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Jail for £51k benefits thief

June 11, 2014, 12:08 am
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A Penryn man has been sent to jail for three years after he admitted five offences of fraud which included over claiming more than £51,000 in combined benefits over four years.

Truro Crown Court heard that Craig Miles had been in receipt of carers’ allowance to enable him to look after his wife, Tanya, while they lived together in Camelford.

She received income support and housing and council tax benefit as the family had no declared income. Acting on information received from the police, Cornwall Council and the Department for Work and Pensions discovered that Mr Miles had been receiving an income from his work as a builder and maintenance man under the name Gardens and Gates.

Based on this investigation it was established that the couple had been overpaid £51,343 in combined benefits over a four year period. Mr Miles was sentenced to six years, three to be served in custody and three years on licence. This included two years for the benefit fraud offences to be served consecutively.

A spokesman for the council said:
Cornwall Council is satisfied by the outcome and the Judge’s sentencing in the case. It demonstrates that by working closely with other organisations such as the police and the Department for Work and Pensions we are able to maximise investigations and discover the full extent of the crime perpetrated by the fraudsters. The council is dedicated in protecting the public purse and takes a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fraud.
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Unpaid work for serial benefit thief

June 12, 2014, 12:09 am
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A woman claimed £19,000 benefits for two non-existent children and for a real child who was not eligible. (h/t Dave)

Susan Finney, 39, from Coedpoeth, Wrexham, said she earned less than she actually did, and failed to declare she had a partner.

Finney pleaded guilty to making false representations and was given an eight-month suspended jail term.

Mold Crown Court heard it was the fourth time in eight years she had appeared for dishonesty offences. She had a previous conviction for benefit fraud and was on a suspended sentence when some of the current offences were carried out.

Prosecuting, Frances Willmott said Finney had been overpaid in benefits by £30,800 but if she had made an honest claim she would have been entitled to around £11,000, which meant the actual amount she was overpaid was about £19,000.

Finney was ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work.

Judge Niclas Parry said the sentence was being suspended because she was in work and was able to continue to pay back the overpayment.

Defending, Paul Smith said the defendant had overcome alcohol and other issues in her life and was a carer for people with dementia who was well thought of. He said she had made positive changes to her life and was already making repayments.
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Benefit thief lied about his disability

June 12, 2014, 4:00 pm
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A welfare cheat who took £20,000 in state handouts by claiming he could barely walk was caught working as a delivery driver - and climbing over walls. (h/t Dave)

Steven Higgins, 50, told the Department for Work and Pensions he was in constant pain, needed a walking stick and even required help cooking meals at home.

But a fraud investigator saw him using steps and carrying out his business as a courier without any discomfort and was even seen to climb over walls.

Inquiries revealed Higgins of Crawshawbooth, near Rossendale in Lancashire, had claimed Disability Living Allowance (DLA) over five years and netted £19,492.

He is no longer in receipt of the benefit - yet is appealing the DWP’s decision to remove it.

At Burnley magistrates' court, Higgins admitted two counts of dishonestly making a false statement to obtain a benefit, between May 9, 2008 and September 10, 2013.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, and was ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

Prosecutor Andrew Robinson said Higgins made his claim for DLA, saying he could walk less than 20 metres in seven to 10 minutes and that would permanently be the case.

He told the DWP he sometimes needed a walking stick, was in constant pain, would not feel comfortable out on his own and needed help at home. Higgins also claimed he could not prepare meals.

But Mr Robinson said evidence was available to show his situation changed and was no longer as severe as his original claim.

He was self-employed as a courier driver for a company and had not notified the department of this or any improvement in his condition.

The prosecutor said a fraud investigator saw the defendant working and he was observed climbing over walls, using steps and 'going about his business in a normal manner with no discomfort.'

Mr Robinson added it was not a fraud from the outset. The defendant, who had no previous convictions, had not yet repaid any of the money.

In mitigation Jeremy Frain, defending, said the criminality was not the fact Higgins was working. But there was an 'indiscretion' if a person put on the original claim form they could only walk five feet without having to stop for a breather and were discovered to have walked six or seven feet without stopping.

The defendant had attended a rheumatology clinic and Mr Frain read out part of a medical letter, which stated his client had 'progressive destructive disease' and marked damage to his hands and feet which would undoubtedly limit his ability to perform daily functions. Mr Frain said Higgins had been suffering anxiety and had to have treatment as a result of the protracted court proceedings.

The solicitor added: 'I am quite sure he’s extremely remorseful. He’s terrified at the prospect of an immediate custodial sentence. It’s his first conviction and he loses his good name because of this. I don’t think for one minute it will be repeated. At the moment he’s not in receipt of DLA and it will be the subject of an appeal. He regards himself as trying to help himself by working to keep him going, rather than sitting sedentary at home and his condition getting worse rather than better. This is a serious matter but I would ask you to give him a chance to retain his liberty. The family are generally very much in debt.'

After the case, Jane Baker, DWP Fraud Manager in the North West, said: 'It is unfair that some people get support when they do not have a disability, while many people depend on the benefits system to provide a safety net. We are determined to find those who we suspect are cheating the system by following up on tip-offs, undertaking surveillance and working with local councils. If you suspect someone of benefit fraud, please call the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854 440 so we can continue to tackle the problem in your area.'
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No jail for £27k benefit thief mother

June 16, 2014, 8:40 am
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A benefits cheat who stole £27,000 in handouts has been spared jail, despite a furious judge telling her: 'Taxpayers are sick of people like you.' (h/t Dave)

Hannah Sargent, 29, told the authorities she was a single parent and claimed thousands between August 2009 and March 2012.

The mother-of-one claimed income support from July 2006 until July 2011 as well as housing, council and child tax benefits. But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard she was in fact living with a man whom she later married.

She admitted two offences of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances, making a false representation to obtain benefits and two counts of fraudulently obtaining tax credits. Judge Paul Glenn said the offending was serious enough to merit custody but that Sargent's daughter would lose out if she was jailed. Instead she was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, ordered to undertake 180 hours unpaid work and pay £250 costs.

During the hearing the judge told the mother that hardworking taxpayers were 'sick and tired of people like you.'

Judge Glenn said: 'This was not a trivial amount. You did not declare that you were living as husband and wife until March 2012. Benefit cheats take away public money which would otherwise be spent on good causes. Honest taxpayers are sick and tired of people like you taking their money.'

The court heard Sargent, from Chesterton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, notified HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on March 9, 2012 that her partner had moved in with her. Despite denying that she had been living with him until then, investigators found she had been overpaid a total of £27,165.

Prosecutor Joanne Wallbanks said: 'In July 2011, the benefit changed to Jobseeker’s Allowance, until October 2011, when she became employed. That benefit would have been dishonest from the outset. She also claimed child tax credits between August 2009 and March 2012 and working tax credits from April 2011 to March 2012. That would have been fraudulent from the start. And she claimed housing and council tax benefit from August 2009 to 2011. She was under an obligation to notify any change of circumstances if she co-habitated or married.'

Arif Hussain defending Sargent, who has no previous convictions, said she is voluntarily repaying the money at a rate of £105 a month.

After the case Rosemary Phillips, of HMRC, said: 'Sargent lied on numerous occasions to continue to receive benefits she wasn’t entitled to, pocketing money needed to fund public services. We recognise it is only a minority exploiting the system but would encourage anyone with information relating to tax credit fraud to call.'
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Jail for mother who claimed for six fictitious children

June 17, 2014, 2:27 am
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A mother was jailed for a year after claiming more than £55k in benefits for six children who did not exist. (h/t Dave)

Angela Callaghan, 42, even charged other women £700 a time to explain how her scam worked and how they too could fleece authorities for thousands of pounds in public cash.

Callaghan, from Bootle, pleaded guilty to four counts of benefit fraud for the fake children and one count of fraud for claiming for her daughter who was no longer in full time education.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how from 2009 to 2012 she claimed £42,925 in child tax credits though the total fraud topped £55k.

Callaghan, who wept freely when she was in the dock, brought in other women and showed them how they could add fake twins to their claims to make more money themselves.

Sarah Phelan, defending, told the court that Callaghan’s crime was “out of need, not greed” because her ex-partner had left her with debts to pay off. She also asked for leniency because Callaghan had a child with special needs who her young daughter would have to look after if she was jailed.

But Judge David Aubrey, QC, said:
In the court’s judgement it would be failing in its public duty if you did not receive an immediate custodial sentence. You, having initiated the scam that you did, recruited other persons or at the very least informed other persons how easy it was to obtain money dishonestly from the public purse.
He called the fraud “flagrant and brazen” adding: “They really were audacious representations. You claimed not just for one child but for six children who simply did not exist.”

Callaghan’s co-accused - all snared as part of 'Operation Dishcloth' - were sentenced at a hearing earlier this month. Nicola Brown, 34, of Esmond Street, Anfield, Maria McDermott,31, of Radstock Road, Fairfield, and Lisa Keightley, 28, of Cullen Street, Toxteth, were sentenced to two months jail suspended for 12 months, plus a supervision order for 12 months for frauds involving tax credit overpayments of between £4,151 and £2,502.

Sandra Smith, assistant director Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said:
Callaghan lied on numerous occasions to receive benefits she wasn’t entitled to, pocketing money needed to fund public services. She then went on to help others make fraudulent claims. All these mothers now have criminal records and have to repay the stolen money. We recognise it is only a minority that are exploiting the system but we would encourage anyone with information relating to tax credit fraud to call the Benefits Anti-Fraud Helpline in total confidence on 0800 854 440.”
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£100k benefit thief "could face jail"!

June 18, 2014, 1:35 am
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A benefit fraudster who obtained more than £100,000 over a decade has been warned he could face jail when he is sentenced.

John Bolton, 63, failed to declare that he was married, sub-let his rented property in Somersham and was also running a business while holding capital in excess of £30,000 despite continuing to claim.

Magistrates in Peterborough heard that Bolton had repaid all the money defrauded from Huntingdonshire District Council and owed to the Huntingdon-based housing organisation Luminus.

But magistrates warned him that they would be considering all options, including prison, when he is sentenced on June 30.

Bolton, formerly of Springfields, Somersham, and now living at Torrington Gardens, Loughton, Essex, admitted six offences of benefit fraud, council tax discount fraud and tenancy fraud between 2003 and 2013.

He was prosecuted by the district council following an investigation by its fraud team in partnership with Luminus, which was the landlord at the Somersham address.

The investigation followed a tip-off by a member of the public.

Magistrates heard that benefit fraud charges amounted to £22,462 and involved Bolton failing to declare he married in 2003, had moved to Essex while continuing to claim benefits for the Somersham address between 2003 and 2008 and was running a business he set up in 2004 with capital of more than £30,000 the following year.

He also admitted sub-letting the Somersham property for profit between 2008 and 2013 and claiming £1,466 in council tax discounts for the same address between 2006 and 2011.

Pretty comprehensive.
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Jail for housing benefit thief who was a child actor

June 19, 2014, 12:52 am
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A 31 year-old former child actor from Anerley was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court after pleading guilty to defrauding four local authorities out of £30,524.44 in housing benefit. (h/t Dave)

Jason Stracey, also known as Kieron Jason Stracey, Jason Elliott and Jason Jacobs, provided false documents to Bromley, Royal Greenwich, Croydon and Lambeth councils in order to claim housing benefit over a number of years. The four local authorities began the joint fraud investigation after a landlord became suspicious having found post at a claimed address but not in the name of their tenant.

At the hearing the judge stated the fraud Mr Stracey had carried out was ‘professionally planned’ and fraudulent from the outset. It spanned a long period of time, was made under a number of identities and totalled in excess of £30,000. Given Mr Stracey had not agreed to or paid back any of the monies owed he was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. In addition, the judge awarded prosecution costs of £4,460.47.
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Benefit thief caught trying to fly to Florida

June 19, 2014, 7:40 am
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A benefit fraudster who falsely claimed nearly £4,000 was caught while trying to go to Florida. (h/t Dave)

Duncan Charles Oliver had $7,000 in cash when he was arrested at Gatwick Airport by Sussex Police on May 28, just before he boarded a flight to Orlando.

Well done, the police!

The 48-year-old pleaded guilty at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court the next day to falsely claiming £3,730 from Purbeck District Council in benefit for bed and breakfast accommodation in Upton.

His claim dated back to May 2011, but he had left the property after just one month. After he was first caught at a job centre in Reading, he was due to appear in court in February but failed to attend, leading to a warrant being issued.

So he stole taxpayers' money. He was caught and failed to turn up in court. Then he was caught again about to board a plane to fly abroad with $7,000 and goodness knows where that came from. So what's an appropriate sentence?

Let's see.

Oliver, of no fixed abode, was ordered to repay the money and given a 12 month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs.

It seems Bournemouth Magistrates' Court is a good place to plead guilty.
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Jail for repeat benefit frauds

June 19, 2014, 4:00 pm
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This man helped himself to fraudulent benefits all over the shop.

A serial fraudster has been jailed - again - after a court found him guilty of a string of benefit frauds shortly after his release from another prison term. (h/t Dave)

Michael Robert Gardner, 31, from Ingol, Preston, defrauded the public purse to the tune of £10,500, after failing to declare he was living with a partner, whom he then married in 2011.

Thousands of pounds of overpayments were made to the convicted fraudster, including £4,502 overpaid in Housing Benefit and £996 in overpayments in Council Tax Benefit from Preston City Council.

He was also convicted over around a total of £4,500 in overpayments in Income Support, Employment Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Both bodies prosecuted Gardner at Preston Magistrates Court but he denied the offences, some of which dated back to 2010.

However he was jailed for 26 weeks after being convicted of six counts of fraud by dishonestly failing to disclose details affecting his benefit entitlements, after a trial.

The bench said custody was necessary because the offences were “serious” and “fraudulent from the outset”.

They also cited his previous convictions for fraud, the “multiplicity of offences” and his recent release from prison for similar offences.

Imagine how costly and time consuming the gathering of evidence and the prosecution must have been. This is why there is no chance of proper policing of the millions of benefit claims made every year. This is why official benefit fraud figures are seriously understated. And it suits politicians to keep it that way.
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Council volunteer was benefit thief

June 20, 2014, 4:00 pm
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A mother-of-two who conned Havering Council out of more than £19,000 in housing and council tax benefitswhile volunteering at the authority has been ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Benefit cheat Claire Palmer, 39, pleaded guilty to two charges related to failing to inform the council about income from paid employment and a £6,000 student loan.

Barkingside Magistrates’ Court heard from Gerard Shaw, mitigating, that Palmer had not known she needed to declare the extra income - a claim that magistrates said they did ‘not buy’.

Palmer, from Mawneys, had claimed housing and council tax benefit from August 2011 for herself, her husband and two children.

Financial checks revealed undeclared bank accounts showing credits from the recruitment agency Palmer had been working for. Investigations also revealed that Palmer’s husband was earning more than was declared to the council and that she was in receipt of a student loan and bursary while studying social work.

Palmer, who had completed voluntary social work at the council, was told by magistrates that she had come close to a custodial sentence. However chair of the bench Leonard Harbour said the court did not wish separate her from her family.

Instead Palmer was sentenced to a community order for one year, told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, pay costs of £575 and a victim surcharge of £60.

She will also repay £17,272.42 in housing benefit and £2,365.89 in council tax benefit.

Councillor Roger Ramsey, leader of Havering Council and cabinet member for value, said:
I hope this verdict proves that we will not stand by while some try and play the system. This type of crime is quite simply stealing from hardworking taxpayers and Mrs Palmer will now have to pay back the money she has taken.
Well, we hope so. Now the hard part begins - getting our stolen money back.

Looks like the social work course will have been a waste of time.
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Cambridge detects more benefit fraud

June 23, 2014, 12:34 am
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The amount of cash saved for taxpayers by council investigators tackling fraud in Cambridge has doubled.

City council staff saved £600,069 during 2013/14, compared to £299,625 the year before.

The amount of actual benefit cash identified as having been paid out to fraudsters was down, from £144,723 to £129,422.

But there was a big increase in housing fraud and a larger number of benefit claims were terminated following investigation, saving £185,672 which would otherwise have been paid out.

Cllr George Owers, the executive councillor for finance and resources, said the fraud prevention team had an extra staff member in it last year.

Cllr Owers said: “This implies to me that it’s more the case that we are getting better at and have more people working on detecting fraud, rather than fraud being on the increase. There are no indications that benefit fraud itself is increasing in Cambridge, just detection.”

The £185,672 of benefits which would otherwise have been paid out related to 45 claims which terminated, compared to 23 the year before, when £95,461 was saved in this way.

Also last year, 10 council tenants handed back the keys to their property following fraud investigations, saving £180,000, compared to a single property the year before.

The amount recouped due to identification of resident error rose from £14,599 to £72,633, while £20,268 was saved last year after investigations resulted in council tax exemptions and discounts being removed.

Cllr Owers added: “It is disgraceful when people try to cheat the system, and people rightly want to see us taking the enforcement action needed to make sure that frauds get caught out.

“However, I think that it is right to bear in mind that, in fact, most benefit claimants are genuine.

“We mainly deal at the city council with housing benefit claimants, and the more important story here is that more and more people – increasingly, people who work hard and who pay their tax – are being driven into a position where, due to Cambridge’s sky-rocketing housing costs and the cost of living crisis in general, they have no choice but to claim housing benefit.

“A small number of people who don’t play by the rules should not overshadow these wider issues. And of course there is the wider point that unclaimed benefits in fact far outweigh fraudulent claims, and tax evasion dwarfs both.”
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Benefit thief given more than 150 years to pay debt

June 24, 2014, 4:16 am
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A Plymouth benefit cheat is paying back £40,000 at a rate that will take about 154 years to clear her debt, a court was told.

Mother-of-two Maria Hassall, aged 38, who dishonestly claimed cash for nearly six years, is paying back the money at £5 a week. She will have to live to the age of about 192 to raise the sum.

Hassall pocketed almost £40,000 in benefits by failing to tell the authorities she was living with her working husband, Plymouth Crown Court was told. She was paid income support, housing benefit and council tax relief to which she was not entitled between 2007 and 2013.

Hassall pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to disclose information she was under a legal duty to give Plymouth City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. She did not tell the authorities she was living with her working husband in order to make a gain in benefit.

Her barrister Will Willden told the court: “The money is being recovered by the appropriate authorities, it will take some time to pay back.”

Judge Paul Darlow replied: “It is £5 a week to recover £40,000. You do the sums, Mr Willden.”

Mr Willden said she claimed benefits legitimately having split from her working husband. But she did not tell the authorities when he returned to the house. Mr Willden said: “She buried her head in the sand.”

The court heard that investigators spoke to neighbours, looked at their finances and Mr Hassall’s work records to establish they lived together.

Mr Willden said that the defendant was in poor health and her daughter also “had difficulties”.

Judge Darlow said: “It would have been pretty obvious that when your husband moved back in that your benefits were no longer payable.” But he said he was taking into account her good character and her care of two children.

Hassall was handed a 20-week prison sentence suspended for two years. She must also stick to a 12-week curfew from Monday to early Sunday morning between 10am and 1pm and 8pm to 5am. Hassall must also pay £400 prosecution costs.
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£94k benefit thief has to wear tag

June 26, 2014, 12:19 am
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Cindi Gould, aged 46, from Hadlow, has been sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment (suspended for two years), tagged as part of a four-month curfew order and is also subject to a two-year supervision order for committing benefit fraud.

Gould, who pleaded not guilty to benefit fraud, will have to wear a tag and remain at home between 8pm and 6am every day.

The court heard that Mrs Gould failed to notify Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that her partner was living with her. She originally claimed to be living without a partner and was claiming benefits as a lone parent.

Following an anonymous tip-off from the public, investigators from the council and the DWP began to look at her circumstances.

The investigators obtained evidence, which showed that her partner was linked to her address for the period from March 2004 to April 2012. As a result, Mrs Gould was overpaid a total of £94,357.39 in benefits.

Broken down, this amounts to £41,513.23 in housing benefit, £8,295.80 in council tax benefit, £36,320.60 in income support and £8,227.76 in employment and support allowance. Gould has to repay all of the money that she fraudulently claimed.

Martin Coffin, Tonbridge & Malling council’s cabinet member for finance said:
It’s very clear that Tonbridge and Malling residents will not tolerate benefit cheats in their communities – this is just the latest in a growing number of ‘tip-offs’ we have received from the public and we will continue to follow up every lead to ensure that people who defraud the benefit system are caught and brought to justice.
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Jailed: benefits cheat had holiday home in Spain

June 26, 2014, 4:00 pm
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A Hove benefit cheat who sold a second property in London to buy a holiday home in Spain has been jailed for a year.

Janice Purdie pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming £134,187 in benefits over a nine-year period from 2004 to 2013.

Hove Crown Court heard how Purdie claimed £83,113.95 in housing benefit despite owning a second property in Camden, London.

Because the 62-year-old did not declare her property assets, she also received overpayments of £39,541.71 for income support and £3,319.17 in pension credit.

Purdie also claimed £8,212.55 in council tax benefit despite having over £16,000 in her bank account.

The court heard how Purdie sold her property in London for almost £600,000 and then used this money to help buy a property in Spain.

When questioned in October 2013, Purdie told government officials she had been visiting friends in Spain and refused to comment on owning a property in London.

Judge Paul Tain said:
This is a serious case of fraud that has gone on for many years and involves large amounts of money. The maximum sentence for this crime is ten years which highlights the seriousness of the situation.
The defence for Purdie stated she had been in a physically and mentally abusive relationship and was left with £100,000 in gambling debts from her ex-partner.

Commenting on Purdie’s character references, Judge Tain said:
One of these references states that you are an honest person. You clearly are not. This reference talks about your generosity but it is easy to be generous with somebody else’s money.
A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said that in all cases they look to get back the money they are owed. Purdie plans to sell her property in Spain to pay back the money she fraudulently claimed.

The investigation which led to this case was launched after an allegation of undeclared capital and property was made by a member of the public.

Brighton and Hove City Council’s senior investigator, Penny Wood, said:
The public is increasingly aware of the strain on the public purse and are more willing than ever to report people who are abusing the system. This is a prime example of somebody blatantly abusing the system despite having accrued assets that many people struggle to attain over a lifetime.
When you see government figures for benefit fraud, remember cases like this. She owned two properties and had over £16,000 in her bank account. Yet this fraud went undetected for nine years, and it was only a tip-off that brought it to light. There are millions on benefits, and of course there aren't enough officials for even cursory screening.
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Nasty £86k welfare fraud brings suspended sentence

June 27, 2014, 12:54 am
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A Partington woman who illegally obtained nearly £90,000 in benefits over a 10 year period has been sentenced to a nine month custodial sentence, suspended for two years.

Susan Underwood, 60, had pleaded guilty to five charges of making false statements and failing to report a change in her circumstances at an earlier hearing.

As well as the suspended sentence, Miss Underwood must also repay all the £86,621 she falsely claimed from the Department for Work and Pensions and Trafford Council and comply with a two-month curfew.

Big deal.

She had initially claimed housing and council tax benefit in September 1999 after coming out of full time employment.

She then claimed income support, job seekers allowance and employment support allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions on the basis she was a single person.

She failed to declare that she had begun living with her partner, who she married in September 2002 and subsequently purchased a marital home with.

This led to Miss Underwood being overpaid benefits between September 2002 and December 2012.

In addition to the identified benefit offences, the investigation also uncovered the fact that Miss Underwood was illegally subletting the address she was actually claiming from at Gladstone Road, Urmston, to her son.

The investigation findings assisted the landlords, Moss Care Housing Association, to recover the property from her.

Council leader Sean Anstee said “The council welcomes this sentence as it reinforces the fact that people who commit benefit fraud will face prosecution as the council and its partners work together to bring perpetrators to justice. Again, I would encourage anyone who is claiming benefits to make sure they tell us of any changes in their circumstances so that we can ensure they continue receiving the benefits they are entitled to."
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Oxford gets round to announcing keys amnesty

June 27, 2014, 8:00 am
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Back in October last year, Barnet Council decided on a keys amnesty to allow the keys of illegally sublet houses to be returned without any penalty.

Now the dynamic officials at Oxford City Council are planning to hold an amnesty from August (yes, that's August 2014) to encourage people illegally letting out their council properties to leave their homes without the authority taking them to court.

The Oxford Mail explains that it costs the city council around £2,000 to take a case through civil court without the tenant contesting it. For every person or family being temporarily housed while on the waiting lists, the council spends £18,000 a year.

Since 2011 the city council has claimed 50 homes back from those subletting them, says the paper, resulting in a saving of £900,000.

No ... that's the annual saving. Which is massive enough. Over the last few years, the saving has been several million pounds.

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said:
The aim of the tenancy fraud amnesty is to raise awareness with the public, not just our tenants and to encourage the reporting of illegal activity. It is also to make the public aware that sub-letting of social housing is now a criminal offence and therefore act as a deterrent to those considering subletting and show that the council is taking all possible steps to tackle the problem of the lack of affordable housing in Oxford.
Social housing fraud is the wickedest welfare fraud. The sums that can be saved are huge, but it's so much more than the money - needy families are being deprived of the chance to have a settled home that suits their needs.
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Conditional discharges for "sophisticared fraud"

June 29, 2014, 4:00 pm
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Three members of a family who faked rent books and forged signatures in order to claim housing benefit have been given conditional discharges.

The three – including the 80-year-old mother – pleaded guilty to a range of fraud charges at Fareham Magistrates’ Court.

Mother Maisie Keophaithool, of Dickens Drive, Whiteley, was caught by Fareham Borough Council’s benefits team when she put in a claim for housing benefit in February last year.

The retired pharmacy owner tried to claim £1,250 per month in housing benefit for a house that was owned by her 42-year-old son Pat Keo, a company director, of Halford Road, London.

The amount was flagged up by the council as larger than the average rental cost for a house in Whiteley and an investigation was launched.

When Maisie was questioned, she continued to lie and said she was not related to her landlord and fake rent books were created as evidence with forged signatures.

The investigation also uncovered that her other son, 45-year-old Charlie Keo, a security guard, of Brockwell Court, London, had also been claiming benefit for living at the Dickens Road address.

He had already been paid £3,707.88 by the council and had been claiming £350 per month. The court heard how he had already started to pay back this amount and his defence assured the court the remainder would be paid back within two weeks.

Chairman of magistrates David Abrams labelled the case ‘a sophisticated fraud’.

He added: ‘These are never straightforward situations. It is a grey area. These three defendants have done something very foolish and taken the view that they are entitled to benefits and not played by the rules.’

Pat pleaded guilty to six counts of making/supplying an article for use in fraud. Charlie pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly producing/furnishing a statement/representation to obtain social security benefit and one count of fraud by false representation.

Maisie pleaded guilty to two counts of making/supplying an article for use in fraud and two counts of dishonestly producing/furnishing a statement/representation to obtain social security benefit.

They were each given a two-year conditional discharge, and made to pay £300 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
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Councillor puts benefit & tax credit fraud at over £5bn - we agree

June 30, 2014, 2:00 am
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A Haverhill woman who falsely claimed £12,258 in benefits has received a suspended prison sentence.

Mandy Fair, 47, pleaded guilty at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates Court to continuing to claim both council tax benefit (£1,969) and employment and support allowance (£10,289) after her husband, who was in full-time work, moved back in with her.

Magistrates sentenced her to four weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and gave her a 12 month community order with the requirement that she attend a seven session programme with the Women’s Emotional Wellbeing Specified Activity (WEWSA).

She was also ordered to pay £400 costs and £80 victim surcharge.

Cllr David Ray, St Edmundsbury Borough Council cabinet member for Resources and Performance said:
The council takes benefit theft very seriously. Deliberately withholding information that affects your claim is stealing. The vast majority of people who claim benefits are honest, but those who steal benefits are picking the pockets of law-abiding taxpayers and it is often part of organised crime. Benefit and tax credit thieves steal an estimated £5.3 billion from public funds, that’s why we are determined to catch them.”
For once, an estimate of welfare fraud losses we can recognise.

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Our ponderous legal system

July 1, 2014, 4:00 pm
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We have met Stephen Sussams before, most recently here.

He had pocketed £17,600 in care fees mistakenly paid into a dead man’s bank account, which he had access to as the deceased’s carer.

He had also illegally claimed more than £14,000 in housing and council tax benefit after failing to tell the council he was living with his civil partner. (h/t Dave) At a trial in December 2012, he was found guilty of theft, dishonestly making a false statement or representation, and three counts of fraud by failing to disclose information.

A this fraudster, who ran a gourmet pub that sold £125 champagne truffle burgers, is set to be finally kicked out of his council home.

Benefits cheat Stephen Sussams, aged 61, has fought a lengthy legal battle with the council to try and remain in his property in Upper Norwood.

But on Thursday, 26 June, a judge at Croydon County Court gave council officers the green light to evict Sussams.

Sussams, jailed for a year in January 2013 for a string of fraud charges, is the former landlord of the Royal Dart Hotel in Devon.

The pub was famed for its £125 champagne and truffle beefburger speciality, said to be the most expensive burgers in the world.

Councillor Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, said:
This has been a long, drawn-out case and it’s a credit to our housing legal and tenancy teams for their determination and hard work in bringing about this eviction. We don’t take these decisions lightly, however this was an individual who abused the benefits system and in the process deprived a family in need of a home. The council’s housing department will always take a hard line against those that try and cheat the system.
In a favourite phrase of the state sector, there are lessons to be learned here.

This man is a criminal. He was found guilty in December 2012. Not December last year, December 2012. The people who design legal procedure really need to learn from this.


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Jail for £110k benefit thief

July 2, 2014, 4:00 pm
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A benefit cheat wept as she was jailed for benefit fraud after she swindled £133,000 over a decade.

Marie Lyon illegally pocketed three state benefits by not revealing that her partner, who is a supermarket worker, was living with her.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that she had been receiving £433 income support a fortnight and her “healthy” bank account was never overdrawn. Her “comfortable lifestyle” meant she was able to withdraw £50 on an almost daily basis.

Jailing the 50-year-old blonde for eight months the judge Recorder Suzanne Goddard QC told her:
You knew perfectly well you should have disclosed the fact that you were living together and you would have been reminded numerous times. I am satisfied you were not motivated by any great need on your behalf. This is a serious matter and only an immediate prison sentence can be justified.
She told Lyon, a mother of one, that she took into account her difficult start in life, her medical problems and the letter she had written to her about her 11-year-old daughter. But she told Lyon her predicament was “of your own making. This was a quite deliberate fraud.”

On hearing the sentence Lyon looked bewildered and said: “I’m not going to prison?” but was told by the judge that she was and was led away to the cells crying.

Lyon had pleaded guilty to three offences of failing to notify a change in circumstances involving income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

David Potter prosecuting said that Lyon, who has no previous convictions had begun claiming benefits legitimately in 1999 but three years later her partner moved in and she did not tell the authorities.

He explained: “This social security benefit fraud continued over the course of a decade during which she dishonestly claimed benefits totalling £133,000." He said that she would have been entitled to £23,000 tax credits but that still meant she had received almost £110,000 she was not entitled to receive.

"It is clear she lived comfortably within her means as a result of her offending," said Mr Potter, who pointed out bank statements revealed her account always had between £500 and £1200 in it.

Steven Swift defending said she has physical and mental health difficulties and was in a state of "extreme distress. She feels her life is in turmoil and fears for her daughter who is about to start high school."

He added that she has been repaying the money at £260 per month.

P.S. Dave points out that a mother in a £400,000 fraud has been spared jail.
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