tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44818884846014552772009-12-22T07:00:03.940ZBenefit fraudNews & views about benefit fraud in the UK<br>
Contact me through <a href="http://www.benefitfraud.org.uk/">the benefit fraud website</a>John Pagenoreply@blogger.comBlogger827125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-18438600773693898852009-12-22T07:00:00.000Z2009-12-22T07:00:03.949ZFrench wastrel took benefits fraudulentlyAn French woman in Ashford has been ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work and pay over £1,000 in costs, Ashford Council announce, after she was found to have dishonestly claimed over £7,000 in benefits from Ashford Borough Council between 2004 and 2009 without telling the authorities that she been working since December 2004.
She arrived in the UK from France in 2004 and said she thought that John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-12240192675426114482009-12-21T14:37:00.000Z2009-12-21T14:37:57.078Z£30k benefits thief gets off lightlyA mother who claimed £30,934 in disability handouts after saying she was too frail to get out of bed was filmed working a 48-hour week running a team of cleaners.
Christine Whittle-Morley - who has a previous conviction for theft from an employer - received benefits to pay for round-the-clock care after saying her mobility was so restricted she needed help getting dressed and washing herself.
John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-32477393240423538192009-12-21T08:00:00.000Z2009-12-21T08:00:10.629Z£8.9k benefit fraud unpunishedJohn Jenner from Swanley submitted four claim forms between October 2003 and March 2009 on which he failed to declare he had been receiving industrial injuries benefit since 1991.
He was given a 12-month conditional discharge at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to benefit fraud totalling £8,900.
Jenner was also told the money he had falsely claimed will be deducted from John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-25457582779473577132009-12-21T07:00:00.001Z2009-12-21T07:00:00.312ZFines and costs make a meaningful sentenceRaymond Wood, from Pellon, Halifax, has admitted dishonestly obtaining £4,756 from the DWP over the last three years, as well as a reduction in his council tax, by lying about his savings.
He has paid back the cash and was ordered to pay another £3,055 in fines and costs by Calderdale magistrates.
We don't know how much he stole (the council tax reduction was in addition to the £4,756), but the John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-6305278350302836372009-12-20T12:43:00.000Z2009-12-20T12:43:25.312ZGuide to claiming for incapacity"Bogus incapacity benefit claimants can cheat their way into higher state handouts thanks to a step-by-step guide to beating Labour’s new fitness test", claims the Sunday Express.
A consumer website called Benefits and Work offers a guide on how to convince doctors you are too sick to work for a living.
Tips are given on how to qualify on both physical and mental health grounds for Employment John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-21816794039260507862009-12-20T07:09:00.000Z2009-12-20T07:09:28.252ZJail for £37k benefit fraudStephen Bishop, from Codsall, took £37,000 in income support, claiming he was a single parent.
But following a tip-off, an investigation found he was living with a partner and working as a mechanic.
Bishop was sentenced to 18 weeks in custody. He will also have to repay the money.John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-56303421509392697412009-12-19T07:00:00.014Z2009-12-19T07:00:04.546ZCroydon benefit thief gets suspended sentenceKaren Balogun, 25, was given a four month custodial sentence for benefit fraud, suspended for 12 months, plus 150 hours community work, report Croydon Council. We're not told how much was involved.
The investigation began in 2008. Officials found that she had not declared that she was married when claiming for council tax and housing benefits. She was also found to have been making extra claims John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-28850225571091804842009-12-18T07:00:00.001Z2009-12-18T07:00:06.073ZJail for £60k benefit fraudA BENEFIT thief who stole more than £60,000 over ten years has been jailed for eight months.
Malcolm Swann, 62, from Gun Hill, near Nuneaton, even hid what he was doing from his wife, who has now been lumbered with a re-mortgage he took out to repay the debt.
He began using a false national insurance number in 1999 to claim around £500 a month in incapacity benefit and council tax payments. John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-84957287170181423982009-12-17T12:00:00.017Z2009-12-17T12:00:03.766ZJail for £85k benefit thiefMr Ahmed Sharif Mohamed claimed housing benefit at Royal College Street, totalling £24,000, Camden Council announce.
He used another identity in the name of Mr Mohamed Sharif Ahmed to claim housing benefit at Brecknock Road, totalling over £41,000.
He also used these identities to claim £20,000 in Income Support to which he was not entitled.
Under a joint investigation between benefit John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-57934629058145719422009-12-17T07:00:00.015Z2009-12-17T07:00:04.223ZAnother blue badge sweep in HendonResidents of a Hendon road have praised anti-fraud officers from Barnet Council for a second clampdown in their street within a month on the misuse of blue badges.
Eight blue badges were seized in Babington Road and St Mary's Crescent in a successful joint operation with Barnet Police which also netted two arrests in relation to stolen badges and seven fixed penalty notices. Another fixed John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-45951213287658972502009-12-16T15:05:00.000Z2009-12-16T15:05:19.928ZJail for £45k benefits thiefA Blackburn woman who claimed to be a single parent while living with her husband has been jailed for 16 months for benefit fraud.
Tammy Whittle falsely claimed over £45,000 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support by deliberately not including her husband Lee’s details on the claim forms.
Burnley Crown court heard that it was Whittle’s second conviction for benefit fraud. In John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-74595673078822375172009-12-16T11:16:00.000Z2009-12-16T11:16:51.451ZTamworth benefit thief in courtJulie Brighouse failed to declare she was living with her partner for seven months and she claimed as a single person all that time.
The total overpayment was £5,329. Mrs Brighouse was given a community order for 100 hours unpaid work, ordered to pay the £5,329 back as well as the £725 costs.
Councillor Robert Pritchard, portfolio holder for Corporate Governance said: “As you can see the John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-85952180593487532942009-12-16T07:00:00.016Z2009-12-16T07:00:04.476ZSlow pursuit of benefit cheat leads to not muchNicola Tilley, who pleaded guilty to cheating Bedford Borough Council out of £13,273 in benefits, has been given a four month curfew and ordered to pay the money back.
She claimed income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit as a lone parent, but suspicions were raised after an anonymous tip-off from a member. A joint investigation by Bedford Borough Council and the DWP began in May John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-43928417281458652312009-12-15T07:00:00.009Z2009-12-15T10:08:29.258ZCouncil worker was blue badge cheatA Rochdale Council worker stole a dead person's blue disabled driver badge before using it to park for free.
Choudhury Mohammed Shahran used his position in the council's customer services department at the ‘black box’ to steal the disabled parking permit when it was returned after the owner died.
He was caught out after the council received an anonymous tip-off in November 2008 and launched anJohn Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-7767721401436879762009-12-14T21:19:00.000Z2009-12-14T21:19:13.400ZHousing benefit lunacyA year after the Government vowed to crack down on housing benefits, reports the Mail, a single mother of eight is still living in a £2.6million mansion funded by taxpayers.
Francesca Walker receives more than £90,000 a year in housing allowance to meet the rent on the five-bedroom villa, plus other payouts of £15,000.
Read moreJohn Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-87377037292122667372009-12-14T21:01:00.000Z2009-12-14T21:01:43.477ZMore low income benefits families on 90% taxThe number of families facing tax rates of more than 90% has doubled in the last year as a result of Labour's bloated benefits system, reports the Mail. This can only encourage people to stay on benefits or commit benefit fraud.
Figures buried in last week's Pre-Budget Report reveal 60,000 low-income families now face paying 90 per cent of any earnings directly to the taxman.
The number of John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-64149505691306954322009-12-14T11:00:00.003Z2009-12-14T20:31:18.761ZPost employee said he couldn't walkBenefit thief Amran Abu from Handsworth claimed incapacity benefit and disability allowance worth £8,000 on the basis that he was unable to work, and had no other source of income.
He claimed that he was unsteady on his feet, unable to stand for long periods of time, easily fell over and was only able to walk a distance of 200m in 30 minutes with the use of crutches or a walking frame. But CCTV John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-53680023612668411252009-12-14T07:00:00.007Z2009-12-14T07:00:05.545ZConditional discharges for York benefit thievesSharon Louise Wheatley received housing and council tax benefits from City of York Council for 17 months despite having found work as a self-employed parcel carrier, which resulted in her being overpaid £5,210.
Michael Moran continued to cash weekly cheques for housing benefit for a year – a £2,750 overpayment – after securing a job.
They were merely given 24-month conditional discharges and John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-65782645751712202032009-12-13T08:00:00.003Z2009-12-13T08:00:12.494ZLight sentence for £40k benefit thief - no jail, no workA FORMER hospital worker who fiddled £40,000 in benefits has been ordered to wear an electronic tag.
Fawzia Abdultif, from Didsbury, dishonestly claimed income support for 10 years while working as an interpreter at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
At Manchester Crown Court she was given a 50-week jail sentence suspended for 18 months. She has also been placed under curfew arrest from 7pm to 7am forJohn Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-48361638486686114792009-12-12T15:57:00.000Z2009-12-12T15:57:15.591ZFrauds in PeterboroughAsif Khan filled in details pretending to be his mother in order to claim council tax benefits of £3,587.
However, he was actually the owner of the house. The court told Mr Khan to pay compensation of £1,624.12, plus £70 in costs, as well as to complete 120 hours of unpaid work within the next year.
Separately, the owner of one of Peterborough's biggest cab firms has been clocked by the courts John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-25627121982650342302009-12-12T09:15:00.000Z2009-12-12T09:15:56.010ZJail for £44k benefit fraudSamantha Mary McGrath, who used to live in Leominster but moved to Birmingham, has been jailed for five months after admitting 10 counts of benefit fraud totalling £44,765.
McGrath failed to say she was married in May 2003. The council also claimed that in September 2005 she failed to declare she was in receipt of a nursing bursary and that she was employed in August 2006.
McGrath received John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-24944977573113029302009-12-11T07:00:00.001Z2009-12-11T07:00:04.234ZConditional discharge for £9k benefit fraudA BENEFIT cheat has appeared in court after claiming £8,900 he was not entitled to.
John Jenner, from Swanley, was given a 12-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to four counts of benefit fraud.
The court heard the 58-year-old submitted four claim forms between October 2003 and March 2009 on which he failed to declare he had been receiving industrial injuries benefit since 1991.
John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-25388384022742179592009-12-10T16:00:00.002Z2009-12-10T21:24:18.230ZMother jailed for £32k benefit fraudA Black Country mother who pocketed more than £32,000 in benefits despite having two homes and more than £150,000 in savings has been jailed for nine months.
Mary Davies from Tipton started with a legitimate claim for council tax and housing benefits. But she failed to tell the DWP when she [somehow] acquired a house and flat in the area and had savings in the bank.
She claimed £28,783 in John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-73001801610527633292009-12-10T13:00:00.001Z2009-12-10T13:00:15.324ZMore benefit fraud found in S SomersetA pensioner who failed to declare he was working is being made to repay over £3,800 to council taxpayers after fraudulently claiming council tax benefit over seven years.
An investigation undertaken by South Somerset District Council revealed that a 75-year-old Wincanton man had claimed £3,813 from April 2002 through to March 2009.
He failed to declare that he had been working for a coach John Pagenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481888484601455277.post-88337399172317932642009-12-10T12:09:00.001Z2009-12-10T12:09:39.957ZSurprise, surpriseDanielle Bardsley failed to attend court yesterday.
Who'd have thought it?
htp DaveJohn Pagenoreply@blogger.com0