortgaged his guest house for £375,000.
"He led a relatively extravagant lifestyle," said Daniel White, prosecuting.
Along with the incapacity benefit, Butterworth also fraudulently claimed more than £5,000 in pension credits and £1,225 worth of council tax relief by maintaining his wife Sandra was his daughter. Mr White said those claims were fraudulent from the outset.
The total amount falsely claimed by the defendant was £38,657.
Butterworth, aged 64, of Oldroyd Guest House, Uttoxeter, who admitted three charges of benefit fraud, was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £350 costs.
Recorder William Roddick told him: "You have come within a hairsbreadth of going to prison immediately. An aggravating factor is that you used this money to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
"You had, in a far country, a 30-foot power boat."
The judge said Butterworth had failed to inform the Department of Works and Pensions of his capital assets and to disclose his earnings.
Mr White said the claims for incapacity benefit went on from April 2002 to April last year, with the other fraudulent claims starting around 2008.
William Eagleston, defending, said Butterworth, who is still managing the guest house, had already paid back the whole amount he was not entitled to claim.
He said: "He has borrowed money from every source to repay the state and he is truly ashamed of what he did.
Butterworth had suffered a serious back injury during the 1980s whilst working in the prison service. He was forced to give up his job and took on the role of managing a guest house.
The frauds were not sophisticated – money was going straight in to his bank account and there was no attempt to conceal it.
Mr Eagleston added: "He became carried away with the money adding up in his bank account over the years and he failed to control it."
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
A confiscation order should be made immediately.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
18 Nov 2011
Taxi driver claimed he had blood clot
A taxi driver who received benefits after falsely claiming a blood clot on his leg prevented him from working has been given an eight-week suspended prison sentence.
Philip Wakefield (45), from Melton, pleaded guilty at Leicester Magistrates' Court to three charges of making false statements to obtain benefits, by failing to declare he was working, failing to declare the extent of his work and claiming he had stopped working between June 8, 2007, and May 31, 2009.
He also admitted failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions and Melton Borough Council that he and his partner were living in the same household as husband and wife and failing to declare he was working when applying for housing and council tax benefits.
John Kent, for the DWP, said Wakefield first claimed income support on June 8, 2007, saying he was not able to work as a taxi driver because of a blood clot on his leg.
"He said he had last worked on June 1," said Mr Kent.
He said that in a further declaration on November 27, 2007, Wakefield said he was able to get part-time work with the taxi firm and then, on May 31, 2009, declared he had ceased working.
"The true facts were that he had worked through June and July 2007 right up to October 2010," said Mr Kent.
He said Wakefield's partner had moved in at Christmas 2010 and Wakefield had failed to declare a change in circumstances and had made another false declaration.
"The total overpayment was £13,462, which is now being paid back at £40 a month," said Mr Kent.
Wakefield was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay £150 costs.
Philip Wakefield (45), from Melton, pleaded guilty at Leicester Magistrates' Court to three charges of making false statements to obtain benefits, by failing to declare he was working, failing to declare the extent of his work and claiming he had stopped working between June 8, 2007, and May 31, 2009.
He also admitted failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions and Melton Borough Council that he and his partner were living in the same household as husband and wife and failing to declare he was working when applying for housing and council tax benefits.
John Kent, for the DWP, said Wakefield first claimed income support on June 8, 2007, saying he was not able to work as a taxi driver because of a blood clot on his leg.
"He said he had last worked on June 1," said Mr Kent.
He said that in a further declaration on November 27, 2007, Wakefield said he was able to get part-time work with the taxi firm and then, on May 31, 2009, declared he had ceased working.
"The true facts were that he had worked through June and July 2007 right up to October 2010," said Mr Kent.
He said Wakefield's partner had moved in at Christmas 2010 and Wakefield had failed to declare a change in circumstances and had made another false declaration.
"The total overpayment was £13,462, which is now being paid back at £40 a month," said Mr Kent.
Wakefield was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay £150 costs.
17 Nov 2011
Four-month curfew for £26,500 benefit fraud mother
A woman whose partner worked as a long-distance lorry-driver dishonestly claimed more than £26,500 in benefits as a lone parent, a court heard.
Mother-of-two Jayne Birchall claimed income support from September 2004 to January 2009, also receiving housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Prosecutor Nigel Hall said she netted around £6,000 a year from the taxpayer, even though her partner Richard Welsh was living at the address, with bank statements, TV licences and a car loan in his name appearing there.
Mr Hall said the Department of Work and Pensions was tipped off on January 20, 2009 and an investigation began.
Birchall, 46, said Mr Welsh was a lorry driver who visited at weekends to see the children, but denied he was living with her.
She eventually conceded there was no difference between her situation and that of any woman whose partner worked away, finally admitting:
Birchall pleaded guilty at the same court on Monday, November 7, to obtaining money transfers by deception, and asked for two other counts relating to the housing and council tax benefits to be taken into consideration.
Mr Hall said the total figure was £26,548, but this was being recovered.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC commented: "That's all very well, but it will take 50 years at least by my calculations.
"She's 46, so at £50 a month I don't suppose they'll ever get all that back."
He told Birchall, of Holmes Avenue, Efford: "Your conduct over the last five years has been utterly dishonest.
"You were cheating your fellow citizens, stealing money they had paid in tax."
Judge Gilbert said he would suspend the eight-month jail sentence for two years for Birchall, who had no previous convictions and had entered a late guilty plea, but added: "This is not for your sake at all."
He also imposed an 8pm-6am electronically tagged curfew seven days a week for four months, warning her she would almost certainly be sent to jail if she committed any further offences or did not comply with the terms of her curfew.
"You won't get any sympathy from me," he added.
Mother-of-two Jayne Birchall claimed income support from September 2004 to January 2009, also receiving housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Prosecutor Nigel Hall said she netted around £6,000 a year from the taxpayer, even though her partner Richard Welsh was living at the address, with bank statements, TV licences and a car loan in his name appearing there.
Mr Hall said the Department of Work and Pensions was tipped off on January 20, 2009 and an investigation began.
Birchall, 46, said Mr Welsh was a lorry driver who visited at weekends to see the children, but denied he was living with her.
She eventually conceded there was no difference between her situation and that of any woman whose partner worked away, finally admitting:
Maybe I was committing a bit of a fraud.Mr Hall said the claim had been dishonest from the outset.
Birchall pleaded guilty at the same court on Monday, November 7, to obtaining money transfers by deception, and asked for two other counts relating to the housing and council tax benefits to be taken into consideration.
Mr Hall said the total figure was £26,548, but this was being recovered.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC commented: "That's all very well, but it will take 50 years at least by my calculations.
"She's 46, so at £50 a month I don't suppose they'll ever get all that back."
He told Birchall, of Holmes Avenue, Efford: "Your conduct over the last five years has been utterly dishonest.
"You were cheating your fellow citizens, stealing money they had paid in tax."
Judge Gilbert said he would suspend the eight-month jail sentence for two years for Birchall, who had no previous convictions and had entered a late guilty plea, but added: "This is not for your sake at all."
He also imposed an 8pm-6am electronically tagged curfew seven days a week for four months, warning her she would almost certainly be sent to jail if she committed any further offences or did not comply with the terms of her curfew.
"You won't get any sympathy from me," he added.
16 Nov 2011
Benefit fraud important to voters
Ed Miliband has been out meeting the voters. At a Sunderland factory, "one set of three questions were: why don’t we close the borders, bring back national service and do more to clamp down on benefit cheats".
One moment where one sensed that the audience agreed with Miliband was when he said that he wanted a workers’ representative on every remuneration committee.... Where Miliband was less comfortable was on discussing benefit fraud, something that clearly exercised an awful lot of the people in the room.
Benefit thief's life in the Spanish sun
A mother who lived the high life in the sun for five years while claiming thousands in UK benefits has been jailed.
Debbie Williamson splashed out on a villa with a swimming pool in Spain and deposited £30,000 into a Spanish bank while pocketing the benefits, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The 45-year-old from Barnsley, then 'lied and lied and lied' when authorities launched an investigation.
The court was told how she had insisted she was not living full time in Spain, prolonging the probe into her circumstances.
During her time in Spain she falsely claimed £41,800: £28,558 from income support from the Department of Work and Pensions; £11,142 in housing benefit and £2,100 in council tax benefits from Barnsley Council from 2003 to 2008.
What happened then? Did the investigation drag on for three years? Seems like it - she was arrested at the start of 2009.
Oliver Thorne, prosecuting, said Williamson successfully applied for income support in March 2003 and bought her property in Valencia just two months later - calling it Villa Jessica after her daughter who was then 13.
The DWP launched an inquiry after an anonymous tip off claiming Williamson was living in Spain with husband Ian and running a bar.
She never bothered to notify the authorities of her change in circumstances, the court heard.
Williamson was arrested in January 2009 and declared she had never lived in Spain and that her daughter went to primary school in the UK.
But she had made regular cash withdrawals in Spain and booked numerous flights to Spain for her family.
It was then established she owned the plot of land in Valencia containing a single-storey villa with swimming pool.
Spanish school records confirmed her daughter had been educated in Spain.
Records from the girl's school in England showed she had been taken out of the school in March 2004 because he family was 'emigrating to Spain'.
The court was told Williamson, who admitted 10 counts of fraudulently obtaining benefits and sobbed during the hearing, had only repaid £45.
She was jailed for 18 months.
Recorder of Sheffield Judge Alan Goldsack QC said:
Debbie Williamson splashed out on a villa with a swimming pool in Spain and deposited £30,000 into a Spanish bank while pocketing the benefits, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
The 45-year-old from Barnsley, then 'lied and lied and lied' when authorities launched an investigation.
The court was told how she had insisted she was not living full time in Spain, prolonging the probe into her circumstances.
During her time in Spain she falsely claimed £41,800: £28,558 from income support from the Department of Work and Pensions; £11,142 in housing benefit and £2,100 in council tax benefits from Barnsley Council from 2003 to 2008.
What happened then? Did the investigation drag on for three years? Seems like it - she was arrested at the start of 2009.
Oliver Thorne, prosecuting, said Williamson successfully applied for income support in March 2003 and bought her property in Valencia just two months later - calling it Villa Jessica after her daughter who was then 13.
The DWP launched an inquiry after an anonymous tip off claiming Williamson was living in Spain with husband Ian and running a bar.
She never bothered to notify the authorities of her change in circumstances, the court heard.
Williamson was arrested in January 2009 and declared she had never lived in Spain and that her daughter went to primary school in the UK.
But she had made regular cash withdrawals in Spain and booked numerous flights to Spain for her family.
It was then established she owned the plot of land in Valencia containing a single-storey villa with swimming pool.
Spanish school records confirmed her daughter had been educated in Spain.
Records from the girl's school in England showed she had been taken out of the school in March 2004 because he family was 'emigrating to Spain'.
The court was told Williamson, who admitted 10 counts of fraudulently obtaining benefits and sobbed during the hearing, had only repaid £45.
She was jailed for 18 months.
Recorder of Sheffield Judge Alan Goldsack QC said:
There you were enjoying yourself in Spain while people here were having tax taken off them which was going to fund your lifestyle.
The immediate victims were Barnsley Council and the DWP but the real victims, of course, are your fellow citizens.
For five years until the authorities were ripped off, you were claiming benefits you were not entitled to.
For most of that period you were actually living in Spain. It seems unlikely any of this money will be recovered for the taxpayers.
15 Nov 2011
No jail for £86k benefit fraud
AN East Yorkshire woman has been sentenced to a year in prison after admitting benefit fraud amounting to almost £90,000.
Michelle Thompson, 40, from Goole, has been given a prison sentence of 12 months, suspended for 18 months, together with a 300-hour community punishment order, after admitting benefit fraud.
Thompson had originally claimed benefits declaring that she was single with dependent children. However, an investigation by both East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Department for Work and Pensions established that Thompson had been living with her landlord and partner, Raymond Clark.
Thompson fraudulently obtained housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support totalling £86,367 between January 2001 and April 2010.
Michelle Thompson, 40, from Goole, has been given a prison sentence of 12 months, suspended for 18 months, together with a 300-hour community punishment order, after admitting benefit fraud.
Thompson had originally claimed benefits declaring that she was single with dependent children. However, an investigation by both East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Department for Work and Pensions established that Thompson had been living with her landlord and partner, Raymond Clark.
Thompson fraudulently obtained housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support totalling £86,367 between January 2001 and April 2010.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Miser criminal jailed for benefit fraud
A guitarist has been jailed for a year after admitted to defrauding the taxpayer to the tune (yes, it's a pun) of £34,000.
Anthony Jarrard, 49, pocketed the cash in council tax benefit, jobseekers' allowance, income support and incapacity benefit over seven years whilst playing in the rock band Shady Deal (the headline writers and bloggers are going to love this).
He failed to declare that he was earning money from his aptly-named band (I warned you), teaching the guitar, had thousands of pounds in savings and owned his house in Braintree, Essex
Jarrard was only caught out after he was arrested for shoplifting in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 2009 and was found in possession of a Halifax bank card in another name.
He admitted three offences of failing to notify a change in circumstances while claiming benefit and one offence of making a false representation to obtain benefit.
Prosecutor Michael Crimp said Jarrard had owned his own home since 1998 and had £69,000 in savings in his bank account when he began claiming council tax benefit in 2003.
He carried on claiming benefits even though he was not due them as he had savings above the limit of £16,000.
Ipswich Crown Court heard how he had £158,000 in his account in March this year.
Jarrard claimed incapacity benefit in 2004 after an accident, saying he was suffering from anxiety and could not raise his shoulder.
But he still earned cash as a music teacher and guitar repairer as well as being a guitarist and manager for Shady Deal which played in local pubs and clubs.
Christopher Paxton, defending, said: 'They weren't the Rolling Stones'.
He added that Jarrard lived a frugal and reclusive lifestyle and his claim for benefits had not been fraudulent from the outset.
Mr Paxton said Jarrard could repay the £34,000 he had been overpaid out of his savings. A Proceeds of Crime hearing will take place later.
Why? Courts should be enabled to make these orders at the time. Why hasn't he repaid us already?
Judge John Devaux described Jarrard as a hoarder. He added: 'You weren't driven by gambling or a drug addiction. It could be said your addiction was money itself.'
Anthony Jarrard, 49, pocketed the cash in council tax benefit, jobseekers' allowance, income support and incapacity benefit over seven years whilst playing in the rock band Shady Deal (the headline writers and bloggers are going to love this).
He failed to declare that he was earning money from his aptly-named band (I warned you), teaching the guitar, had thousands of pounds in savings and owned his house in Braintree, Essex
Jarrard was only caught out after he was arrested for shoplifting in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 2009 and was found in possession of a Halifax bank card in another name.
He admitted three offences of failing to notify a change in circumstances while claiming benefit and one offence of making a false representation to obtain benefit.
Prosecutor Michael Crimp said Jarrard had owned his own home since 1998 and had £69,000 in savings in his bank account when he began claiming council tax benefit in 2003.
He carried on claiming benefits even though he was not due them as he had savings above the limit of £16,000.
Ipswich Crown Court heard how he had £158,000 in his account in March this year.
Jarrard claimed incapacity benefit in 2004 after an accident, saying he was suffering from anxiety and could not raise his shoulder.
But he still earned cash as a music teacher and guitar repairer as well as being a guitarist and manager for Shady Deal which played in local pubs and clubs.
Christopher Paxton, defending, said: 'They weren't the Rolling Stones'.
He added that Jarrard lived a frugal and reclusive lifestyle and his claim for benefits had not been fraudulent from the outset.
Mr Paxton said Jarrard could repay the £34,000 he had been overpaid out of his savings. A Proceeds of Crime hearing will take place later.
Why? Courts should be enabled to make these orders at the time. Why hasn't he repaid us already?
Judge John Devaux described Jarrard as a hoarder. He added: 'You weren't driven by gambling or a drug addiction. It could be said your addiction was money itself.'
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
14 Nov 2011
Light sentence for benefit thief
A man will have to pay back nearly £4,000 he received in overpayments after admitting two counts of benefit fraud.
Robert Rochford, 42, was also sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £500 costs when he appeared before Hertford magistrates.
Rochford, from Watton-at-Stone, admitted he had failed to declare his Jobseeker’s Allowance had stopped and that he had a job with a concrete repair firm.
The investigation was carried out jointly between East Herts Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The court heard Rochford was overpaid housing benefit of £2,141.58 and council tax benefit of £439.74. He was also overpaid Jobseeker’s Allowance of £1,365.45 from the DWP.
He will have to pay back the full amount, totalling £3,946.77.
Robert Rochford, 42, was also sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £500 costs when he appeared before Hertford magistrates.
Rochford, from Watton-at-Stone, admitted he had failed to declare his Jobseeker’s Allowance had stopped and that he had a job with a concrete repair firm.
The investigation was carried out jointly between East Herts Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The court heard Rochford was overpaid housing benefit of £2,141.58 and council tax benefit of £439.74. He was also overpaid Jobseeker’s Allowance of £1,365.45 from the DWP.
He will have to pay back the full amount, totalling £3,946.77.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
Illegal immigrant plundered us of £400,000 welfare
An illegal immigrant who claimed to be paralysed from the neck down but was filmed dancing at his wedding cheated more than £400,000 in benefits, a court heard.
But even though Mohamed Bouzalim, 37, has admitted dishonestly entering the country and fraudulently exploiting the welfare system, legal sources said they will face an ‘uphill battle’ to deport him.
There is a strong likelihood the Moroccan will be able to remain in the UK by claiming he has a right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, immigration sources said.
When Bouzalim came to Britain in June 2001, he had no papers and claimed to be an Afghan national whose father had been executed by the Taliban, Isleworth Crown Court in west London was told.
Using the name Mohamed Amir Hussini, he successfully claimed asylum before constructing the extraordinary lie that he was paralysed and required 24-hour care, receiving £66,000 a year in benefits.
His total haul of around £400,000 was from Camden Council, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Independent Living Fund, the court heard.
The fraud ended when UK Border Agency staff raided his home in Kilburn, north London, last year.
In it, they found a video of Bouzalim performing energetic dance moves at his own wedding the previous year – miraculously without his wheelchair.
Disability aids he had received, including a wheelchair ramp, were still in their boxes at his home.
Bouzalim, who has been in custody for 18 months, has pleaded guilty to 11 charges of dishonesty. His brothers Rachid, 35, and Abdallah, 39, and sister Zahra, are all on bail having also admitted fraud charges.
Yesterday, the Moroccan appeared in court sitting in a wheelchair, wearing glasses, a red shirt, grey tracksuit bottoms and black plimsolls. He had wild Afro-style hair and a straggly beard.
Accompanied by two nurses, he appeared to struggle to raise his arm and speak when asked if he was present by the court clerk. However Judge Simon Oliver cast doubt on defence claims he was unwell, referring to a psychiatric report from the medium-secure unit in Southall, west London, where he is being held.
‘He is described as a malingerer,’ the judge said, adding from the report: ‘A person who deliberately pretends to have illness or disability in order to obtain gain or otherwise evade responsibility.’
The judge ordered that Bouzalim’s legal team produce a diagnosis from a consultant if they wished to contradict the assessment.
The court heard Bouzalim had a degree in Sharia Law from a university in his home country and in 2000 studied Farsi at university in Iran. He also obtained an MA from London Metropolitan University in 2008, writing his thesis on ‘The Clash of Soft Powers in Sino-American Competition over Africa’.
Despite his impressive academic achievements, it was claimed that he would be unable to understand proceedings in English and needed a Berber interpreter who, despite being booked weeks in advance, was on holiday.
As there are only three such interpreters working in London, it was impossible to replace him at short notice, the court heard.
Judge Oliver adjourned sentence to November 25, saying the delay was ‘a great inconvenience to all’, but adding: ’Mr Bouzalim needs to understand fully what he has done and what the consequences of his actions are.’
But even though Mohamed Bouzalim, 37, has admitted dishonestly entering the country and fraudulently exploiting the welfare system, legal sources said they will face an ‘uphill battle’ to deport him.
There is a strong likelihood the Moroccan will be able to remain in the UK by claiming he has a right to family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, immigration sources said.
When Bouzalim came to Britain in June 2001, he had no papers and claimed to be an Afghan national whose father had been executed by the Taliban, Isleworth Crown Court in west London was told.
Using the name Mohamed Amir Hussini, he successfully claimed asylum before constructing the extraordinary lie that he was paralysed and required 24-hour care, receiving £66,000 a year in benefits.
His total haul of around £400,000 was from Camden Council, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Independent Living Fund, the court heard.
The fraud ended when UK Border Agency staff raided his home in Kilburn, north London, last year.
In it, they found a video of Bouzalim performing energetic dance moves at his own wedding the previous year – miraculously without his wheelchair.
Disability aids he had received, including a wheelchair ramp, were still in their boxes at his home.
Bouzalim, who has been in custody for 18 months, has pleaded guilty to 11 charges of dishonesty. His brothers Rachid, 35, and Abdallah, 39, and sister Zahra, are all on bail having also admitted fraud charges.
Yesterday, the Moroccan appeared in court sitting in a wheelchair, wearing glasses, a red shirt, grey tracksuit bottoms and black plimsolls. He had wild Afro-style hair and a straggly beard.
Accompanied by two nurses, he appeared to struggle to raise his arm and speak when asked if he was present by the court clerk. However Judge Simon Oliver cast doubt on defence claims he was unwell, referring to a psychiatric report from the medium-secure unit in Southall, west London, where he is being held.
‘He is described as a malingerer,’ the judge said, adding from the report: ‘A person who deliberately pretends to have illness or disability in order to obtain gain or otherwise evade responsibility.’
The judge ordered that Bouzalim’s legal team produce a diagnosis from a consultant if they wished to contradict the assessment.
The court heard Bouzalim had a degree in Sharia Law from a university in his home country and in 2000 studied Farsi at university in Iran. He also obtained an MA from London Metropolitan University in 2008, writing his thesis on ‘The Clash of Soft Powers in Sino-American Competition over Africa’.
Despite his impressive academic achievements, it was claimed that he would be unable to understand proceedings in English and needed a Berber interpreter who, despite being booked weeks in advance, was on holiday.
As there are only three such interpreters working in London, it was impossible to replace him at short notice, the court heard.
Judge Oliver adjourned sentence to November 25, saying the delay was ‘a great inconvenience to all’, but adding: ’Mr Bouzalim needs to understand fully what he has done and what the consequences of his actions are.’
13 Nov 2011
A visitor comments ...
Having recently seen in the press and on your site the enormity of the benefit fraud in the UK, I just make this comment.
My brother, a British citizen, died 18 months ago. He left a will and a very modest estate. The DWP are holding up the distribution of the estate because of a benefit overpayment of £430! which he had been paying off monthly.
Are they serious? Where are their priorities, for goodness sake.
My brother, a British citizen, died 18 months ago. He left a will and a very modest estate. The DWP are holding up the distribution of the estate because of a benefit overpayment of £430! which he had been paying off monthly.
Are they serious? Where are their priorities, for goodness sake.
Light sentences for family of benefit thieves
A woman was jailed yesterday for her part in stealing £140,000 in handouts to build up a property empire.
Jennifer Myrie used several aliases to obtain housing benefit that helped her buy £500,000 of property.
The 50-year-old social worker also falsely claimed jobseeker’s allowance and income support to fund her buy-to-let portfolio.
Basildon Crown Court in Essex heard how relatives living in her properties and paying her rent fraudulently claimed housing benefit too.
Her daughter Shereen, 32, brother Roger, 39, and his partner Wafaa Hassoun, 39, also claimed a string of income support benefits which together netted the family £140,000 over seven years.
Myrie used the bogus names Jennifer Finley and Jennifer Aiken so she could pose as both landlord and tenant to obtain even more benefits for her properties in Thornton Heath worth £188,000, South Norwood which was valued at £135,000, and Catford, worth £210,000.
At one stage, she was given a home by Lambeth Council which she rented out privately while pocketing housing benefit for the property.
Judge Ian Graham jailed her for 18 months after she admitted 19 fraud and benefits offences.
The court heard that Myrie sold the three properties in London for £533,000 in 2006.
She then splashed out on two properties in Canvey Island, Essex, – one for £184,000 and one for £205,000 – where her family now lives.
Prosecutor Gideon Cammerman told the court: 'She came to own a number of properties and she rented those properties out to members of family and at the same time she claimed benefits.
'Members of her family also claimed housing benefit for rent on properties without declaring the relationship.
'They had their rent paid for them by the taxpayer and had their family houses paid by the taxpayer - all fraudulently.
'Jennifer Myrie herself claimed benefits despite possessing these properties.
'She claimed jobseekers allowance in the name of Jennifer Aiken at same time received income support in name of Jennifer Finley.
'The money that was received went to pay mortgages on those properties.'
Ross Cifonelli, defending Jennifer Myrie, said the fraud started because she was trying to help her family but got tied up with complications of the benefit system and could not find a way out.
He said: 'The matter is so complicated in terms of what was going on I don't think we'll ever get to the bottom of it.'
Myrie’s daughter admitted six fraud offences and was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months and 120 hours of community service. Hassoun admitted three offences and had the same sentence.
Myrie’s brother was given a four-month sentence suspended for 12 months for three similar offences.
Lord Freud, the welfare reform minister, said: ‘The introduction of universal credit will remove many of the complexities in the benefit system that leave it open to abuse.’
Jennifer Myrie used several aliases to obtain housing benefit that helped her buy £500,000 of property.
The 50-year-old social worker also falsely claimed jobseeker’s allowance and income support to fund her buy-to-let portfolio.
Basildon Crown Court in Essex heard how relatives living in her properties and paying her rent fraudulently claimed housing benefit too.
Her daughter Shereen, 32, brother Roger, 39, and his partner Wafaa Hassoun, 39, also claimed a string of income support benefits which together netted the family £140,000 over seven years.
Myrie used the bogus names Jennifer Finley and Jennifer Aiken so she could pose as both landlord and tenant to obtain even more benefits for her properties in Thornton Heath worth £188,000, South Norwood which was valued at £135,000, and Catford, worth £210,000.
At one stage, she was given a home by Lambeth Council which she rented out privately while pocketing housing benefit for the property.
Judge Ian Graham jailed her for 18 months after she admitted 19 fraud and benefits offences.
The court heard that Myrie sold the three properties in London for £533,000 in 2006.
She then splashed out on two properties in Canvey Island, Essex, – one for £184,000 and one for £205,000 – where her family now lives.
Prosecutor Gideon Cammerman told the court: 'She came to own a number of properties and she rented those properties out to members of family and at the same time she claimed benefits.
'Members of her family also claimed housing benefit for rent on properties without declaring the relationship.
'They had their rent paid for them by the taxpayer and had their family houses paid by the taxpayer - all fraudulently.
'Jennifer Myrie herself claimed benefits despite possessing these properties.
'She claimed jobseekers allowance in the name of Jennifer Aiken at same time received income support in name of Jennifer Finley.
'The money that was received went to pay mortgages on those properties.'
Ross Cifonelli, defending Jennifer Myrie, said the fraud started because she was trying to help her family but got tied up with complications of the benefit system and could not find a way out.
He said: 'The matter is so complicated in terms of what was going on I don't think we'll ever get to the bottom of it.'
Myrie’s daughter admitted six fraud offences and was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months and 120 hours of community service. Hassoun admitted three offences and had the same sentence.
Myrie’s brother was given a four-month sentence suspended for 12 months for three similar offences.
Lord Freud, the welfare reform minister, said: ‘The introduction of universal credit will remove many of the complexities in the benefit system that leave it open to abuse.’
- However did a social worker find the time for all this?
Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
In cases like this, the assets should be automatically confiscated after the sentencing hearing.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
12 Nov 2011
Tax credits easily exploited for fraud
A mum who lied about being severely disabled to falsely claim more than £12,000 in benefits has been spared jail.
She would never have been jailed for calculated theft of this size.
Debra Slingsby, 28, from Cross Hills, lied to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the severity of a disability and made up fake childcare costs to increase her tax credits payments.
Now the mother-of-two, who received £12,159 that she wasn’t entitled to, has been handed a 12-month community order and told to complete 80 hours of unpaid work by magistrates in Skipton.
Mike O’Grady, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said: “Debra Slingsby probably thought we wouldn’t check up on her claim. She doubtless thought it was ‘easy money’.
“HMRC is working hard to stamp out tax credits fraud. It is only right that we investigate claims fully to ensure that our customers receive only what is their rightful entitlement.
“Those who cynically try to defraud and cheat should not be surprised when we investigate them. It is only fair to honest customers and taxpayers that we do.”
Slingsby made a tax credits claim as a single parent in 2007.
She began work in 2008 and from that date claimed £300 per week in childcare costs.
She reported a change in childcare provider in 2009 and claimed her costs had increased to £380 per week.
However, investigations showed that her childcare costs had actually stopped in 2009 and her children had never attended the second provider she claimed to use.
Slingsby also claimed for the severe disability element of working tax credit from 2008.
Although entitled to the disability element, she was not entitled to a severe disability element and failed to correct this during annual renewals.
During interview she disputed claiming for the severe disability, but admitted that her children had not attended any childcare facility between September 2009 and June 2010.
At Skipton Magistrates Court, Slingsby admitted tax credits fraud.
She would never have been jailed for calculated theft of this size.
Debra Slingsby, 28, from Cross Hills, lied to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the severity of a disability and made up fake childcare costs to increase her tax credits payments.
Now the mother-of-two, who received £12,159 that she wasn’t entitled to, has been handed a 12-month community order and told to complete 80 hours of unpaid work by magistrates in Skipton.
Mike O’Grady, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said: “Debra Slingsby probably thought we wouldn’t check up on her claim. She doubtless thought it was ‘easy money’.
“HMRC is working hard to stamp out tax credits fraud. It is only right that we investigate claims fully to ensure that our customers receive only what is their rightful entitlement.
“Those who cynically try to defraud and cheat should not be surprised when we investigate them. It is only fair to honest customers and taxpayers that we do.”
Slingsby made a tax credits claim as a single parent in 2007.
She began work in 2008 and from that date claimed £300 per week in childcare costs.
She reported a change in childcare provider in 2009 and claimed her costs had increased to £380 per week.
However, investigations showed that her childcare costs had actually stopped in 2009 and her children had never attended the second provider she claimed to use.
Slingsby also claimed for the severe disability element of working tax credit from 2008.
Although entitled to the disability element, she was not entitled to a severe disability element and failed to correct this during annual renewals.
During interview she disputed claiming for the severe disability, but admitted that her children had not attended any childcare facility between September 2009 and June 2010.
At Skipton Magistrates Court, Slingsby admitted tax credits fraud.
11 Nov 2011
3.2m people on Disability Living Allowance
Almost 200,000 people were granted a disability benefit last year without ever having a face-to-face assessment.
A staggering 94% of new claimants for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) started receiving their payments after only filling out paperwork.
Official figures released last night revealed that 16% of new claimants received the benefit – worth £70 a week – after merely filling out a claim form.
A further 36% provided supporting evidence, while another 42% provided a GP report, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
In total they were paid more than £300million last year.
The figures mean only 6% of new claimants got their money after a face-to-face assessment.
Critics warned that thousands of benefits cheats were being allowed to ‘slip through the net’ while changes to the system come into force.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said it was wrong that so many people who are paid the benefit were not asked for any evidence to support their claim beyond sending some paperwork in the post – and then get to keep it for years without being reassessed.
Ministers are replacing DLA with a Personal Independence Payment.
Under the new system, every case will have to be assessed by a health care professional, usually in person. But the new system does not come into force until 2013/14.
DLA is currently paid to 3.2million at an annual cost of £12billion – the same as the Department of Transport’s entire budget for 2010/11. Do we really have such a high proportion of the adult population disabled?
It is designed to help those who have specific mobility or care needs, and cannot do things like walk or wash and dress themselves.
It is paid most often for arthritis, learning difficulties, psychosis and back pain.
This makes it different from Incapacity Benefit – now renamed Employment and Support Allowance – which is paid to people because they are not well enough to work.
The number of people claiming DLA has soared by more than two million from 1.1million in 1992.
More than 70% of existing claimants are on DLA for life without facing any regular checks. Fraud and error statistics show that £600million is currently wasted on DLA in overpayments.
There is increasing political controversy over Mr Duncan Smith’s pledge to slash £2.17billion from the vast annual bill for DLA by 2015.
Cuts to DLA are increasingly being criticised by charities and opposition MPs. Disability campaigners have warned that the new testing regime is flawed and has prompted fear and anxiety among the most vulnerable people in society.
But ministers say face-to-face assessments are essential to make sure the benefit is going to those with the greatest need.
Mr Duncan Smith said: ‘At the moment, hundreds of millions of pounds are paid out in disability benefits to people who have simply filled out a form.
‘We are introducing the Personal Independence Payment with a new objective assessment and regular reviews to make sure people are getting the right levels of support.
‘The face-to-face assessment will also give people the chance to meet with a healthcare professional and discuss their condition, rather than trying to self-assess.’
However, Labour councillor Neil Coyle, of the Disability Alliance, which represents 250 disability charities, said face-to-face tests would cost £675million.
He added that the new figures showed that the vast majority of claimants already provide supporting evidence – such as a GP report – to back up their claims.
Mr Coyle said: ‘The DWP also retains the right to require anyone to give further evidence or attend a face-to-face assessment if there is any doubt about the claim.
‘Any attempt to use these figures to justify a 20 per cent cut in the DLA is just wrong.
‘The Government is spending £675million to make everyone attend an interview. This means asking people who are deaf blind to attend an assessment, not just once, but regularly – even though their medical condition has not changed.
‘The people who should be most disturbed by this is the taxpayer who is having to foot the bill for this bureaucracy.’
Evidence suggests that only a very small proportion of DLA claimants will get the benefit under the new testing regime.
Ministers have already switched to more stringent assessments for the replacement for Incapacity Benefit – and found that only 7% of new claimants are sick enough to receive the handout.
Thirty-nine per cent of first-time claimants for the new Employment and Support Allowance were deemed fit enough to work.
A third dropped their application before it was completed, while a further 17% were judged able to do some form of work with the right help and support.
Emma Boon, from the Taxpayers’ Alliance pressure group, said: ‘The Coalition is bringing in changes to welfare that will mean fewer people can abuse taxpayers’ money by wrongly claiming DLA. However, whilst we wait for these changes to come fully into effect there is a chance that more cheats have slipped through the net.’
But Labour councillor Neil Coyle, of the Disability Alliance, which represents 250 disability charities, said face-to-face tests would cost £675million.
A staggering 94% of new claimants for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) started receiving their payments after only filling out paperwork.
Official figures released last night revealed that 16% of new claimants received the benefit – worth £70 a week – after merely filling out a claim form.
A further 36% provided supporting evidence, while another 42% provided a GP report, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
In total they were paid more than £300million last year.
The figures mean only 6% of new claimants got their money after a face-to-face assessment.
Critics warned that thousands of benefits cheats were being allowed to ‘slip through the net’ while changes to the system come into force.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said it was wrong that so many people who are paid the benefit were not asked for any evidence to support their claim beyond sending some paperwork in the post – and then get to keep it for years without being reassessed.
Ministers are replacing DLA with a Personal Independence Payment.
Under the new system, every case will have to be assessed by a health care professional, usually in person. But the new system does not come into force until 2013/14.
DLA is currently paid to 3.2million at an annual cost of £12billion – the same as the Department of Transport’s entire budget for 2010/11. Do we really have such a high proportion of the adult population disabled?
It is designed to help those who have specific mobility or care needs, and cannot do things like walk or wash and dress themselves.
It is paid most often for arthritis, learning difficulties, psychosis and back pain.
This makes it different from Incapacity Benefit – now renamed Employment and Support Allowance – which is paid to people because they are not well enough to work.
The number of people claiming DLA has soared by more than two million from 1.1million in 1992.
More than 70% of existing claimants are on DLA for life without facing any regular checks. Fraud and error statistics show that £600million is currently wasted on DLA in overpayments.
There is increasing political controversy over Mr Duncan Smith’s pledge to slash £2.17billion from the vast annual bill for DLA by 2015.
Cuts to DLA are increasingly being criticised by charities and opposition MPs. Disability campaigners have warned that the new testing regime is flawed and has prompted fear and anxiety among the most vulnerable people in society.
But ministers say face-to-face assessments are essential to make sure the benefit is going to those with the greatest need.
Mr Duncan Smith said: ‘At the moment, hundreds of millions of pounds are paid out in disability benefits to people who have simply filled out a form.
‘We are introducing the Personal Independence Payment with a new objective assessment and regular reviews to make sure people are getting the right levels of support.
‘The face-to-face assessment will also give people the chance to meet with a healthcare professional and discuss their condition, rather than trying to self-assess.’
However, Labour councillor Neil Coyle, of the Disability Alliance, which represents 250 disability charities, said face-to-face tests would cost £675million.
He added that the new figures showed that the vast majority of claimants already provide supporting evidence – such as a GP report – to back up their claims.
Mr Coyle said: ‘The DWP also retains the right to require anyone to give further evidence or attend a face-to-face assessment if there is any doubt about the claim.
‘Any attempt to use these figures to justify a 20 per cent cut in the DLA is just wrong.
‘The Government is spending £675million to make everyone attend an interview. This means asking people who are deaf blind to attend an assessment, not just once, but regularly – even though their medical condition has not changed.
‘The people who should be most disturbed by this is the taxpayer who is having to foot the bill for this bureaucracy.’
Evidence suggests that only a very small proportion of DLA claimants will get the benefit under the new testing regime.
Ministers have already switched to more stringent assessments for the replacement for Incapacity Benefit – and found that only 7% of new claimants are sick enough to receive the handout.
Thirty-nine per cent of first-time claimants for the new Employment and Support Allowance were deemed fit enough to work.
A third dropped their application before it was completed, while a further 17% were judged able to do some form of work with the right help and support.
Emma Boon, from the Taxpayers’ Alliance pressure group, said: ‘The Coalition is bringing in changes to welfare that will mean fewer people can abuse taxpayers’ money by wrongly claiming DLA. However, whilst we wait for these changes to come fully into effect there is a chance that more cheats have slipped through the net.’
But Labour councillor Neil Coyle, of the Disability Alliance, which represents 250 disability charities, said face-to-face tests would cost £675million.
Light sentence for calculated benefit fraud
An actor claimed almost £29,000 in incapacity benefit for a bad back – while leaping across the stage as Widow Twankey, Long John Silver and Shakespeare’s Caliban.
Paul Couchman, 41, was caught after investigators discovered he had £16,000 in savings.
It turned out he had been performing under the stage name of Peter Goode for the seven years he had been receiving money from the state.
He first lodged a claim for incapacity benefit in 2004, when he said he had a ‘bad back’.
But by 2007 he was fit enough to perform as Widow Twankey in Aladdin at the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran, South Wales, and as Long John Silver in Treasure Island at the same theatre in 2008.
He followed his panto performances with a string of Shakespearean roles for the Rainbow Theatre Group, whose patron is Dame Judi Dench.
In 2008 he played Petruchio in an open air performance of the Taming of the Shrew at Highdown Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex, and this summer he played Caliban in The Tempest at the same event.
Last year he played Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Banquo in Macbeth at the Greenwich Royal Observatory in south east London.
Couchman continued to receive £4,000 a year in benefits, without declaring his income or that he was fit to work again.
His scam was uncovered this year after a joint investigation between Hillingdon Council in West London and the Department for Work and Pensions.
At a hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court last week, Couchman, of West Drayton, West London, admitted fraudulently claiming £28,904 in incapacity benefit. He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.
Garry Coote, of Hillingdon Council’s corporate fraud team, said: ‘The council is always pleased when another benefit cheat is caught. It is honest taxpayers’ money they are stealing.
‘We take benefit fraud very seriously and we will take court action against anyone we catch trying to cheat the system.’
We are not told what Mr Coote thought of the sentence, but Mr Couchman will have been pleased.
Paul Couchman, 41, was caught after investigators discovered he had £16,000 in savings.
It turned out he had been performing under the stage name of Peter Goode for the seven years he had been receiving money from the state.
He first lodged a claim for incapacity benefit in 2004, when he said he had a ‘bad back’.
But by 2007 he was fit enough to perform as Widow Twankey in Aladdin at the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran, South Wales, and as Long John Silver in Treasure Island at the same theatre in 2008.
He followed his panto performances with a string of Shakespearean roles for the Rainbow Theatre Group, whose patron is Dame Judi Dench.
In 2008 he played Petruchio in an open air performance of the Taming of the Shrew at Highdown Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex, and this summer he played Caliban in The Tempest at the same event.
Last year he played Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and Banquo in Macbeth at the Greenwich Royal Observatory in south east London.
Couchman continued to receive £4,000 a year in benefits, without declaring his income or that he was fit to work again.
His scam was uncovered this year after a joint investigation between Hillingdon Council in West London and the Department for Work and Pensions.
At a hearing at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court last week, Couchman, of West Drayton, West London, admitted fraudulently claiming £28,904 in incapacity benefit. He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to pay a £450 fine and given a four week 7pm to 7am curfew – which will end in time for him to perform when pantomime season starts next month.
Garry Coote, of Hillingdon Council’s corporate fraud team, said: ‘The council is always pleased when another benefit cheat is caught. It is honest taxpayers’ money they are stealing.
‘We take benefit fraud very seriously and we will take court action against anyone we catch trying to cheat the system.’
We are not told what Mr Coote thought of the sentence, but Mr Couchman will have been pleased.
A woman has been sentenced for a £32,000 housing benefit fraud.
Ealing Council hauled the woman before the courts after it was revealed she fraudulently claimed housing benefit for a home owned by the father of her children.
Cecil Godinho, 50, rented her home in Ealing from a private landlord and claimed housing benefit from February 2006.
In June 2007 the property was bought by the father of her children, but she continued to claim housing benefit and failed to declare she was no longer liable to pay rent to her previous landlord.
Godinho was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work and has to pay £200 towards the council’s prosecution costs. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance and performance, said:
Ealing Council hauled the woman before the courts after it was revealed she fraudulently claimed housing benefit for a home owned by the father of her children.
Cecil Godinho, 50, rented her home in Ealing from a private landlord and claimed housing benefit from February 2006.
In June 2007 the property was bought by the father of her children, but she continued to claim housing benefit and failed to declare she was no longer liable to pay rent to her previous landlord.
Godinho was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work and has to pay £200 towards the council’s prosecution costs. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance and performance, said:
Benefits are there to support the most vulnerable in society so it is a disgrace that someone knowingly claims thousands of pounds they aren’t entitled to. Miss Godinho is lucky not to have been sent to prison over such a serious matter and she will now have to pay back what she wrongly claimed. She should be thoroughly ashamed of herself and I hope she will now stay out of trouble.Godinho will have to repay the money she fraudulently claimed.
Early release for benefit fraud councillor criticised
Shamed former Inverness councillor John Holden gets his first taste of freedom this week after serving only THREE months of a one year sentence.
For the Highland News understands he will be released from Inverness Prison on Friday.
The 63-year-old was convicted of a £43,000 benefits fraud, dating back to 1999, from the Department of Work and Pensions and Highland Council following a massive three-year investigation.
Holden, who represented Inverness South on the council, was sentenced to one year in jail on August 11 following a 13-day trial at Inverness Sheriff Court and being convicted on fraud three charges.
At the time it was anticipated he might serve six months of his sentence – but could be released earlier on an electronic tag if he was deemed not to be a danger to the public.
But a leading crime prevention campaigner hit out at his short stint in prison which he branded a typical example of "soft touch" justice.
Chairman of the Inverness Crime Prevention Panel Jim Ferguson said:
Holden, however, made two unsuccessful attempts to be liberated on bail pending appeal of the sentence.
When both attempts for freedom failed, he was transferred from the relative comfort of Porterfield Prison, Inverness, to Scotland’s toughest jail, Barlinnie in Glasgow, known in criminal circles as the Bar-L, for a short time.
One of his sons, Sean Holden (39), travelled specially from his home in Ireland to give evidence against his father at the trial.
Another son, Declan (37), speaking from the family home in Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow, described his father as "morally bankrupt", while his former wife Kathleen said he "was not a good person".
Following his conviction, Holden was booted out of the Labour Party and was shunned by his former Highland Council colleagues. He eventually resigned his seat after several weeks in prison.
Council convener Sandy Park would not comment on Holden’s early release, but immediately following conviction he stated: "The sentence imposed by Sheriff Abercrombie reflects the gravity of the offences committed by Mr Holden, which included Council Tax Benefit fraud."
Former Labour council colleague John Ford said: "John Holden will not be treated any different to any other prisoner. They review each prisoner and if they are of good behaviour, they will get early release from prison.
"The situation is this, this is not a judgement on the seriousness of the prison or sentencing. This is to do with the management of the prisoners. They are not remanded in prison if it is deemed not necessary, the situation is a panel of people deal with each case separately. And if a prisoner is not a danger to the public, they will get early release."
Councillor Ford added: "What he has been convicted of is fraud, it would be a different situation for a violent criminal. But there is nothing unusual about this, it was said that John Holden would only serve a third of his sentence from the beginning."
A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "We would always push for the strongest possible sentence. But we do not comment on sentencing, as it is a matter for the courts."
He added: "Benefit thieves are costing the taxpayer almost £1 billion per year. This money is intended to help those most in need, not line the pockets of criminals. We will continue to tackle this problem not only at the frontline, but also at the root, by reforming the benefits system to make it less open to abuse."
The Crown Office and Prosecution Service in Edinburgh declined to comment on Holden’s early release.
But at the time of him being sentenced Emma Knox, District Procurator Fiscal for Inverness, said: "John Holden was in a position of trust which he flagrantly abused. For a period of over nine years he lied about his circumstances to claim in excess of £43,000 in benefits, to which he was not entitled. Mr Holden in effect stole money from the public purse which was intended for those who most needed it."
For the Highland News understands he will be released from Inverness Prison on Friday.
The 63-year-old was convicted of a £43,000 benefits fraud, dating back to 1999, from the Department of Work and Pensions and Highland Council following a massive three-year investigation.
Holden, who represented Inverness South on the council, was sentenced to one year in jail on August 11 following a 13-day trial at Inverness Sheriff Court and being convicted on fraud three charges.
At the time it was anticipated he might serve six months of his sentence – but could be released earlier on an electronic tag if he was deemed not to be a danger to the public.
But a leading crime prevention campaigner hit out at his short stint in prison which he branded a typical example of "soft touch" justice.
Chairman of the Inverness Crime Prevention Panel Jim Ferguson said:
What I believe is when very lenient sentences are passed, it sends out the wrong message to society.After being found guilty, Holden, of Teal Avenue, Inverness, was branded a "liar and a cheat" by Sheriff Ian Abercrombie, who rejected a plea for a non-custodial sentence, and ordered he serve 12 months in custody.
I would argue that weak sentences mean there is no deterrent and this doesn’t bode well for law and order, and some people might think, ‘12 weeks in prison for a crime, well so what. What’s 12 weeks?’
It is my personal opinion that it is soft touch sentencing and soft touch justice, and the justice system seems to be out of touch with the people who deserve to see law and order being carried out.
None of us are above the law, and if anyone gets caught breaking the law they need to be punished for their crime. This case is synonymous with broader personal views that I have with law and order and crime and punishment.
People who go on to break the law seem to be getting off with it very lightly. I know that this particular crime involves a lot of money, but crimes against people, for example sex crimes or even murder – we are seeing very lenient sentences being handed out followed by perpetrators of crime only serving half their sentence, or in this instance, less than that.
Holden, however, made two unsuccessful attempts to be liberated on bail pending appeal of the sentence.
When both attempts for freedom failed, he was transferred from the relative comfort of Porterfield Prison, Inverness, to Scotland’s toughest jail, Barlinnie in Glasgow, known in criminal circles as the Bar-L, for a short time.
One of his sons, Sean Holden (39), travelled specially from his home in Ireland to give evidence against his father at the trial.
Another son, Declan (37), speaking from the family home in Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow, described his father as "morally bankrupt", while his former wife Kathleen said he "was not a good person".
Following his conviction, Holden was booted out of the Labour Party and was shunned by his former Highland Council colleagues. He eventually resigned his seat after several weeks in prison.
Council convener Sandy Park would not comment on Holden’s early release, but immediately following conviction he stated: "The sentence imposed by Sheriff Abercrombie reflects the gravity of the offences committed by Mr Holden, which included Council Tax Benefit fraud."
Former Labour council colleague John Ford said: "John Holden will not be treated any different to any other prisoner. They review each prisoner and if they are of good behaviour, they will get early release from prison.
"The situation is this, this is not a judgement on the seriousness of the prison or sentencing. This is to do with the management of the prisoners. They are not remanded in prison if it is deemed not necessary, the situation is a panel of people deal with each case separately. And if a prisoner is not a danger to the public, they will get early release."
Councillor Ford added: "What he has been convicted of is fraud, it would be a different situation for a violent criminal. But there is nothing unusual about this, it was said that John Holden would only serve a third of his sentence from the beginning."
A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "We would always push for the strongest possible sentence. But we do not comment on sentencing, as it is a matter for the courts."
He added: "Benefit thieves are costing the taxpayer almost £1 billion per year. This money is intended to help those most in need, not line the pockets of criminals. We will continue to tackle this problem not only at the frontline, but also at the root, by reforming the benefits system to make it less open to abuse."
The Crown Office and Prosecution Service in Edinburgh declined to comment on Holden’s early release.
But at the time of him being sentenced Emma Knox, District Procurator Fiscal for Inverness, said: "John Holden was in a position of trust which he flagrantly abused. For a period of over nine years he lied about his circumstances to claim in excess of £43,000 in benefits, to which he was not entitled. Mr Holden in effect stole money from the public purse which was intended for those who most needed it."
10 Nov 2011
£185m council fraud ''tip of £2bn iceberg''
England's councils unearthed £185m worth of fraud in 2010/11, an improvement of 37 per cent on last year's figure of £135m – money that could pay for around 700 libraries or the wages of up to 11,000 care workers – but the figures are just the tip of a £2bn iceberg, according to the Audit Commission.
The 'Protecting the Public Purse' report showed that 121,000 scams were detected in 2010/11, including false benefit claims, council tax discount cheating, and unlawful use of social housing.
Among the findings were over £22m worth of false claims for student and single person council tax discounts, 145 cases of council procurement fraud involving losses of £14.6m (a 400 per cent increase on 2009/10), 59,000 cases of housing or council tax benefit fraud valued at £110m, and 102 cases of proven social care budget fraud worth over £2.2m. Also, 1,800 homes were recovered from tenancy fraudsters by councils and this fraud costs at least £900m a year.
The Audit Commission chairman Michael O'Higgins said:
The 'Protecting the Public Purse' report showed that 121,000 scams were detected in 2010/11, including false benefit claims, council tax discount cheating, and unlawful use of social housing.
Among the findings were over £22m worth of false claims for student and single person council tax discounts, 145 cases of council procurement fraud involving losses of £14.6m (a 400 per cent increase on 2009/10), 59,000 cases of housing or council tax benefit fraud valued at £110m, and 102 cases of proven social care budget fraud worth over £2.2m. Also, 1,800 homes were recovered from tenancy fraudsters by councils and this fraud costs at least £900m a year.
The Audit Commission chairman Michael O'Higgins said:
Councils are certainly acting on fraud, and it is now firmly on the government agenda. But our latest survey of detection rates shows that we may be seeing just the tip of a very large iceberg.
Our research shows high rates of council tax discount fraud and widespread unlawful occupancy of council houses. Now, for the first time, we are also able to publish details of fraudsters targeting care payments to the elderly and vulnerable. Also scams involving fraudulent student council discounts and fraud that goes to the heart of councils' multi-million pound procurement budgets.
We are all victims of fraud against councils. It is heartening to see councils making inroads, and improving detection rates in areas like council tax discounts. But they need to do more to tackle housing tenancy and procurement frauds. Huge amounts of public money are still being diverted from the public purse into fraudsters' pockets. National figures suggest that over £2bn a year is lost to councils by fraudsters, so it is clear that only a small proportion of frauds are being detected.
Council employee was benefit fraudster
A Marlow resident has been convicted at Wycombe Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to an offence of Benefit Fraud.
Denise Preston had been claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit based on her having a low income and not working.
However, a thorough investigation by the Investigations Team of Wycombe District Council uncovered that she had actually been employed by Bucks County Council whilst she was claiming and had not told Wycombe District Council about her job.
As a result, from May 2007 to November 2009, Mrs Preston obtained £10,400 in benefits that she was not entitled to.
Mrs Preston was given a Community Order requiring her to do 200 hours unpaid work over the next 12 months and was ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
The fraudulently obtained benefit is currently being paid back.
Denise Preston had been claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit based on her having a low income and not working.
However, a thorough investigation by the Investigations Team of Wycombe District Council uncovered that she had actually been employed by Bucks County Council whilst she was claiming and had not told Wycombe District Council about her job.
As a result, from May 2007 to November 2009, Mrs Preston obtained £10,400 in benefits that she was not entitled to.
Mrs Preston was given a Community Order requiring her to do 200 hours unpaid work over the next 12 months and was ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
The fraudulently obtained benefit is currently being paid back.
9 Nov 2011
A visitor asks
What's the consequence for "covering" benefit fraud for a friend? For example, if your friend says that the capital he didn't declare is yours (when it's actually not yours)?
Trafficking & exploitation of east Europeans
Men from eastern Europe are the latest victims of gangs who are promising jobs in Britain but delivering a life of virtual slavery, reports The Guardian. For instance:
Last week it emerged that a Polish gang had trafficked more than 200 people to the UK and used their identities to carry out an estimated £2m benefit fraud. So far 31 people have been arrested in relation to the scam, the subject of a two-year investigation by customs officers and Polish police.
8 Nov 2011
Light sentence for another DWP worker who found them wide open to fraud
From the department of you couldn't make it up. A benefits cheat has been caught claiming £7,000 in taxpayers' money while working at a Jobcentre.
Nicola Ashcroft, 41, secured work as a jobs advisor in July 2009, two months before winning an appeal tribunal to claim income support.
Ashcroft, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, had initially been turned down for the benefit in 2008 after being hospitalised for anorexia, and following the break up of her marriage.
She won an appeal in 2009, but because she had started work in the interim, she was only allowed to claim backdated money up until the point she began work.
So someone in the system knew.
However, Bolton magistrates heard that while Ashcroft had informed the tribunal of her new job she did not inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who were also her new employers, and so she continued to claim the benefit, taking £7,000.
Glen Wrigley, defending, said Ashcroft has now repaid the money she was overpaid, adding: 'She has never even had a speeding ticket and when I say she is mortified to be here it is an understatement.'
Don't steal money then, thief.
Ashcroft pleaded guilty to failing to notify a change in circumstances affecting entitlement to benefit.
Magistrates sentenced her to a six-month community order with an activity requirement and ordered her to pay £100 prosecution costs.
How sweet.
The court heard she suffered with anorexia for 20 years and in May 2008 she was hospitalised, weighing just four and a half stones.
She was discharged in December 2008 but the following month her 15-year marriage broke down and although her and husband James separated they continued to live at the same address.
Mr Wrigley said that at the time she was trying to get her life back together as well as supporting her best friend Karyn Killiner, mother of teenage model Amy Leigh Barnes who was murdered in 2008 (more on this irrelevance).
Nicola Ashcroft, 41, secured work as a jobs advisor in July 2009, two months before winning an appeal tribunal to claim income support.
Ashcroft, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, had initially been turned down for the benefit in 2008 after being hospitalised for anorexia, and following the break up of her marriage.
She won an appeal in 2009, but because she had started work in the interim, she was only allowed to claim backdated money up until the point she began work.
So someone in the system knew.
However, Bolton magistrates heard that while Ashcroft had informed the tribunal of her new job she did not inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who were also her new employers, and so she continued to claim the benefit, taking £7,000.
Glen Wrigley, defending, said Ashcroft has now repaid the money she was overpaid, adding: 'She has never even had a speeding ticket and when I say she is mortified to be here it is an understatement.'
Don't steal money then, thief.
Ashcroft pleaded guilty to failing to notify a change in circumstances affecting entitlement to benefit.
Magistrates sentenced her to a six-month community order with an activity requirement and ordered her to pay £100 prosecution costs.
How sweet.
The court heard she suffered with anorexia for 20 years and in May 2008 she was hospitalised, weighing just four and a half stones.
She was discharged in December 2008 but the following month her 15-year marriage broke down and although her and husband James separated they continued to live at the same address.
Mr Wrigley said that at the time she was trying to get her life back together as well as supporting her best friend Karyn Killiner, mother of teenage model Amy Leigh Barnes who was murdered in 2008 (more on this irrelevance).
- This blog keeps saying it's morally wrong for the DWP to put temptation in claimants' way by relying on them to pass on information which will cut their entitlement when that information is already elsewhere in the system.
In this case, though, the woman was an out and out crook, who has just been given the mildest of slaps on the wrist. Even the order for costs doesn't begin to cover the cost of the prosecution.
Presumably someone in DWP HR has noticed this case and she will have to look for another job.
If the DWP is so wide open to internal fraud, fraud by an employee should be an aggravating factor for sentencing.
7 Nov 2011
UK's state administration bumbles helplessly
A foreign gang of fraudsters headed by a mother-of-two who netted £680,000 worth of tax credits have been jailed for a total of 11 years.
Maidstone Crown Court heard that had the scam by the three Slovakians not been detected and intercepted, the fraudulent claims for working and child tax credits and child care allowance would have paid out more than £1million.
Darina Balogova, 31, and her husband Marek Balog, 34, from Chatham, together with his brother Jaroslav Bado, 32, conspired together over five years until they were arrested in July last year.
Jailing Balogova for four-and-a-half years, Judge Michael Carroll said he regarded her as “the brains behind the enterprise” and questioned whether she came to the UK solely for the purpose of carrying out the fraud.
She had denied conspiracy to commit tax credit fraud between August 2005 and July last year, and two offences of money laundering, but was convicted by the jury after a three-week trial.
Her husband denied the same charges but was also found guilty and jailed for three-and-a-half years. Bado, also from Chatham, was convicted of the same conspiracy charge and one offence of money laundering. He was jailed for three years.
Judge Carroll said the evidence was “overwhelming” and the sentences had to reflect society’s abhorrence of people fraudulently claiming public funds.
“This was an extremely large benefit fraud,” he remarked. “It became obvious throughout this trial that the evidence was overwhelming and extremely incriminating.
“It was the blatant nature of this fraud that probably is the most outstanding aspect of it.”
Prosecutor Dominic Connolly told the court a large number of Slovakian families were brought over to the UK for the purpose of setting up the bogus tax credit claims.
Six members of the jury that convicted the gang returned to court for the sentencing hearing. Confiscation proceedings will be held in June next year.
Hardly reassuring, is it? Our borders are porous and the pillaging of our welfare system proved to be simple.
How much more of this is happening?
Maidstone Crown Court heard that had the scam by the three Slovakians not been detected and intercepted, the fraudulent claims for working and child tax credits and child care allowance would have paid out more than £1million.
Darina Balogova, 31, and her husband Marek Balog, 34, from Chatham, together with his brother Jaroslav Bado, 32, conspired together over five years until they were arrested in July last year.
Jailing Balogova for four-and-a-half years, Judge Michael Carroll said he regarded her as “the brains behind the enterprise” and questioned whether she came to the UK solely for the purpose of carrying out the fraud.
She had denied conspiracy to commit tax credit fraud between August 2005 and July last year, and two offences of money laundering, but was convicted by the jury after a three-week trial.
Her husband denied the same charges but was also found guilty and jailed for three-and-a-half years. Bado, also from Chatham, was convicted of the same conspiracy charge and one offence of money laundering. He was jailed for three years.
Judge Carroll said the evidence was “overwhelming” and the sentences had to reflect society’s abhorrence of people fraudulently claiming public funds.
“This was an extremely large benefit fraud,” he remarked. “It became obvious throughout this trial that the evidence was overwhelming and extremely incriminating.
“It was the blatant nature of this fraud that probably is the most outstanding aspect of it.”
Prosecutor Dominic Connolly told the court a large number of Slovakian families were brought over to the UK for the purpose of setting up the bogus tax credit claims.
Their passports and birth certificates were used to obtain national insurance numbers. Postal addresses were arranged and fake employment records created, with many of the claimants purporting to be working for the same company.
The Slovakian families then simply returned to their native country using identity cards instead of their passports, while the three defendants maintained the claims.
Six members of the jury that convicted the gang returned to court for the sentencing hearing. Confiscation proceedings will be held in June next year.
Hardly reassuring, is it? Our borders are porous and the pillaging of our welfare system proved to be simple.
How much more of this is happening?
DWP worker finds them wide open to fraud
A civil servant has been jailed for stealing £80,000 in benefits payments which were supposed to go to the sick and disabled.
Jude Ross, an administrator at the Department for Work and Pensions, used the cash to fund her lavish lifestyle, including following Premier League football.
She also spent public money on restaurant meals, a new car and going on holiday, as well as attending matches at Blackpool FC.
Ross, 48, withdrew £20,000 from cash machines in less than a year, out of a total £80,000 stolen from the Government.
Actually, that's from taxpayers.
She has pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for nine months at Preston Crown Court.
Judge Michael Byrne heard that money owed to genuine claimants of Disabled Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance was diverted into her own bank account by Ross, who lives in a caravan near Blackpool.
She accessed the DWP computer system unlawfully 15,000 times, and her illegal activity had an impact on disabled people and those in residential care.
And the DWP's systems never flagged anything awry?
The judge told her: 'This was a substantial breach of trust which had consequences for legitimate claimants. It was fraud, right from the start.'
Jude Ross, an administrator at the Department for Work and Pensions, used the cash to fund her lavish lifestyle, including following Premier League football.
She also spent public money on restaurant meals, a new car and going on holiday, as well as attending matches at Blackpool FC.
Ross, 48, withdrew £20,000 from cash machines in less than a year, out of a total £80,000 stolen from the Government.
Actually, that's from taxpayers.
She has pleaded guilty to fraud and was jailed for nine months at Preston Crown Court.
Judge Michael Byrne heard that money owed to genuine claimants of Disabled Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance was diverted into her own bank account by Ross, who lives in a caravan near Blackpool.
She accessed the DWP computer system unlawfully 15,000 times, and her illegal activity had an impact on disabled people and those in residential care.
And the DWP's systems never flagged anything awry?
The judge told her: 'This was a substantial breach of trust which had consequences for legitimate claimants. It was fraud, right from the start.'
Another mother claims her children are disabled
A mother lied about four of her children being disabled to cheat £45,000 in benefits.
Marie Barber, 29, received tax credit top-ups in a scam which played two government departments off against each other.
The mother of six cried - who cares? - as she was told by judge Robert Atherton: 'Those people who have children who are disabled would be outraged.
'You did it for your own benefit - every household in the country no doubt would say they would like to have more than they have got.'
Barber pretended that the children, aged between six months and eight, had 'severe' conditions in calls made to tax credit helplines over a three-year period.
In reality, all of her children were able-bodied.
At the time, Barber, of Worsley, Greater Manchester, was receiving disability living allowance for depression, and used her knowledge of the system in a series of frauds.
Manchester Crown Court was told her husband, who she has since split up with, was earning around £23,000 a year throughout.
The tax credit system is run by Revenue and Customs and designed to help working families with low or uncertain incomes.
Barber, who began cheating the system in 2007, also lied about the amount of disability living allowance she was getting herself to increase her tax credit entitlement.
She also falsely claimed that her husband's wages had almost halved two years in a row.
By doing this, she boosted the amount of tax credits she was paid by more than £10,000 a year.
She was finally exposed by Revenue and Customs checks which revealed no disability living allowance award had been made for any of her children.
Barber pleaded guilty to ten offences against the Tax Credits Act.
She was given a 52-week sentence, suspended, for two years.
A couple of the "best rated" comments on the report:
Marie Barber, 29, received tax credit top-ups in a scam which played two government departments off against each other.
The mother of six cried - who cares? - as she was told by judge Robert Atherton: 'Those people who have children who are disabled would be outraged.
'You did it for your own benefit - every household in the country no doubt would say they would like to have more than they have got.'
Barber pretended that the children, aged between six months and eight, had 'severe' conditions in calls made to tax credit helplines over a three-year period.
In reality, all of her children were able-bodied.
At the time, Barber, of Worsley, Greater Manchester, was receiving disability living allowance for depression, and used her knowledge of the system in a series of frauds.
Manchester Crown Court was told her husband, who she has since split up with, was earning around £23,000 a year throughout.
The tax credit system is run by Revenue and Customs and designed to help working families with low or uncertain incomes.
Barber, who began cheating the system in 2007, also lied about the amount of disability living allowance she was getting herself to increase her tax credit entitlement.
She also falsely claimed that her husband's wages had almost halved two years in a row.
By doing this, she boosted the amount of tax credits she was paid by more than £10,000 a year.
She was finally exposed by Revenue and Customs checks which revealed no disability living allowance award had been made for any of her children.
Barber pleaded guilty to ten offences against the Tax Credits Act.
She was given a 52-week sentence, suspended, for two years.
A couple of the "best rated" comments on the report:
I worked for the CSA and had access to Tax Credit and Income Support/Jobseekers allowances databases- when assessing a person for child support, we had to check their benefit status-the amount of fraud I uncovered was truly staggering, people claiming benefits and tax credits for their work at the same time in excess of any allowed amounts-because the Tax Credit system was owned by HMRC and the benefits systems by DWP-and, despite my many suggestions, even to the DWP minister of the time, that either the systems be amalgamated, or operatives of these systems are given universal view access, fell on deaf ears. I was sniffingly told that there was no "Service Level Agreement" between the departments and that there were no plans to amalgamate-this would be too expensive-but how much has benefit fraud cost us? The Panorama programme last night put this as a figure of billions. Systems need to be aligned and fraudsters given hefty jail sentences.And this:
The only reason scams like this ever work is because government departments and local councils do not routinely share information. Why don't they share information? Well, every time that there is a suggestion that they ought to do this idiots like Shami Chakrabarti shout out that it is an abuse of our civil rights and 'big brother'. So, keep supporting people with her views and criminals like her will carry on saying , "Thanks very much you suckers!"
5 Nov 2011
Another judge criticises sentencing guidelines
A clairvoyant who failed to foresee a conviction for benefit fraud has been ordered to pay back every penny of £33,000 she illegally claimed.
Self-styled Tarot reader and fortune-teller Dawn Pearson, 50, was uncovered as a benefits cheat after investigators realised she was being paid to carry out psychic consultations over the phone, a court heard.
The telephone charges were costing a fortune for her customers at £1.53 per minute, while Pearson was claiming benefits for being too ill to work.
Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said: 'Fraud investigators from the Department of Work and Pensions began an investigation into her claim after information she was working as a psychic.
'She denied she was in either full-time or part-time employment.'
The court heard DWP officers contacted the Absolute Live company where Pearson was working as a psychic reader and a sex chat-line operator.
Mr Gobir said: 'They were unable to provide a breakdown of her hours but records showed she was paid £600 a month at some stage.
'Investigators retrieved her bank statements to show payments from the Absolute Live company.
'Another company Selcast UK Ltd said she had worked on a self-employed basis as a tarot card reader and as a webcame psychic.'
The court heard Pearson unlawfully claimed a total of £33,206.82 in income support, jobseekers allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit over 16 months.
A pretty good rate of income.
But at the same time she was advertising herself as a chat line clairvoyant on the Psychic TV website.
On the website, Pearson is pictured next to the description: 'Dawn is an excellent Psychic clairvoyant, with many years experience.
'She uses her cards and crystals, and also her spirit guides to get a link with you.
'She is a trained Reiki healer and has been using all of her gifts to help people for many years.
'Dawn will happily discuss any pressing relationship or career questions, but can also give general guidance on self-development using her training as a life coach.'
Pearson appeared in Swansea Crown Court to admit four charges of benefits fraud by claiming to be 'unable to work due to illness and disability.'
Frank Phillips, defending, told the court that Pearson's claim had started out as legitimate.
He said financial problems arose because she had been the sole carer for her father and an aunt who both died within a short time of each other.
She had been left to pay their funeral costs and had helped out another family member struggling to pay large catalogue debts.
'As time went on she buried her head in the sand and became afraid of informing the authorities,' he said.
He added that she had been under 'much trauma' as a result but had now already repaid £600 and was repaying £114 a month.
Pearson, of Neath, South Wales, was given a 12-week suspended jailed sentence and ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work.
She stood in court with her head bowed today as she listened to the judge passing sentence.
After the hearing she left court with her face hidden behind an umbrella, despite the absence of rain.
Asked if she had foreseen what would happen to her she replied: 'I don't know. No. No comment.'
She had complained that press coverage had been bad for business in a pre sentence report.
Recorder Christopher Clee QC said:
Self-styled Tarot reader and fortune-teller Dawn Pearson, 50, was uncovered as a benefits cheat after investigators realised she was being paid to carry out psychic consultations over the phone, a court heard.
The telephone charges were costing a fortune for her customers at £1.53 per minute, while Pearson was claiming benefits for being too ill to work.
Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said: 'Fraud investigators from the Department of Work and Pensions began an investigation into her claim after information she was working as a psychic.
'She denied she was in either full-time or part-time employment.'
The court heard DWP officers contacted the Absolute Live company where Pearson was working as a psychic reader and a sex chat-line operator.
Mr Gobir said: 'They were unable to provide a breakdown of her hours but records showed she was paid £600 a month at some stage.
'Investigators retrieved her bank statements to show payments from the Absolute Live company.
'Another company Selcast UK Ltd said she had worked on a self-employed basis as a tarot card reader and as a webcame psychic.'
The court heard Pearson unlawfully claimed a total of £33,206.82 in income support, jobseekers allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit over 16 months.
A pretty good rate of income.
But at the same time she was advertising herself as a chat line clairvoyant on the Psychic TV website.
On the website, Pearson is pictured next to the description: 'Dawn is an excellent Psychic clairvoyant, with many years experience.
'She uses her cards and crystals, and also her spirit guides to get a link with you.
'She is a trained Reiki healer and has been using all of her gifts to help people for many years.
'Dawn will happily discuss any pressing relationship or career questions, but can also give general guidance on self-development using her training as a life coach.'
Pearson appeared in Swansea Crown Court to admit four charges of benefits fraud by claiming to be 'unable to work due to illness and disability.'
Frank Phillips, defending, told the court that Pearson's claim had started out as legitimate.
He said financial problems arose because she had been the sole carer for her father and an aunt who both died within a short time of each other.
She had been left to pay their funeral costs and had helped out another family member struggling to pay large catalogue debts.
'As time went on she buried her head in the sand and became afraid of informing the authorities,' he said.
He added that she had been under 'much trauma' as a result but had now already repaid £600 and was repaying £114 a month.
Pearson, of Neath, South Wales, was given a 12-week suspended jailed sentence and ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work.
She stood in court with her head bowed today as she listened to the judge passing sentence.
After the hearing she left court with her face hidden behind an umbrella, despite the absence of rain.
Asked if she had foreseen what would happen to her she replied: 'I don't know. No. No comment.'
She had complained that press coverage had been bad for business in a pre sentence report.
Recorder Christopher Clee QC said:
You claim that you have been ridiculed in the press and, as a result of which, work has diminished, and that is no great surprise.
You’ve already paid back some and it will take you very many years to pay it all back.
You richly deserve an immediate prison sentence and the great majority of the British public who work and pay taxes to benefits cheats like yourself would demand a prison sentence.
But I have to work within guidelines. Your sentence will be suspended instead.
Unpaid work will mean you putting something back into the community instead of taking out which is what you did for five years.
4 Nov 2011
How to steal £47.5k and avoid prison
A dole fiddler swindled almost £50,000 in benefits by continuing to claim after his girlfriend got a job.
Philip Hunter, 41, escaped a jail term after a judge heard he was a reformed heroin addict whose recovery would be helped by supervision.
He carried on claiming housing and council tax benefits for four years on his home in Paignton, as well as income support which he was not entitled to, Exeter Crown Court heard.
He had a long criminal history of 72 previous offences but had not committed any other than these benefit frauds since he kicked his heroin habit nine years ago.
Hunter, of Jubilee Terrace, admitted two offences of failing to notify the authorities of a change in circumstance. He was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years and ordered to undertake a Thinking Skills programme as part of an 18-month supervision order.
Recorder Mr Nicholas Wood told him: "This is a pretty bad case which stretched over four years and involved £47,500.
"I note the probation service speaks constructively about your drug rehabilitation but you still have a problem with amphetamines.
"I am persuaded to suspend the sentence and take a constructive view. The public may be puzzled by this, but it is never reported fully what these cases are about.
"The preponderance of the public interest is in getting you off these drugs so I am going to follow the recommendations of the probation officer."
Sean Brunton, prosecuting, said Hunter failed to report that his long-time live-in girlfriend had got a job at a care home in Torquay where she earned an average of £232.66 a week. He carried on claiming from 2006 until he was caught in October last year, when he admitted the fraud. He said £26,180 income support, £16,867 housing benefit, and £4,481 council tax benefit were overpaid, of which only £372 had been repaid so far.
Joss Ticehurst, defending, said: "He accepts fully the reckless way in which he behaved and that he has done wrong and he tells me he is kicking himself. He wanted to address what was going on but buried his head in the sand."
He said Hunter is now on a methadone programme.
Philip Hunter, 41, escaped a jail term after a judge heard he was a reformed heroin addict whose recovery would be helped by supervision.
He carried on claiming housing and council tax benefits for four years on his home in Paignton, as well as income support which he was not entitled to, Exeter Crown Court heard.
He had a long criminal history of 72 previous offences but had not committed any other than these benefit frauds since he kicked his heroin habit nine years ago.
Hunter, of Jubilee Terrace, admitted two offences of failing to notify the authorities of a change in circumstance. He was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years and ordered to undertake a Thinking Skills programme as part of an 18-month supervision order.
Recorder Mr Nicholas Wood told him: "This is a pretty bad case which stretched over four years and involved £47,500.
"I note the probation service speaks constructively about your drug rehabilitation but you still have a problem with amphetamines.
"I am persuaded to suspend the sentence and take a constructive view. The public may be puzzled by this, but it is never reported fully what these cases are about.
"The preponderance of the public interest is in getting you off these drugs so I am going to follow the recommendations of the probation officer."
Sean Brunton, prosecuting, said Hunter failed to report that his long-time live-in girlfriend had got a job at a care home in Torquay where she earned an average of £232.66 a week. He carried on claiming from 2006 until he was caught in October last year, when he admitted the fraud. He said £26,180 income support, £16,867 housing benefit, and £4,481 council tax benefit were overpaid, of which only £372 had been repaid so far.
Joss Ticehurst, defending, said: "He accepts fully the reckless way in which he behaved and that he has done wrong and he tells me he is kicking himself. He wanted to address what was going on but buried his head in the sand."
He said Hunter is now on a methadone programme.
- Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have.
Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.
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