Benefit cheat facing losing his home

A benefit cheat fiddled more than £11,200 in wrongful payments by keeping quiet that he had received a £23,000 pension lump sum, a court heard.

Graham Cook, 65, from Scunthorpe, admitted dishonestly obtaining benefits.

Simon Hirst, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that he received a pension credit between January 2011 and March last year after saying he was not working and had no other income.

He declared in January 2011 that the information was correct, but it was discovered that he had received a £23,000 pension lump sum in February 2011.

The amount he received varied from £287 a month to £309.

He was interviewed in February last year and admitted he knew the pension credit was means-tested and that any savings would affect what he received.

He confessed: "I have been found out. I hold my hands up."

The total amount he was wrongly paid was £11,229.

Ian Haywood, mitigating, said all the money wrongly paid to Cook had been spent. He was facing losing his home.

Cook was given 175 hours' unpaid work.

Judge Graham Robinson told Cook: "You are categorised as a benefit fraudster."

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